Page 35 of End Game

“I’ll still be at all of the games,” I remind her. I’m there for Diana—not for her.

She makes a face. “I’d really rather you weren’t.”

“That’s not your call.”

“You distract her,” she says.

“I support her. I’m there to cheer her on.”

“Is that what you’re doing?” she asks. “Or are you just lying to yourself?”

Chapter 12

Diana

School falls into a routine—a grueling course load with afternoons dotted by soccer practice and dinners with Barrett and his friends, mandatory workouts, and silent dinners with my teammates where nobody so much as acknowledges me at the house. We have an away game at Providence, and I room with Robin who doesn’t speak to me the entire time, and of course we lose, so everyone’s in a stellar mood on the bus ride home.

When we get back on Saturday afternoon, it’s halfway through Barrett’s game at Northern Maine, which isn’t televised outside of the city limits of Presque Isle, so I can’t even watch him play, and that puts me in an even worse mood. He wins his game, at least.

Sam texts me after the game ends, and Sunday after lunch, we meet up at the football training center to wait for the buses to pull in. Mackenzie, Miles’s sister, has joined us to make an awkward trio.

I’m not sure what to make of Sam. Though she’s been friendly enough to my face, this is the first time she’s reached out to me to initiate a conversation in my three weeks on campus. Then again, we don’t really have anything in common outside of my friendship and her relationship with the football players.

Mason and I at least have half a dozen things in common: being biracial, transfer students, psych majors… I like her so far, we have breakfast together a few days a week, and I like Tucker after sitting beside him in class for three weeks. I’m making friends in my own right. I’m trying to make friends. I don’t want Barrett to freak out and think I’m stealing all of his toys for myself.

There are about a dozen or so other people waiting for the guys, mostly women about our age, although there is an older male couple that are probably someone’s parents and a few photographers who look to be from the school paper.

Barrett steps off the bus. I know the second he sees me because his face erupts into an ear to ear smile. Instead of following everyone to the underbelly of the bus for his bag, he makes his way over to me. Before I know what’s happening, he tugs me forward into a sweaty hug.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” he says, his face pressed into my hair. “Missed you.”

My chest pangs. “Me, too.”

It’s funny how we survived so many years of long distance friendship so easily with regular phone calls, texting, and the occasional video chat, but now that we’re getting used to spending time together every day, four days away from each other is too much. Even with texting constantly on first my road trip and then his, it’s not the same as being together in person. Seeing him again, being in his presence, all of my worries and anxieties melt away. It’s like a sense of calm has settled over me, soothing my ruffled feathers in one slow exhale. I can do anything as long as I have Barrett by my side.

“Yo! Zhang!” a voice calls. “Come get your shit!”

He sighs. “Be right back.”

Slowly, he steps back and disentangles his limbs from mine. Beside us, Sam and Miles are making out, his hands buried in her hair. Tucker has his hands in his pockets, looking forlorn—Mason is at track practice, so she couldn’t greet him off the bus. Behind him are Wes, Amir, and Greg, who each have duffle bags thrown over their shoulders.

“How was your trip?”

“Fine,” Greg says, scratching at his beard. “You should have been there.”

I laugh. “I was a little busy this weekend.”

He gives me a toothy grin. “Not too busy to come greet us off the bus, I notice.”

Barrett jogs over to us. When he reaches our little semi-circle, he slings his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go home, yeah?”

“Movie night?” Amir says.

“How do you feel about Chinese? Or would you rather have pizza?” Barrett turns to me.

“Don’t ask me. I’m not in charge here.”