LEOBehind me, Quinn screamed. "Nate!" I heard the pounding of her feet, and I turned to catch her before she could trip and fall on top of him. My heart was thudding in dread, but I held it together enough to grip Quinn's upper arms, giving her a little shake. "Go get help. Do you have your phone? Call 9-1-1, and get-fuck, I don't know-get the school nurse or the principal or someone." Some of the horror cleared from Quinn's eyes, and she nodded, reaching in her back pocket for her phone even as she took off in the direction of the office. Once I was sure she was on her way, I jogged down the stairs to kneel next to Nate, careful not to jostle him as I tried to remember the little bit of first aid training we'd gotten in health class. Don't move him, in case his neck is broken. Bile rose in my throat. Nate was lying at an odd angle, but I didn't think he'd fallen far enough to have snapped his neck. "Taylor, shit, we didn't mean-" Brent was babbling behind me, fear evident in
QUINNI fled down the hallway of the hospital and out the automatic doors into the waning afternoon sun. The air was chilly, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around my waist as I leaned against the bumpy stucco wall. My throat was tight with tears, but dammit, I wasn't going to cry. Not here, not where Leo might see me. I wasn't stupid. I'd known for a long time that this guy who wore my best friend's face and spoke with his voice wasn't the same sweet boy I'd known forever. No matter how much I lied to myself, no matter how many times I searched for any hint that Leo was still in there, it was time to face facts once and for all. Leo wasn't my friend. He wasn't Nate's friend, and even though he'd rescued Nate today, the sooner we accepted that truth, the sooner we could move on. Forget him. Pain held a vice-grip on my heart. For me, losing Leo meant more than just having one less friend. It also spelled the death of the dream that someday, he might be even more. I couldn't rememb
QUINNLeo's eyes darted to mine, pleading. I knew what he was waiting for; he wanted my permission to tell Nate's mother the story the boys had concocted. The lie that was going to let Brent, Karl and Tim get away with what they'd done to Nate. I pressed my lips together, still tasting him there, and although I wasn't at all sure he was right, I gave a little nod."It was those steps by the gym. I guess Nate was heading to the locker room, and ...I don't know, he just fell. I was down the hall and saw him going down, but I couldn't do anything. Couldn't get there in time." Leo rubbed the back of his neck, giving an excellent impression of friend who was suffering from guilt. Or come to think of it, maybe he wasn't acting. "I think he hit his head on the railing. But the doctor said he was going to be okay. They just want to keep an eye on him. We saw him before he went up for a CT scan, and he was awake. He talked to us. They said maybe a mild concussion." "Oh, my God." Sheri close
NATEI'd had some killer headaches in my day, thanks to the side effects of medication and other treatments, but this one was a definite contender for the worst one. I lay in my hospital bed, staring at the ceiling tiles and waiting for the dose of painkiller I'd just been given to take effect. "Nate." Quinn's voice was soft and questioning; she wasn't sure if I were truly awake or not. I steeled myself against the pain and turned my head just a little to track her movement toward me."I'm awake." My voice sounded faraway and kind of slurred. Yeah, maybe those meds were kicking in, after all."My mom and I are going to leave in just a minute. Is there anything ...do you need anything before I go?"I managed a smile. "Nah, I'm good." My lips felt dry and numb, and I licked them, wondering idly if Quinn might be turned off by dry lips. Should I ask her? No, I decided. I shouldn't point out any of my deficiencies, on the off chance she might not notice. "Okay. Well ...I guess I'
LEOBy the time I made it back over to the high school and changed, the afternoon light was gray. Everyone was on the field, running drills, but I stopped on the sidelines where Coach Cramer stood, holding a tablet that looked just like the one the doctor had used at the hospital."Taylor." Coach nodded at me. "Mr. Platten filled me in on where you were. What's the news on the kid?"I shrugged. "Far as I know, doing okay. Doctor said he might have a mild concussion, and they're keeping him overnight, probably." I worked hard to keep the worry out of my voice. This entire afternoon had been a mess, from beginning to end. I wouldn't have minded just forgetting the whole damn day. The image of Quinn's eyes, soft and luminous when she'd looked up at after our kiss, filled my head, reminding me that maybe not all of it had been so bad. But no. Kissing Quinn had been a mistake of monumental proportions, and now I had to figure out an exit strategy. I'd seen the expression on her face ju
LEOI finished the last lap, not breaking stride as I jogged onto the field. Matt met me on the thirty-yard line, punching me in the shoulder. "Heard you had to rescue the gimp, dude. What happened?" I glanced over his shoulder. Tim stood about ten feet away, frowning in my direction. I narrowed my eyes, giving him a steely glare, and then turned back to Matt. "Tell you later, man. Hey, Coach says you warmed up with Simmons. What the fuck, dude, you cheating on me now?"Down the line, Dylan Simmons cracked up, shaking his head. "No worries on my part, Taylor. You and Lampert have something special. Something magical. It's a love for the ages, man. I'm not getting in the way of that.""Damn straight!" Lampert wrapped his arms around my middle and tried to haul me up. "We're like Romeo and fucking Juliet." Without pausing for breath, he added, "Dibs on being Romeo.""No problem, Houdini. You keep delivering your balls right into my waiting hands, and I'll be your Juliet every tim
QUINNI hadn't expected to hear from Leo that night after he'd kissed me. Not really. Yes, I'd kept my phone in my pocket and then on my nightstand, and yes, I'd checked the volume and made sure the ringer was turned on about every fifteen minutes or so. But it hadn't surprised me when the phone stayed silent. It hadn't surprised me, but it had hurt. I'd already planned to go to the football game the next day. I went to every game, and I knew my parents wouldn't think twice about me heading there today. I'd texted with Sheri that morning and learned that the doctors wanted to keep Nate one more day, because he was still in a great deal of pain. I could almost feel her anxiety through the phone, even though she assured me that it was nothing to worry about. Go have fun today at the game. Give Leo a hug from me and scream for him like I do, LOL. I'll tell Nate you'll see him later. It felt weird to climb to the upper bleachers on my own, since usually I stuck to the first row, t
QUINNMy eyes rested on Leo's back as he stood in the huddle just before they broke and lined up for the next play. I focused on him and him alone, sending him vibes of support. As though that made a difference, Matt managed to get free long enough to fire off a spiral. We all held our breath as it soared, arcing down into Leo's waiting arms as though there'd never been any doubt that he was going to catch it. Unfortunately, even though the completed pass gave the Eagles at first down, they couldn't push forward into the end zone. We all had to settle for the unsatisfactory second-best of field goal, which Beau made with beautiful precision. The half ended just after the ball went through the uprights, and the Eagles ran into the locker room leading three to zip."Do you want anything from the concession?" Jake stood up, stretching. I watched him, trying to look at him through eyes that didn't only see Leo. Yeah, Jake was cute, in a geeky, hipster sort of way. His reddish-brown ha