Shattered (Shattered #1) (5 page)

 
Nick had put his jeans on and was riffling
through our clothes as he looked for his shirt. When he found it, he yanked
over his head.

“I can’t believe that
you think that you can convince me to go because of that,” he pointed at the
spot on the mattress that he’d just vacated. “I’d do anything for you, but I
guess it’s not the same for you as it is for me.”

“What are you saying?”
my lip began to quiver as he turned toward my door.

“I can’t just up and
leave. I have a family here. One that needs me. I gave up so much for you, and
yet you’re going to walk away from all of it for this,” he ground out.

“I didn’t ask you to
give up football,” I jumped from the bed wrapping the sheet around me. “You
decided that all on your own.”

“That’s the point,” he
shook his head. “I gave it up for you without you even asking me to. I love
you, but I guess it isn’t enough.”

“Isn’t?” my lower lip trembled.

“Goodbye Leah,” he
sighed as he stepped through my door for the last time.

“Hey,” Avery nudged me in the side. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled. “Just battling memories. “So…who’s the guy in your
life that sucks right now?” I grinned.

“There isn’t one,” she giggled. “I just knew you’d need this.”

I turned to look her in the eyes, Avery was a terrible liar. I felt a
sudden pang of sorrow run through me as I thought about the fact that she’d
been so wrapped up in me these last two days. I had yet to ask her about her
problems.

“Oh come on. I know you have to be dating someone. Unload on me. I need
it,” I pushed her in the side playfully.

“Seeing someone, yes…dating them, no,” she giggled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I shook my head in confusion.

“It’s means that we hang out. We have a good time. You have wild sex…but
we’re not dating,” she shrugged.

“What?” I gasped. “Avery you harlot.”

“It’s easier that way. No one gets hurt and we both get what we need,”
she put her glass down and turned on the couch to face me. “Really…I’m the one
that came up with this arrangement. I’m ok with it. He serves his purpose and
neither of us is going to get hurt this way.”

“I just never pictured you in a relationship like that,” I mumbled.

“Well, it’s not really a relationship per se. I promise…I’ll tell you if
things change.”

“So who is he?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Do you remember Logan from the basketball team?”

“Oh my god. Logan Masters. That’s who you’re fucking?”

“Yep,” she popped the P. “He’s good at it too,” she giggled.

“Avery Southerland I never thought I’d see the day. Logan was such a
player. I hope you’re protecting yourself. No telling what he might have caught
from the cheerleading squad.”

“Oh trust me...I’m being very careful,” she winked. “Several times a
week sometimes.”

“Avery,” I gasped.

“Hey…when you and Nick finally work your shit out, come find me. I wanna
know what it’s like to do it on his desk,” she elbowed me and grinned.

“I think my days of sleeping with Nick are over. Sorry to disappoint
you,” I shook my head and stood. “I gotta get to bed. First day tomorrow and all.
I need to get some sleep, although after what you just told me I don’t know if
I’ll be able to.”

“Sweet dream Leah. Tell Nick I said hi when you see him tonight,” she
teased.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you Avery,” I groaned as I made
my way into my room.

As I undressed and climbed into bed, I knew sleep would evade me. I knew
that Nick would permeate my thoughts just like he had the last five years.
After seeing him this morning, and getting a visual of what I’d missed, I knew
my dreams would be that much clearer. Nick no longer looked like the nineteen
year old I’d left. His body had grown into the man I once knew he’d become.
Tonight was going to be a long sleepless night.

Chapter 5

Leah

The next day seemed to go by in a blur. The fact that I’d had so little
sleep the night before hadn’t caught up with me yet. With the agreement that
I’d signed with the high school, all I was committed to was coaching. As unfair
as it may have seemed to the other faculty, I wasn’t required to actually teach
any classes.

As I sat in my office that afternoon waiting for the final bell to ring,
I had begun putting together a practice routine. I had no idea what I’d be
working with, and I wanted to get a feel for each team member. The stats from
the previous season were scattered on my desk, and I had charts tacked up on
the wall of who did what for the team. There were a few standouts that seemed
to be all over the place. Chelsea Tucker had qualifying times in both distance
and sprinting events, which made no sense to me. When a runner trains, they
usually do one or the other…not both. I picked up my clipboard and made a note
to talk to her about this. Another runner that stood out was Jessi Marron. She
was a freshman that already had colleges scouting her. I’d heard the name
mentioned from some of the trainers I’d worked with and was blown away at the
fact that she was so young. I mean…this sounded like the next version of me.

As I paced the small office writing down notes, I could hear Nick down
the hall on the phone in his office. When I had arrived at the school this
morning, I’d found out that Nick taught a weight lifting class along with
coaching the varsity football team. Football always had been his dream, and I
guess he was pretty successful at what he was doing. His team had made it to
the conference championships last season, and he had a good chance this year of
returning. Spring training had been going great so far.

I sighed and groaned as I flopped down in the rolling chair behind my
desk. I had to get my head in the game. I could not keep letting Nick invade my
thoughts. I obviously wasn’t in his. I mean…I’d been in here all day, and he
had yet to even stop by and say welcome.

ooooooooo

Nick

“Stay away, stay away, stay away,” I kept chanting this as I sat at my
desk studying playbooks. She was right there. Right down the hall, and nobody
would be coming in here for another thirty minutes. I could sneak down the hall
and into her office, and no one would even know what we were doing. “Get it
together Sutter,” I chastised myself. Leah was not going to ruin what I had
going here. This was my job, my career that I’d worked so hard for. I’d already
had a couple of colleges send me letters asking if I’d consider moving up to
the college level. I mean that would be a dream…to get out of here and coach
for a team like UNC.

I shook my head to clear it as I glanced back down at the playbook.
After staring at the same page for the next twenty minutes, I decided to make
my way outside. It would be okay to watch track practice, right? As long as I
didn’t interrupt what was going on it would be fine, right? What was I saying?
Leah was turning me into some lovesick kid again. I needed to stay away, but
the more I told myself that the harder it was becoming to follow through.

ooooooooo

Without really paying attention to what I was doing, I found myself
standing under the bleachers spying like a horny teenage again. Leah was about
fifty feet away with the girls track team. They were spread out in a circle in
the middle of the track stretching, and she was right there with them.

Coach Wilson had never actually run or stretched with the girls, but I
knew Leah would be right in the mix. There was no way that she would stand on
the sidelines and let the girls workout without her.

As she paced in a large circle around them, she began scanning the clip
board in her hand before tossing it to the ground. “Alright,” she shouted.
“We’re going to do a few warm-up laps and then we’ll break into groups
depending on what you’re hoping to do this season.”

As I stood there watching her, I was amazed at the way she commanded
these girls. The respect that she demanded they show her was nothing short of a
miracle. Leah, my Leah, was standing there in a pair of stretch pants and
t-shirt looking like just another student in group, but the confidence that
poured off her made her stand so much taller than the girl I knew five years
ago.

ooooooooo

Leah

As I walked by the water cooler, I tossed the clip board I was holding
to the ground. I wanted to see what these girls were made of, and I knew I’d
need speed to do it. A few stood there watching me as I pulled my t-shirt over
my head and draped it on a nearby bench. The tank I was wearing underneath,
clung to my body like a uniform. I normally only ran in a sports bra and bike
shorts, but I figured that wasn’t really appropriate attire for a high school
practice.

“Ready?” I glanced over my shoulder at the wide eyes and open mouths of
my team.

They nodded silently as they watched me stretch one final time before heading
the starting line on the track. Most of the girls were humbled by the fact that
they had a once Olympic hopeful coaching them. Everyone except for Chelsea. The
one girl who seemed to have made it her mission to put me in my place. She’d
began barking orders to the team when we started stretching. It was obvious
that she had been last year’s captain, and still thought she was in charge. I
explained to her that we were all starting fresh this year, and I wanted to
speak with her about her events. She was all over the place in her training,
and this was going to cause a lot of trouble for her to be successful. You
simply can’t train to be a sprinter and a distance runner at the same time,
they require different workouts.

“Let’s go!” I motioned for them as I took off in a light jog.

Several of the girls just stood there staring, so I turned around and
starting jogging backward. “Come on,” I waved at them. “Extra laps after
practice if you don’t get your butts up here and run with me.”

A few bright smiles began to spread across the faces I was staring at,
mainly the younger students. Jessi had totally fan-girled on me when practice
had started, and she seemed to be leading the charge now. Chelsea was the only
one who was lagging behind.

I slowed my pace until I was at the back near Chelsea, “You know if you
want to be Captain this year, you have to lead. Leading means being at the
front of the pack.” I pointed to the front of the large group. Chelsea rolled
her eyes at me and began making her way around the group to head to the front
where Jessi was currently residing. “If you want me to respect you, you need
respect me,” I shouted as I followed her. “Now run!” I barked behind them. “I’m
outta shape and injured, I shouldn’t be able to keep up with you guys…run!”

A few of the girls let out some laughter until they saw I was being
serious. It felt good to run again. Those days at the rehab center jogging on
the treadmill were nothing in comparison to being outside on pavement. The wind
whipped through my hair as the bun I’d piled it into fell loose.

We were rounding the last bend and coming back up on what would be the
finish line when Jessi glanced over at me. “Race ya,” she giggled and took off
full bore.

The competitive side of me was not going to let her win. As I cranked it
up a notch, I heard her gleeful laughter as our feet pounded the pavement. It
felt good to let go, but I knew I’d be paying for it tonight. My ankle was
still pretty sore from my last surgery, and I really didn’t wrap it that tight
today. I hadn’t expected to feel like this again. Being back here on this track
where it all started…the only thing that was missing was Nick cheering in the
stands.

When everyone had come to a stop and gotten a drink of water, I divided
them up based on what they had run last year. “If you’re interested in doing
something different, let me know,” I panted lightly as I worked to catch my
breath. “I’m willing to help you in any way I can to get you where you need to
be to be successful. We’re going to have a winning season. I can already tell,”
I laughed as I paced. My ankle was already throbbing, and I knew I’d be taking
an ice bath after practice.

ooooooooo

Nick

As I watched the girls finish up their workouts and begin to head home,
I stood frozen as Leah continued to pace. She seemed to have a slight limp to
her gait, but she was trying hide it. Why I didn’t know, but Leah was never one
to give into pressure or pain. Stand up and fight for what you want had always
been her motto. I watched her compete injured more times than I care to admit.
I’m sure that she knows deep down that she shouldn’t have run with the girls
today, but it’s like it’s burned into her.

Just as I start to turn and head back in the direction of my office, I
see her turn and start jogging again. Is she nuts? I just watched her limp
around and now she’s pushing herself harder? She released an angered growl as
she sped up and ran full out around the track. That was the Leah I remember,
the one that flew like the wind.