Unbreakable Together: A New Adult Romance Novel (4 page)

A s
weaty sheen covered both of us as we sighed in pleasant relief.

Devon was sitting at the table when Matt thumped into the diner with long,
purposeful strides. “Hey, hey, what’s going on, superstar?” Matt gripped Devon’s hand over the table, threw his jacket into the booth and sat down, shaking the table.

“Hey
, Matt. Have you gained more weight?”

“Fuck yeah, right where it counts
.” He flexed his arm and pointed at his chest with the other hand.

“I’ll be glad when I can work out
fully again.”

“So will I. We need
ed you, man. We got our asses kicked, and guess where?”

“I know, the defense. No matter how much you score, you lose.”
Devon exhaled a light laugh.

“Exactly!
This bullshit really screwed us up, man. No one has been able to replace you.” 

Just then the waitress appeared. “The usual?”
She glanced at Matt and then Devon with big brown eyes and back to her writing pad.

“Right, everything on it,” Devon said.

“Yeah, no onions on the burger,” Matt insisted.

“You got it
,” she said as she wrote down the order.

“Thanks
, baby.” Matt waggled his eyebrows as she smiled at him and ambled off.

“That’s so lame
.” Devon laughed. “Besides, she’s a college girl.”

Matt grinned.
“It works for me. Besides, we’ll be in college next year.”

“
We’ll still get into a
good
college,” Devon added. “All is not lost.”

“That’s not guaranteed
, dude. We lost three straight. This season is trashed.”

The waitress set the burgers and fries in front of both of them. “Will that be all?”

“Just your number, sweetie.” Matt flashed her a lopsided grin.

“I’m
sorry, I don’t date high school boys. Maybe in a few years.” She smirked.

“Jailbait.
” Devon snickered.

“Fuck you
, Devon. I’m eighteen, dude.” Matt took a sip of his protein shake.

“There’s nothing I can do
about this season,” Devon said getting back to the subject.

“Yes, there is.”
Matt’s face tightened.

Devon pinched his brows. “What?”

“So now we know that Steve Pelton and his hooligans did this to you. Is that true?” Matt chomped off a quarter of his burger and grabbed some fries.

Devon
glanced at Matt and back down at his food.

“People know
, dude,” he said through bites of his burger. “He no longer shows up to science class according to Big Earl. He was bruised up for a couple of weeks. It’s not hard to figure out what’s going on. You fucked him up pretty good, dude!” Matt put his hand out for a high-five, and Devon just stared at him.

“
Look, Matt, I told you this was taken care of. Don’t do anything stupid.” Devon blasted ketchup on his fries as he spoke.

“Listen to me
, bro. We’ve lost three games straight. My scholarship is on the line. Not just mine, but others on the team. We had a shot and this punk fucked it up. Maybe it’s time we teach this little motherfucker a lesson he won’t forget.” Matt narrowed his eyes and stuffed his mouth with fries and took a swig of soda.

“You can still get a scholarship
, Matt. It’s not about the record. You can’t just go around beating the shit out of people.” Devon bit into his burger.

“You’re the one to be talking
.” Matt jutted his chin at Devon with a soda straw angled in the side of his mouth. “This affects all of us, not just you.”

“What good
’s it going to do, Matt? You think doing something like this is going to help your chances? What’s it going to do?” Devon said with a sharp tone.

“You know what good it does
! Sometimes the only thing people understand is a good ass-kicking. You did it yourself!” A group of people at the next table glanced Matt’s way at his raised voice.

“That’s different!” Devon was
livid. “He was fucking with Erin and there is no way I was going to let that go. What would have happened to her if she did not run away? Huh? What would she do in class with that asshole sitting next to her? I did what I had to do!” The pain of the memory played across his face.

“So now he fucked with us,” Matt said.

“It’s way different, Matt. No one is in danger right now,” Devon, irritated by the comparison, said.

Matt shook his head.
“Our futures were threatened.”

“No one can do that except you
, Matt. And you are about to do it now if you do something stupid. Why don’t you just focus on you college applications?”

“Why are you protecting him?”
Matt glared at Devon.

“I’m not protecting him. We had a deal, okay
? No one snitches on anyone, and no one escalates this any further. He wanted his payback. He got it. This stops now. He agreed to it. If that keeps people safe, then it is worth it to me.”

Matt snatched a cluster of fries off his plate.
“I wasn’t part of that deal,” he scoffed.

“I swear to God
, Matt, if you fuck this up I won’t forgive you.” Devon frowned.

“You did this for her then
,” Matt said clearly irritated.

“Of course I did it for her, man.
You think I’m going to put her in danger for something as stupid as a losing football season? I made my choice, Matt. This is over. This is none of your business.”

“I can’t believe you
just said that.” Matt stared at him in disbelief.

“Dude, it’s football. If you can’t handle a loss and figure out how to come
back from a setback without blaming others then you don’t deserve a championship or a scholarship. Do you think winning is easy? This is what it’s all about. Overcoming obstacles and setbacks. That’s what this game is about, that’s what life is about—not winning and never losing.” Devon took a sip of soda over tightened lips.

“
Thanks for the pep speech, Coach Lombardi, but there’s one obstacle I am about to remove.”

“Matt, don’t fuck this up
.” Devon’s eyes returned to Matt’s. “You’ll screw things up for me, and you’ll screw up your own chances for college. Don’t do it. I’m not telling you again.” Devon’s glare burned through him.

“Is that a threat
?”

“
Don’t fuck with me, Matt, not this way.” His words tinged with pain, as if something close to him threatened to be ripped away forever.

Matt got up and pushed the table, pressing it into Devon’s arm. He s
tomped out of the restaurant without looking back.

For every
thing Devon was to me, he was also a paradox: he was everything good in my life along with all of my dark pleasures rolled into one. He was the one everyone trusted. He was the good boy next door who brought out the bad side of me. He was the source of love and the source of pain, a love so deep that it hurt not to be close to him.

My
love for Devon became clearer with each passing day. I felt guilty about Devon risking his entire football season for me. But that’s the way he was, putting me first no matter what the cost.

Both of us still had a decent chance of getting into the same college. We had arranged to take advanced classes
this year. We both had solid SAT scores that we had helped each other prepare for last spring. I wanted to do something in visual arts, and Devon wanted to take business with a focus on entrepreneurship.

Both of us
had about the same chances of getting a scholarship: close to zero. I could work, take out loans, and all of that, but college graduates did not have the same future they used to have. Nothing was certain. I could see it all around me. Why else would college grads with advanced degrees be buried in debt and working as waitresses, bartenders, and baristas?

This was too much for me
to think about in one afternoon. I had a volleyball game and a chemistry test to get ready for, and a meeting with my guidance counselor. All I knew was that I wanted to be with Devon and I wanted to find a way to make it work.

I walked into my
guidance counselor’s office and Devon’s words rang in my ear:
maybe you could be a corporate lawyer, work eighty hours a week and drop dead one day
.

I
told Ms. Carlson that my mom did not make enough to pay for college, I did not have much savings, and that I would need all the financial aid that I could get my hands on.

“I’ve been reading horror stories about college grads who have not been able to pay off their loans. I don’t want to get in a situation where I have to work off deb
t for the rest of my life.” I had already learned that from Devon.
You pay now or you pay later.

“
Are there any scholarships that I am eligible for?”  I asked her.

“Yes, of course, but it depends on what you apply for. Many of the scholarships can come into play during your college career, based on academic achieve
ment, your major, your GPA, and other factors based on your college record. Some of them are even awarded automatically, like if you maintain a 3.8 GPA or higher in some majors. But of course, the first step is getting you into college. Do you have any idea what you would like to do?”

“Not really. I mean, I enjoy art
, film, and graphics.” I said.

“There is a lot of interest in computer graphics, and you can combine your interests with business. Sometimes you just need to get started and you will figure it out as you go. Here is a list of
colleges with some of the top fine arts programs. Based on your grades and academic record, I think you have a good chance.” She smiled.

“Do I have any chance of getting into an Ivy League colle
ge or one of the other top schools?”

“
I have included some of them on the list. The acceptance rate is very low, generally under ten percent, but you can always send an application. It doesn’t hurt. You’re taking advanced classes and have solid SAT scores.” Ms. Carlson glanced through my file. “I see you’re on the volleyball team. Any other extracurricular activities?”

“I was in the drama club for two years, and I
’ve volunteered at the animal shelter on weekends. I’m also applying for a lifeguard job over the summer.”

“That’s good. You should do that. That shows responsibility and leadership, not to mention maturity.
I would stick with the plan.”

I glanced at my
hands and smiled to myself.
Right again, Devon
.

“If you
complete this year with a high GPA, you are in good shape, Erin.”

“Thank you
, Ms. Carlson.”

I
rounded the corner to look for Devon. Instead, I ran into Matt.

“Hey, brat. You lost?” Matt snorted.

“Have you seen Devon?” I did my best to sound nonchalant.

“Yeah, I saw him making out with some chick down the hall
.” He nodded his head towards the hall with an evil grin.

“Oh,
bullshit, Matt. You’re so full of it,” I jeered.

“It must be convenient for you now that he is not spending so much time on the field
,” Matt scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?
” I shuffled my books to my chest, trying to read what Matt’s problem was with me.

“It means
this certainly worked out for you, didn’t it?” Matt scoffed at me.

“
That’s not fair. I didn’t ask him to do what he did.” I frowned.

“And yet
here you are. You get to spend all this time with him while he should be out on the field with us. Don’t you think that’s fitting?” He shot me an accusatory glance.

“I would rather see him playing football
, too, Matt. I am not enjoying this. It hurt his chances for a scholarship into a top college too.” I pinched my brows at him.

“Do you mean that?”
Matt raised a brow.

I squeezed my eyes shut with impatience.
“Of course I do. I didn’t want this to happen.”

“Then tell me, Erin,
what happened to cause all of this?”

I
wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and glanced away, remembering what Devon told me.
Can I trust you? You can’t tell anyone about this.

“Why don’t you ask Devon?”

“I did. He’s protecting someone. You wouldn’t happen to know who that is, would you?” Matt narrowed his eyes at me.

“I have to go.” I
walked away without looking back.

“I
know who it is, Erin, and he’s going to pay.” I felt his eyes wash over the back of my head before I heard the bang of his hand on a locker door.

I tossed my books down on the table in the library. Devon was already there waiting for me. He looked up at me and smiled. “Hey. Sit down. Rough day?”

“
Oh, my God. All this college stuff and my counselor wants me to apply to all these colleges.” I sat next to him and handed the list to Devon.

Devon scanned the list.
“That’s a good strategy. You’ll get into some.”

“But Devon…what if we don’t get into the same college
? What happens next year?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something. I just really want for us to be together.”

I looked downcast at the list.

Devon picked my
chin up. “Hey, we’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”

“I’ve just been thinking about…you know,
what you said, chasing all these dreams: college, a career, and skipping the things that matter along the way. I don’t want that to happen to us.” I frowned at him.

“They won’t. I already know what matters to me
, Erin, and I’m not going to let that happen.” Devon’s eyes slipped over my face, and back to my eyes. “We can apply at the same colleges. Let’s see what happens. And if one of us is not accepted, we’ll apply to another one until we are so we can stay together. There’s always a way. Okay?”

“Okay.” I
smiled up at him, hoping our relationship was only the beginning of what I had been feeling for him for so long.

“And we have all summer to spend together. We’ll be training in a few weeks, an
d lifeguarding this summer. This is going to look great on our college applications. You’ll see.”

“
Even the counselor liked that idea.” I cast a smile at him before trailing off into a different subject. “I ran into Matt on the way over here.”

“O
h?” Devon glanced up at me.

“Yeah
, he wants to know who did this.” I tapped his cast. “He’s still pissed off about the whole football thing. He thinks this was my fault. I told him I didn’t want this. I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid.”

Devon shook his head. “That asshole.”

“Devon!” My brows knitted. “He’s still your friend.”

“Not if he screws this up.
You’re more important to me than everything else, Erin. I have to talk to him again before he does something stupid.”

“You don’t have to do this for me
, Devon. I can handle whatever they throw at me.”

“That’s just it, Erin. I can’t.
I can’t see anything happen to you like that. I love you too much.”

“What was that?” I
placed my hand to my ear and grinned.

“I said I can shove you to lunch. Ready?”

I hit his arm with my fist.

“Hey! Ow! You’re supposed to be my nurse, and look at you! That’s my injured arm.”

“Say it, Devon.”

“Let’s go to lunch.”

“Not until you say it.”

“I will punch you on a hunch.”

“Say it!” I bit my lip and punched him again.

“
I have a hunch to munch.” Devon stifled a grin at my frustration with him.

“
Stop it, Devon. I want to hear you say it!” My lips parted and my face went flush.

“
You know I do, Erin. I love you. Don’t ever forget it.” Devon kissed my hand and looked at me. A playful grin played across his mouth as his eyes moved across my face. His lips caressed my cheek before moving to my lips.