Page 27 of Scoring Chances
He looks down at my feet and then back at me. “Okay. Well, I’ll drive you back.”
“No need. I think I’d rather just walk.”
He points to my heels. “In those? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
But I feel the need for fresh air. And immediately.
“I’m good, Keelan. I’ll see you back at the house?”
He nods, reluctantly. “Ok, Cassidy.” I turn to leave without saying bye to anybody. I don’t feel like drawing in anymore attention than I already have.
The sound of my new heels against the pavement echo through the darkening sky. I can already feel a blister forming on the back of my foot and I realize I’m not a heel girl for a reason.
When I can’t take it anymore I slip them off and decide to walk the rest of the way to Keelan’s house barefoot. When I’m just a few hundred feet away I see the figure of a young man walking toward me.
I squint trying to make out who it might be at the end of the driveway. As I get closer, I see the hoodie and baggy jeans.
“Cole?”
He turns to face me and then looks down at my bare feet. “Uh… what happened to you?”
I shrug. “Left the party early. Are… you okay?”
He stuffs his hands into his pocket. “I don’t know.”
“Wanna talk about it?” I say, walking in step with him back toward the house.
“Joshua… I get that he didn’t know Dad like we did. But sometimes the things he says about him are just…” he hesitates but then decides to just say it. “Fucked up.”
“I’m sorry, Cole. You’re right. And you have to understand that Joshua’s hurting too. His hurt is just different from yours. You got to know your dad. You grew up with him. You got to see the good and the bad and all the in between. Joshua… well, he’ll always have a hole where your father would have been. I think he's probably trying to work through that.”
“Well. It’s not right for him to take it out on me. And it’s not right that Maddie and Parker don’t know he’s gone, gone. That's not fair for them."
I shake my head, “It’s not.”
He lowers his head. “Sometimes it just feels like I’m the only one who misses him. You know? Maddie and Parker are too little to understand. And Joshua seems to be just fine with my dad being gone.”
“He’s not… trust me.”
“Well, he acts like it anyway.”
“I guarantee you. It’s most likely a defense mechanism. Humans are complicated creatures, Cole. Sometimes what could be hurt comes across as anger or hate. Give him time.” We walk for a bit in silence.“Where are your siblings?”
“Passed out in the media room watching Ice Age.”
I give him a look that says, Seriously?
He laughs. “Yeah… because of the–”
“Giant sloth named Sid. That’s nice. Let’s pop some popcorn and watch something way more fun.”
He looks at me. Still solemn but he doesn’t say no. Instead, he opens the front door and let’s me in.
Chapter 8
Joshua
I’m almost asleep in my recliner when Cassidy and Cole burst into the media room with hands full of popcorn and Dr. Peppers.