Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Animated voices from the end of the hall said the press was still around. Neil crept down the hall to look in, less to see what was going on and more so Dan or Renee would see him and know he was out of their way. Wymack was nowhere in sight, so Neil guessed he'd already given his piece. Renee glanced his way when she spotted movement in the doorway and smiled acknowledgment.
Neil retreated before anyone else spotted him. There weren't a lot of places to hide from the press, but the door to the nurse's office was open an inch. Neil gave it a cautious push and looked inside. Wymack was sitting on the pristine bed with a pack of cigarettes in his hand. Neil took Wymack's nod to be an invitation and slipped inside. He was turning to close the door behind himself when he spotted Wymack's silent companion.
Andrew was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the corner. He hadn't bothered to change out yet, but he'd taken off his helmet and gloves. Abby's travel bag was upended on the ground in front of him. His medicine bottle was open on its side near his hip. A handful of white pills were scattered on the floor around it. Andrew held his prize for the night's efforts in a two-handed, white-knuckled grip: a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. In the ten or so minutes he'd been off the court he'd already inhaled half of the pricey scotch. How he had enough feeling left in his fingers to hold the bottle Neil didn't know.
"Abby and Allison went ahead to the bus," Wymack said. "You can join them or wait here for everyone else."
Neil left the door open a crack behind him so he'd know when the reporters left and claimed the stool closest to the door. He put his bag on the ground at his feet, glanced again at Andrew, and looked up at Wymack.
"Why did you pay for stalls, Coach?"
Wymack lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Maybe I knew you'd need them one day."
Andrew smiled around the mouth of his bottle. "Neil is a walking tragedy."
"You're a pretty pathetic sob story yourself," Wymack said.
Andrew laughed. It was weak, as his medicine hadn't fully kicked in yet, but Neil knew from the sound of it Andrew would be bouncing before they left the parking lot. "I guess so, Coach. That reminds me. I'm staying with you this weekend."
"I don't remember inviting you," Wymack said, but it didn't sound like a no.
"Kevin's going to be so annoying to deal with after tonight." Andrew screwed the bottle closed and put it aside. He repacked Abby's bag with quick efficiency, shoved it out of his way, and got to his feet. "I can stab him again or I can stay with you. The choice is yours."
Wymack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Andrew, I swear to God—"
"Bye, Coach."
Andrew headed for the door, but Neil put a hand in his path. Andrew obediently stopped and sent Neil a bemused look. Neil lowered his hand and said, "How did you do it? How did you know where to go?"
"Coach said Watts always takes his penalty shots to the bottom corner. With the game riding on him he was bound to do the same."
Neil stared at him, startled and disbelieving. Wymack mentioned that during halftime when he was giving the team a rundown of the second half line-up. It'd been an off-the-cuff remark amidst a lot of other information. Neil hadn't thought Andrew was even paying attention to Wymack's spiel. How he remembered that warning well enough to use it at such critical moment, Neil didn't know.
"But," Neil said, but words failed him. Andrew flashed Neil a bright grin and left. Neil turned a frustrated look on Wymack. "I thought he didn't care. They said he didn't, and I finally started believing them, but he couldn't have saved us tonight if he didn't. Right?"
"You figure it out, you let me know," Wymack said.
The press left a couple minutes later, so Neil went to the main room to wait on his teammates. They came in straggling pairs with Dan and Renee the last ones ready to go. Loading the bus was quick work. Getting out of the parking lot was harder, even with police out in droves to manage the post-game traffic. The Fox bus was pelted with more than one crumpled beer can as it crawled through campus. Nicky pulled the window down to yell insults, but Wymack threatened him into silence. Nicky settled for flipping Belmonte students off.
The ride back felt half as long thanks to the heady rush of an unexpected victory. Allison stayed out of the celebration by dozing up front with Abby. The other upperclassmen moved to the middle of the bus so they could discuss the game with Andrew's group. As soon as they did Andrew went up front, more interested in talking Wymack's ear off than rehashing the night's plays. Kevin's tactless criticism was a necessary but unpleasant counterpoint to his teammates' excited recap.
As he listened to them, Neil realized he was happy. It was such an unexpected and unfamiliar feeling he lost track of the conversation for a minute. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this included or safe. It was nice but dangerous. Someone with a past like his, whose very survival depended on secrecy and lies, couldn't afford to let his guard down. But as Nicky laughed and leaned closer to talk about one of Neil's goals, Neil thought maybe he'd be okay just for a night.
CHAPTER FIVE
Neil had a quarter of a million dollars and directions to another half mill hidden in his dormitory room. He and his mother had hit the road with far more than that, but years on the run had whittled away at their stash. What was left was considered a small fortune by most people and a dismal future by Neil. It'd be tricky getting a job when he couldn't give employers his social security number, and every time he moved he needed a new name, a new face, and a new place to live. Costs added up fast.