Damaged Mate

21

“I—u-uh.” I quickly shoved away, regretting it instantly as my back hit the ground. “Ouch.”

Clyde hung over me with a smirk set on his face. “Nice landing, Safety Patrol.”

Much to my surprise, he then offered me a hand. I just stared at it from the ground, arms crossed tightly over my chest.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” he groaned. “I’m trying to be nice, here.”

I responded with a scowl.

“What? You want me to say I’m sorry?” Clyde rolled his eyes, letting out another dramatic sigh. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry.”

I squinted my eyes, scowl darkening further. “Are you actually sorry, or did Trevor make you say you’re sorry?”

Clyde threw his hands up in the air, a frustrated snarl escaping his lips. I’d totally hit the nail on the head. “Okay, fine! I’ll just keep being a jerk, then. And you can keep laying on the ground like an absolute idiot.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t be laying on the ground if you didn’t start this!” I scrambled to my feet, staring straight at him with an angry huff. “Seriously, what did I do to earn your wrath? Do you really hate my dad that much?”

Clyde looked somewhat taken aback. “I—he’s everything I stand against. You can’t expect me to not to be constantly on edge around him. Aiden might’ve brainwashed others, but not me and Vanessa. Your dad’s a menace, end of story.”

I shook my head, unable to hold back a lifeless chuckle. “You are amazing. Truly, the epitome of backwoods paranoia.”

“It’s how we’ve survived this long,” Clyde growled, his shoulders straightening. “And if you wanna stay here, you’d better get used to it.”

“I don’t have to get used to anything,” I snapped back. “I didn’t do anything, and neither did my dad. If anything, he’s probably helped keep this stupid town afloat!”

That intense look flashed across Clyde’s eyes once more. He looked ready to snap my neck, hands clenching tightly at his sides. “God, I should’ve let Vanessa tear you to shreds back there.”

A heavy silence hung between us, his expression falling at my blank reaction. Then, something registers on Clyde’s face as he lifts his trembling hands. In our impromptu dip, he’d gotten his hands on my phone. His eyes flicked to it, then lingered, finally catching what I’d been looking at for nearly a week now.

“I…” my voice croaked out, brain completely shutting down as the world crashed around me.

Clyde looked just as broken, still holding the phone and occasionally casting a look my way. We must have looked like a pair of dumbfounded idiots, like someone had just told us Santa Claus was real.

Even with the caterwauling of the other guys coming back for practice, we remained frozen in place.

“Clyde, quit bugging Aria.” Aiden’s hand pressed against my shoulders, but I barely felt it. “I’d actually like to get through a practice this time.”

Amazingly, Clyde was speechless.

Aiden’s brow rose slightly, a slight smirk crossing his face. “Wow. You gotta teach me that trick, Aria. I’ve never seen him so stunned.”

To be fair, I was equally so. It was like the floodgates had burst; I had a million questions and literally no time to ask them. But then, my saving grace came in the form of a disgruntled Noah, skulking back through the gym entrance with his phone in hand.

“Noah, Clyde and I can walk your brother home!” I suddenly called out.

Some semblance of focus came back to Clyde’s eyes as he blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” Noah asked. “Did I seriously miss that much while I was gone?”

Crap. I’d opened my mouth without thinking this through.

Then, much to my amazement, Clyde swooped in with a save. “I—yeah, I gotta stop by the elementary school, anyway. Mom wants me to drop off some stupid thank-you present to Miss Emmery for a cake recipe; she’ll kill me if she finds out I procrastinated this long.”

Noah stared at the two of us, long and hard.

“I don’t trust him to not run off,” I added hastily. “So I told him he’s stuck with me, just to make sure he does it.”

“Which is stupid,” he put in with a scoff. “I’m the absolute foundation for this team; you guys would be lost without me.”

Whatever tension hung between us was immediately lifted as Aiden let out a snort. “And yet, somehow, you’re not team captain. Strange how that works.”

Clyde flashed him a scowl, immediately shifting Noah’s confused look back to general concern.

“Okay, okay, please don’t, you two.” He glanced at his phone, then back up at me. “I mean, it’s a bit of a weird ask… I’d protest at doing it right now, but I’d really like the extra drill time with the guys. No offense,” he added sheepishly, “but you’re not entirely up-to-date with our play guide.”

“I certainly am not,” I agreed eagerly. “So let us handle this.”

“Yeah, Coach.” Clyde grinned. “You can trust us with your little bro.”

Noah made a slight face. “I trust you as far as I can throw you, Clyde. But I do trust Aria. So… yeah, okay. Kinda weird, but I won’t turn it down.”

“Great! We’ll be back in a flash; don’t you kids have too much fun while we’re gone!” Without even waiting for me to speak, Clyde grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the door, my legs flapping like wet noodles in an attempt to keep up. All the while, Aiden fixed me with a strange look, as if unsure I hadn’t been forced into this.

“I’ll call you later,” I mouthed, motioning the universal sign for a telephone before barreling through the gym’s double doors.