Breaking Free by Isabel Lucero

27

Monday and Tuesday go by,and me and Trevor avoid each other like the plague. Jayden is curious considering the last time he saw us we were announcing to him that we’d been hooking up, but he seemed to catch on right away that neither of us wanted to talk about it.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I’m out sick with some sort of stomach bug, which means when I show up to school on Friday, Coach has put Trevor in the starting spot. I’m not even mad. I don’t blame him, but Trevor seems to take his place on this team a little more seriously than me.

When we’re on the plane, heading for Glen Prep, me and Trevor end up toward the back on opposite sides, with him just a row behind me.

Campbell: Don’t do me any favors. I want to earn my spot. Not have it given to me because you choose to not show up to practice in the days leading up to the game.

I turnand look at him, but he quickly snaps his attention back to his phone.

Me: Yeah, I’ll be sure to tell my stomach to keep your feelings in mind when I’m throwing up. I didn’t just not show up to practice. I wasn’t in school at all. Not everything’s about you.

He doesn’t respond,so I switch the app to Spotify and change the song to blast something loud in my ears while I close my eyes and ignore his presence.

My nap comes to an end a couple hours later—maybe forty minutes before we’re due to land, so I get up and head to the bathroom at the back. Trevor’s eyes track me as I move, perhaps hoping I’m not coming back to talk to him, but I swear I see a tiny glimmer of hope in those green orbs, but I ignore him and close myself in the small restroom.

I don’t know what to do regarding me and him. He’s angry at me for something that isn’t true, and I’m angry at him for not believing me. I can’t keep repeating the same thing, and he’s not gonna believe me no matter what anyway. Stubborn ass. On top of that, I worry what squashing the beef between us would mean. Would that put us on the road to a relationship?

When I exit the bathroom and head back to my seat, Trevor’s standing up, grabbing his bag from overhead storage and effectively blocking my way.

He glances my way, looking me up and down before taking his time unzipping the bag and shoving his snacks and bottle of water back inside.

I sigh and he looks at me again. “Need something?”

I force a smile. “Nope.”

Once he zips the main pocket, he casually spins it around and unzips another part, just trying to piss me off. Instead of going off on him and drawing attention to us, I grab ahold of his hips as I slowly squeeze past him, pushing my crotch into his ass as I slide past.

“‘Scuse me.”

He shoots me a dirty look, but I chuckle lightly as I get back into my seat.

Before I know it, we’re landing and deplaning.

Jayden comes up next to me. “What’s up with you and Trev?”

I shake my head. “He’s a stubborn asshole.”

“What’s his problem?”

“He thinks Coach is playing favorites and only started me the first game because he knows my mom.”

“Coach knows your mom?”

I sigh. “It’s a whole thing. He knew my parents, but it’s not like they were close friends. My dad died and I had to transfer, and both him and my previous coach helped get me transferred. Coach Bennett came to watch me at Grand Valley. That was my tryout, but Campbell thinks it’s some sneaky connection thing. I don’t even care if I’m a starter or not.”

“Sorry about your dad,” he says softly.

“Don’t be. Anyway, yeah, that’s about it.”

“But you’re not starting this game.”

“He thinks I didn’t show up to practice on purpose so he could play.”

Jayden shakes his head. “Yeah, stubborn. Want me to talk to him?”

“Nah. It’s fine. We probably were never gonna be anything serious anyway.”

He nods once and the subject is changed.

* * *

Hours later,after our team won by twenty-four points, we all get settled into our hotel rooms with strict instructions from the coach not to stay out too late, drink too much, or get into any trouble because we’re back on the plane early in the morning.

Some will listen, some won’t. I already overheard a few guys talking about heading to a club a couple blocks away. Jay asked if I was going out, but I told him no, so I assume he is.

In my room, I drop to the bed and call my mom to check in with her. After a quick conversation, my stomach growls, so I Google a nearby pizza place and decide to order from there. Twenty-five minutes later, I’m in the lobby paying the delivery guy and taking my extra large pizza box.

Passing by the front desk, I hear the clerk say, “I’m sorry. All the restaurants are closed right now. Room service is available but it’s a limited menu.”

My eyes find Trevor on the other side as he thanks her and turns around to find me. His eyes travel to the box in my hands and then back to my face.

“If you can get over yourself, I’m in room 328. I have more than enough to share.”

“I can order my own,” he grumbles.

“They close in ten minutes.”

I keep walking until I hit the elevators, but he doesn’t join me. I’m in my room for twenty minutes, and half the pizza is gone before I hear a knock at the door.

When I pull it open, Trevor wears a look of annoyance already. I’m assuming at himself for actually showing up.

“Hey there.”

“I’m only here because I don’t want a fruit bowl, pickles, or a sad ham sandwich from room service.”

I snort. “Right. Okay.” I let him walk past me before I close the door. “Because there are no other food places open in Pennsylvania.”

He spins around. “You want me to go?”

“No, I don’t. There’s a microwave if you want to heat some up.”

I sit on the bed, my back against the headboard as my legs stretch almost to the end of the mattress while I flip through the channels. Trevor takes a slice from the box next to me and awkwardly stands near the bed, facing the TV.

“Just sit on the bed, Campbell. I won’t bite.”

He mutters something before sitting on the edge. I let him scarf down two slices before I speak up again.

“You ready to talk?”

“About what?”

“You tryin’ to act like we have nothing to talk about?”

He sighs. “Fine. But you go first.”