The Promises We Keep (Made for Love Book 1) (107 page)

Grayson looks like crap. I
’
m guessing, based off of his appearance and Avery
’
s behavior, that he
’
s in the dog house.
Now I
’
m even
more
curious as to what happened.
Through the duration of the concert, his eyes are trained on Ave. He doesn
’
t move a muscle. I would know, as I am his neighbor. But just after the last piece, he gets up and leaves. I reach over Sarah to tap Beckham, signaling that we
’
re suddenly a man down, and he goes to chase after him
—
but when he comes back, he
’
s alone and all he can offer is a shrug.

Guess our plan didn
’
t work out the way we had hoped
.

After Beck takes the rest of us home, I decide to wait up for Avery. It
’
s time someone got the truth out of one of them. I
’
m in my room when she arrives and she announces herself by way of slamming the door. I shake my head as I go and meet her. She
’
s in the process of slamming her bedroom door with her foot when I stop it with my hand.

“
AJ
—
you
’
ve got to stop with the doors. Honestly.
”

“
Sorry,
”
she mutters. I crawl onto her bed and snatch up one of her throw pillows, making myself comfortable while she starts changing her clothes. She
’
s been showering, which is good, but she has yet to wash her hair since Tuesday before the
incident
.
“
So, did you need something?
”

She sounds tired. I
’
m not surprised. Being continuously angry and sad is draining.
“
Yeah, I need my sister to talk to me. Think we could make that happen?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
she says with a sigh.

All of her clothes end up in a pile on the floor before she pulls on one of Grayson
’
s shirts.
And he thinks she wants to break up with him? Like I said, delusional.

“
He was there, you know? At the concert.
”
She turns to face me and I watch as her eyes fill with tears. I pat the bed, indicating that she should sit beside me. She does so without further encouragement.
“
He couldn
’
t keep his eyes off of you. You guys love each other so much
—
but I promise it
’
s easier if you don
’
t shut each other out.
”

“
But he
’
s the one who owes me an apology! He
’
s being a total jerk.
”

“
Have you given him a chance to apologize?
”
I ask tentatively.

She huffs out a breath and folds her arms across her chest defiantly.
“
He
’
s texted me
one
time.
One time,
Addie! He obviously thinks he has nothing to apologize for.
”

“
Oh, honey,
”
I murmur, reaching out to fidget with her braid.
“
It
’
s not as simple as all that. Sometimes you have to make the first move even when you don
’
t think you should have to. It
’
s not fair, and I get that, but it
’
s just the way that it is.
”

“
He hurt me, AJ. And every day that goes by without a word from him hurts me even more. When he was upset with me, I texted him a million times and called him every day.
”

“
He
’
s not you,
”
I remind her.
“
And I don
’
t know what happened, but I know he feels really bad about it because he looks awful
—
so you can
’
t judge the way he feels by comparing his reaction to
this
conflict to how you
’
ve reacted in the past.
”

Her tears come back, only this time with a vengeance.
“
We promised each other that we wouldn
’
t do this again and yet here we are, not speaking to one another,
”
she cries.
“
And I don
’
t know what to do. I don
’
t know what he
’
s thinking or feeling and what if
he
’
s
mad at
me
too? It
’
s possible
—
and if he is, then I really don
’
t know what to do. It
’
s like
…
it
’
s like he
’
s becoming someone else, or something. I don
’
t know. It
’
s hard to explain.
”

“
Maybe I
’
d understand if you told me what happened
…”

She shakes her head before she lays down and rests her head in my lap.
“
I don
’
t want to talk about it.
”

“
Oh, Ave. Will you please call him, then?
Please?
”

Her answer comes by way of a sob. She
’
s not ready. As frustrating as that might be to everyone else, it
’
s her heart that
’
s hurting and no one can make her do something she
’
s not ready to do. So instead, I rub her back as she cries herself to sleep.

I
’
m surprised that no one has to talk Avery into getting up and coming with us to the homecoming game. She even washed her hair this morning; although, I
’
m sure that had more to do with her hygienic preferences than Grayson. Either way, it
’
s good to see her looking more like herself. However, for the first time all season, she
’
s not in her
O
’
Conner
’
s Shorty
shirt. No one mentions it, afraid of what might happen if we do. In fact, no one even makes a comment about her willingness to go, given that she and her QB haven
’
t spoken in three and three quarter days.

Since it
’
s chilly out, we decide to skip any sort of tailgating. Instead, we bundle up, knowing that when the sun goes behind the mountains the tolerable temperature will go with it, and make it to the stadium just a few minutes before the game starts. I
’
d be lying if I said I wasn
’
t a little nervous. The last time Gray and my sister were at odds, he played
horribly
. Seeing as how I doubt she
’
ll be up for any halftime-pep-talk, he
’
ll be left to his own devices.

We win the coin toss and opt to defend the ball first and receive it at the beginning of the third quarter. Our defense definitely came to play, and we hold back the Aggies so all they can manage is a three point field goal. When we get the ball, I hold my breath. I look beside me at Avery and find her staring at Grayson as he takes the field. She doesn
’
t cheer or clap or anything. I
’
m half tempted to grab my compact mirror out of my purse and put it below her nose to make sure she
’
s still
breathing
, but I don
’
t.

The two of them are miserable for no other reason than their refusal to speak to one another. I had no idea how stubborn they could be. It
’
s almost intolerable. Especially because no one knows what happened. Neither of them will spill! It
’
s incredible how their intimacy can extend into their cold war.

I give her knee a squeeze before I look at Beckham, who sits on the other side of her. I watch as his eyes travel from my sister to me and we share a knowing smile when our eyes meet. He shrugs and I know he means to say,
“
well
—
this is it; the moment of truth
.
”
I nod and then we both direct our focus onto the field.

The ball is snapped and Grayson catches it with finesse. He looks for a receiver, but no one is open, so he scrambles. Then Jack looks over his shoulder and Gray launches the ball down the field. Jack snatches up the ball and runs a few yards before he
’
s brought down. We start our game off with a forty yard gain.
Not too shabby
. Avery still doesn
’
t crack even a hint of a smile. The weird part is, as the game goes on, she seems to grow antsy despite the fact that Gray is playing a fantastic game
—
no, not just a fantastic game, a phenomenal game. He even scored one of our touchdowns. By the end of the half, the score is 21-3 Rams, and Avery acts like it
’
s the other way around.

He
’
s playing like he
’
s got nothing to lose. I
’
ve never seen him play with such reckless abandon
—
reckless? Maybe flawless is a better term.
I
’
m really surprised, considering the mood he
’
s been in the last few days. The odd thing about it is, Avery acts like she
’
s going to be sick every time he does something good. I simply don
’
t understand what it is with these two, but I
’
m done trying to figure them out; it
’
s too confusing.

By the end of the third quarter, we
’
ve pretty much annihilated Utah
’
s team. CSU fans are downright obnoxious when the score climbs to 35-10.