Page 130 of Almost Rotten

When it’s over, Ty skates to the gate and throws out one arm for support.

Good grief.

He’s clearly in a ton of pain. How can no one else see this?

With a shaky hand, I pull my phone out and shoot off a text.

Sawyer:You need medical attention.

The message is pointless, for now at least. He won’t even look at his phone until he’s showered and changed, but I can’t do nothing. He needs to get checked out.

“Tough loss,” Cam says, her expression gloomy. “Do you want to come out with us tonight?”

I sigh. All I want to do is take a hot shower and stretch out in Mercer’s enormous bed while he plays guitar.

But I have to check on Ty. Or at least make sure Atty has things under control.

“Not tonight,” I say. “I’m gonna wait for the guys, then turn in early. Friday night is the big event at the orchard.”

And for days, I’ve done nothing but work on last-minute details. Even when I sleep, I get no peace, since I’ve been plagued with stress dreams about zombie volunteers trampling the students and participants rolling their ankles on loose cobs of corn.

“It’s going to be great.” She squeezes my shoulders as we shuffle along with the crowd of people evacuating the stands.

“Let’s hang out next week. Once the event is over.”

“For sure,” I promise. “Have fun tonight.”

Arjun falls into step with me as I head to the tunnel to wait for the guys. “All right, Davvies. How are we going to play this? Should I wait with you, or should I hang back so you can pretend to bump into me once you’re with your brother?”

Oh. Right.

“Arjun,” I sigh. “That was a rough game.”

He widens his eyes a little comically. “I’ll say.”

“I don’t think Atty will be in the right headspace for the kind of introduction you’re going for. And my focus right now is on making sure he and Ty are okay.”

His shoulders slump. “Fair enough. You promise to introduce me in the future, though?”

“You’ve literally already met,” I grumble with a roll of my eyes. I slump against the wall across from the locker room, knowing I’ll be out here a while.

Arjun and I say our goodbyes as the hallway fills up with kids hoping to meet the players and women dressed in tank tops and miniskirts, despite how cold the arena is. One girl even has the wordsLucky Wabbitbedazzled across her tits. When I see it, I do a double take to make sure I’m reading it right. I am. That first letter is definitely aW.

I’m zoned out, head resting against the wall, when my phone vibrates in my bag.

Mercer.

Shit. He’s supposed to be picking me up. He’s probably in the parking lot, watching the hordes of people leave, wondering where I am.

I don’t want to upset him, and I’m desperate to get out to the car and back to his place. But I can’t leave without checking on the guys.

I ignore the call to buy myself a bit of time, and hope like hell either Atty or Ty makes an appearance soon.

Less than a minute later, my phone vibrates again. This time I pull it out and read the message preview on the screen.

Mercer:I’m parked near the back door, but I can pull around to the front if you prefer. LMK

I eye the phone, then the locker room door. I’m anxious to get this over with. So much so that I’m tempted to go in and find them myself. But there are too many people hanging around, and the last thing I want to do is embarrass Atty in front of his teammates.