Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106772 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
After the starting lineup was announced, we all stood for the national anthem, and then it was time for the tip-off. Before I sent the guys out there, we huddled up. “This is a big game with big emotions. We’re going up against our friends, and regardless of the outcome, we’ll still be friends. Go out, play your game the way you know how.” We raised our fists.
“Timberwolves on three. One, two, three,” Malik said before the five of them walked onto the court.
I sat and set my clipboard on the bench next to me. After tip-off, I would stand and pace the length of the coach’s box, guiding the boys. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind they knew the plays and the defensive schemes, but they were kids, and they forgot sometimes. It was my job as their coach to give them reminders.
The whistle blew, and the official walked to center court and tossed the ball in the air. Cutter jumped, his fingertips knocking the ball back to Malik. The game was underway, and while my focus should have been on the boys, my eyes drifted across the court to where the woman with Cutter’s sister was. She had her camera up, her hand moving along with the action of the game.
Jerome elbowed me. I looked at him, and he motioned toward the other end of the court. The official jogged toward the center, where the reporting table was, and reported the foul. I groaned when he displayed Malik’s number on his fingers.
I stood and clapped. “Let’s go. Hands off and slide your feet.” I had no idea what Malik had done because my attention was elsewhere. “No more,” I muttered to myself. If anyone heard me, my statement could easily have been for the team as well. But mostly, it was for me. Whoever was here for Cutter shouldn’t have been any of my concern.
Despite the wild thumping my heart did each time I looked over at her, I could easily chalk the sensation up to the excitement of game night.
Yep, that’s exactly what it was.
Chapter 5
Antonia
I kept Miri updated throughout the game, each time Cutter scored or did something I thought was good. I didn’t know crap about basketball, but almost everyone cheered for Grove Hill. And each time I texted Brendan with a video or the score, he said the game was close. All I knew was Cutter scored a lot, and Nova and I clapped a lot.
After the game, we waited in the gym for Cutter to come out from the locker room. When he did, Nova ran toward him. He scooped her up and lifted her toward the basketball rim. She hung there for a second, sending my heart to the floor and back up again.
“You look scared,” he said when he approached me.
“I was afraid you were going to drop her.”
“Nah, I do it all the time. Did you take any videos?”
I nodded and considered handing my phone over so he could look through them, but I didn’t want him to inadvertently see any texts from his mom. I hated lying to him, but he and Nova didn’t need to worry about their mom right now. I was doing enough of that for everyone.
“Come on, let’s go home.” I put my arm through the crook of his.
“Everyone’s going out for ice cream,” Cutter said as we walked out of the gym. “Do you think I could go?”
I was positive Miriam would let him go, but she knew the kids and their parents and knew who to trust. I didn’t.
“What time would I have to pick you up?” I worried about Nova. She needed her sleep. Cutter did as well, but being nine years older than her, he could manage.
“Coach Schmidt could bring me home,” Cutter said. “He lives down the street from us.”
Cutter’s face fell when he saw me grimace. I wanted to say yes but felt uncomfortable doing so. I didn’t know his coach, and Miri had never mentioned him. That didn’t mean she wasn’t a fan; he just wasn’t someone we’d ever chatted about.
Nova tugged on the corner of my jacket. I looked down at her. Her wide, expressive hazel eyes bored into mine. She waggled her index finger at me. I bent and listened.
She cupped my ear and whispered, “Can I go for ice cream?”
I did the same. “Why are you whispering?”
“Because Cutter gets pissy if I go.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t say ‘pissy,’ and yes, we’ll go for ice cream.” I rose to my full height and nodded at Cutter. “How about we all go, but Nova and I will sit far away from you and the team?”
Cutter smirked. “It’s not that serious.”
Brat.
Miri had mentioned his attitude and that he was at times defiant and snarky. I’d reminded her that I’d been the same way with my parents, and this was a stage most of us went through. Everyone but her. She never would’ve dared to cross her parents. The repercussions would have been far too grave, evident by the fact that she hadn’t seen them since she was seventeen.