chapter forty six
——mackenzie's pov
february 10th, 2020

thirty seconds left in the first half. sweat dripped down the back of my neck. my pulse pounded in my ears, muting the sounds of the crowd. the ball was in my hands. i looked left. i looked right. the valley players were freaking everywhere, blocking out my teammates, practically tackling them to the floor. i dribbled twice for good measure, stalling. what should i do? what the hell should i do? take the shot from here? take the ball to the net? make the pass? what, what, what?

twenty seconds left. my eyes darted around the gym. coach screaming to make the play. the players from rutgers on their feet. my mom, dad, and john, sitting together, cheering like crazy. ethan shouting his head off. it was too much. i had to focus. we needed a score to go into halftime up. we needed a score now.

suddenly madeline slipped away from her defender. i saw her long arm reach out toward the sideline. i looked away from her to the left, trying to fake out the girl guarding me, and tossed it to madeline. the girl cursed under her breath as she lost her balance and her fingertips grazed the shiny wood floor. madeline turned. set up the shot. let it fly.

"go, maddy!" i heard kylie scream.
i hadn't even realized she was here.
"get back!" i heard my coach scream.
the buzzer sounded, and the ball swished through the net.

"three points at the buzzer!" the announcer called out. "and the score at halftime: west morris, twenty-three; alley, twenty-one."

i ran over and gave madeline a half hug as we joined the rest of the team by the bench. the rutgers coach was on her feet along with my two soon to be teammates, cheering for me. our ball girl handed out gatorade. i tried to catch my breath. tried not to grin too hugely. the hordes emptied out down the bleachers and toward the door, going for the snack bar while the cheerleaders launched into their halftime routine. kylie and tyler were on the bottom bench. he whispered something to her and got up. right then, just as coach was saying something about stepping up the offense in the second half, ethan trudged down the bleachers and slammed tyler's shoulder from behind with the full force of his body.

no. no, no, no. not now. please not now.

and suddenly the entire world zipped into focus. tyler whirled around and slammed his fist into ethan's jaw. kylie and i both screamed. everyone scattered away from them like ripples from a tossed rock, moving up the bleachers, across, toward the door. except grayson, who was trying to get ethan off of tyler. ethan recovered and threw himself on top of tyler, and then they were both on the floor, wailing on each other like rabid animals. i saw hammond run back up the stairs, pulling tyler as kylie erupted in tears.

"ethan! stop it!" i shouted, starting across the gym floor, my eyes watery. blood, i wasn't sure whose, splurted across the boards.
"ryan, don't."
coach prescott's hand was on my shoulder.
"what?" i looked over at her, confused and terrified.
"they're watching," she said, giving a surreptitious nod toward the stands.

my throat went dry. i didn't completely understand why it mattered that my college coach and teammates were eyeing me, what that had to do with the fact that my boyfriend was staging an impromptu wrestling meet as a halftime show, but i decided to trust coach and didn't move. seconds later, i understood. two uniformed cops descended on the mess of flailing arms and legs and fists and feet and tore tyler and ethan apart. blood seeped from a gash across the bridge of ethan's nose. tyler's eye was already turning purple. i glanced up at the rutgers coach and held my breath. if she'd seen me go over there, she would have drawn so many conclusions. conclusions about who i was, whom i chose to spend my time with. right now, ethan looked like a psychotic loser with a violent streak, ready to go postal at any moment. if i had ran to his side, she would have forever associated me with him. coach prescott had just saved my ass.

"thanks, coach," i said, my eyes filling with tears as the police hauled both ethan and tyler outside through one of the side doors. madeline put her arm around my waist as we turned back toward the huddle.
"holy shit," she said under her breath.

"tell me about it." i glanced back again. i couldn't help it. "do you think he's okay?"
"who cares?" madeline said. "fuck him. this is the biggest game of your life and he pulls that shit? don't let it distract you."
"as much as i don't appreciate the language, taine's right," coach prescott said. she looked around the circle, meeting everyone's eyes solemnly. "as far as i'm concerned, that didn't just happen. everyone needs to stay focused. we can win this thing if we get them on their heels, but i need everyone's heads in the game." she looked me dead in the eye. "nowhere else."

the rest of the team turned to look at me, and my fingers curled into fists. In that moment, i hated ethan. i couldn't help it. madeline was right. he should have known this was a huge night for me. he should have thought about that for five seconds before making a spectacle of himself and distracting me. but no. it was far more important for him to mess with tyler and kylie yet again. and now i had my teammates doubting me, doubting my focus.

"are you with us, ryan?" coach asked.
"i'm with you, coach," i said, clenching my jaw. "let's beat these losers."

the team cheered and clapped, several of them slapping me on the back, and we got down to our game plan and what plays to use. from that moment on, ethan was no longer an issue. he wasn't even on my radar, and i think i'm going to have to keep it that way.

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teaser: something big happens

THE NEXT CHAPTER HAS BEEN DONE EVER SINCE I STARTED SUMMERTIME SADNESS. when should i update ;)
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i love you all<3
[1072 words]
-m
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