Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
"You were right," it said.
Neil put the note in his desk drawer and went to bed. There was no point wondering about it when they'd be awake in five hours, so he pushed his thoughts aside and willed himself to sleep. It seemed like he'd just closed his eyes when his alarm went off. Neil rolled over to turn it off and almost groaned at how sore he was. He'd have to scale it back at practice today or Wymack would ream him out.
Matt had his shoes on before he was awake enough to talk. He went still with the knots half-done and looked at Neil. "You were right. They made a promise. Aaron and Andrew, I mean. That's what Aaron told Katelyn, anyway. Aaron cut a deal with Andrew at juvie: if Andrew stuck with him until graduation, Aaron would stick with Andrew. No friends, no girlfriends, nothing. Aaron couldn't even socialize with his teammates."
Neil combed his fingers through his hair and tested the bandage on his cheek. "Aaron would have meant high school graduation. They renewed it when they signed a contract to play here."
"Now Katelyn's in the picture, but Aaron won't fight for her." Matt shook his head and finished tying his shoes. "Katelyn told Dan what Andrew did to Aaron's high school exes. If Katelyn's not afraid of Andrew, she's not safe from him. Is Andrew really that crazy that he'd lash out against someone so important to Aaron?"
"Aaron made a promise," Neil said, choosing his words carefully. "Andrew will make him keep it. It's not as crazy as it sounds."
Neil had almost forgotten how blind the upperclassmen were to the twins' issues. He hadn't figured it out until his second trip to Eden's Twilight, but now the cold war between them was achingly obvious. Katelyn's importance to Aaron was what put her in danger. If Aaron wouldn't fight for her, was it because he was too afraid to stand up to his brother or did he really think he had more to gain by playing along?
More importantly, why did Andrew agree to extend the deal? Was he still punishing Aaron for siding with their mother, or did he think enough time would make a difference? The latter seemed far-fetched, but Neil was inclined to believe it. When Drake left Andrew a concussed and bloody wreck in Columbia, the only thing that mattered to Andrew, the only person he needed to see, was Aaron. His own trauma was inconsequential; he'd cared about the blood splattered across Aaron's skin.
Andrew and Aaron had done this to each other, and they were locked in stalemate. They were unwilling to reach out and unable to let go. November should have been the catalyst, but Aaron's arrest and Andrew's exile to Easthaven meant they'd recovered from that nightmare away from each other. Andrew had been back a week now, and Neil was positive the two hadn't talked about that night yet, same as they'd never talked through the reasons behind Tilda Minyard's death.
Aaron would ignore Neil if he brought it up and Neil didn't have a big enough secret to talk Andrew into reaching out to Aaron. Kevin wouldn't get involved and Andrew would just brush Nicky off if he tried. Wymack had promised to stay out of their personal problems, though he'd toed that line the other day for the sake of his team's safety. Renee might hold Andrew's attention long enough to plant a thought toward reconciliation, but Aaron had absolutely no interest in anything Renee had to say.
That left few options, and Neil had deleted Betsy Dobson's number out of his phone the same day Andrew programmed her in as an emergency contact. Aaron said he didn't talk to Betsy, but he had to have picked up on Andrew's attachment to her. Maybe he would let her mediate in a confidential setting. If he refused, Katelyn could give him the final push he needed. Getting Andrew to agree to it would be the real trick. Even if sobriety hadn't dimmed his opinion of Betsy, convincing him to open up to Aaron about all of this would be borderline impossible.
Idly he wondered if Betsy even knew the brothers had issues.
"Neil?"
Neil glanced up to see Matt hovering in the bedroom doorway. He hadn't even noticed Matt leave the room, too caught up in his thoughts. Matt looked a bit perplexed to find Neil right where he'd left him.
"You good? We gotta go."
If Neil was late to practice twice in a row Kevin would probably bench him out of spite. Neil scooped his keys off his dresser. "I'm good. Did Dan give you Aaron's new tutor schedule?" When Matt nodded, Neil said, "I changed my mind. I'll deal with him. I've got an idea."
Matt forwarded the text to Neil while Neil locked the suite door behind them. Neil felt his phone buzz in his pocket but let it sit unread on the way to the stadium. His screen was too small for anyone to read the message over his shoulder, but Nicky would want to know who was texting Neil this early in the day. Neil would have to get Betsy's and Katelyn's numbers later. If he was lucky Dan had both of them in her phone.
They spent morning practice doing strength circuits at the gym. Neil rode back with Andrew's lot but stopped by the girls' room to get his bruises touched up. He was looking better a week out of Riko's reach but he'd need to cover up for a couple more days. Long after everything healed Neil would have a bandage on his face, though, and he still hadn't told the upperclassmen what he was hiding from them. Neil thought about it as Allison worked on him. Andrew's lot and the staff knew, which meant there was no point in hiding it anymore.
"Allison," he said, a warning that he was about to move.
She drew her hand back a bit, and Neil reached up to the tape on his face. He didn't know where it was safe to touch, since his cheek felt cold all over from her concealer. Allison understood what he was trying to do, though, and swatted his hand out of the way. She snagged the edge of the tape with her long fingernails and pried the bandage off in one smooth move.