Meant To Be (The Callahans #4) - Monica Murphy Page 0,58
food or attention from a pretty girl.”
I let Mom’s words sink in, wishing I could deny them.
Knowing that she’s right.
“Our community is small, and I’ve heard the rumors about his parents before. It was an asshole move, what your brother said to him that night.” My mouth drops open in shock. “What? It’s true. It was a low blow, and what Jake said devastated that boy. Jake knew where to hit him where it hurts. We’re smug in the fact that we love each other. We take care of each other. You have your entire family who loves you, no matter what. And it looks like you have a handsome boy who loves you too. He watches you with stars in his eyes,” Mom says, making me blush.
“I love him too,” I confess.
“Just make sure he’s not here because of something else.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t doubt that he cares about you, but he might be a little starstruck too, if you know what I mean.” She glances to her left, and I follow, seeing Eli talking excitedly to my father as he helps Dad clean up his chicken mess.
“He’s not using me to get close to Dad,” I say weakly.
“I hope not,” Mom says, her tone ominous.
Her words, her tone, they stick with me long after we finish cleaning up, and we’re headed to the stadium.
Sixteen
Ava
It’s cold out and the game seems to go on forever. Early October around here is full of warm days and cool nights. At home, it’s even cooler. But we’re currently about an hour away from home and about three thousand feet lower in elevation, which makes a difference.
I slipped on my sweatshirt once the sun went down, and there was a look of total relief on Eli’s face when he saw what was on the front of my sweatshirt.
“I thought it was a Badgers hoodie,” he says.
I glance down at the red letters spelling out Bulldogs on the front. “Navy is their color too.”
“I guess I forgot.” He shrugs. Returns his attention to the field.
Where it’s been all night.
I never thought I could say I was jealous over a football team, but I am. Football has always been a part of my life, since the day I was born. When your father is a famous NFL player, you know this, but it doesn’t hit you until you’re older. It’s just a part of your life. Something you can’t change, so you have to live with it.
How I dealt with it? By ignoring that part of our life for the most part. Until recently. Until now. Cheering for our high school team? I have to care. Dating a boy who loves the game? Thrusts me right into it, kicking and screaming.
Eli is literally sitting on the edge of his seat, his gaze locked on the players out on the field. “You think he’s gonna throw it?” he asks no one in particular, referring to Ash. The Bulldogs are leading, but their time is almost up with the ball. And there’s still enough time on the clock for the opposing team to score and get ahead.
“No way,” Jake answers with finality, surprising me he’d respond to Eli in the first place. “If he makes a mistake, they could intercept it.”
“He’ll throw it,” Dad says with that easy confidence he has. Like he can read players’ minds without knowing them at all. It’s an eerie, sixth sense trick of his, and he’s always used it to his advantage.
Ash does indeed throw the ball. And one of his receivers catches it with ease, speeding up as he runs it into the end zone. The entire stadium erupts in cheers, and every member of my family rises to their feet, including Eli.
Excluding me. And when I realize they’re all standing, I jump to my feet too, yelling and clapping, trying to look enthusiastic. But I’m tired. Dead on my feet.
I just want to go home.
“Did you see that?” Eli asks me once we’re back in our seats. His entire body is practically vibrating. He’s so excited by that last play, and his expression is downright boyish. Staring at him in this moment, I feel like I know exactly what he looked like when he was eight. I’ve always thought he has a bit of a baby face, though it’s more man than boy now. And there was nothing boyish about the way he treated me and the things we did earlier. “What a fuckin’ play.”