The Foxhole Court (All for the Game Book 1)

Neil long ago lost count of how many airports he’d seen. Whatever insane number it was, he’d never gotten comfortable with them. There were too many people to keep an eye on, and flying with falsified passports was always risky. He’d inherited his mother’s connections after her death, so he knew the work was good, but his heart did double-time every time someone asked to see his papers.

He’d never been through Sky Harbor or Upstate Regional, but there was something familiar about their frenetic pace. He stood off to one side of his gate in Upstate for almost a minute after everyone else from his flight rushed off to Arrivals or their transfers. The crowd swirling around him seemed the usual mix: vacationers, businessmen, and students heading home at the end of the semester. He didn’t expect to see anyone he recognized, as he’d never been to South Carolina before, but it never hurt to check.

Finally he followed signs down a hall and up a flight of stairs to Arrivals. Friday afternoon meant the small lobby was comfortably crowded, but spotting the ride Coach Wymack promised him was easier than Neil expected.

It was the weight of his teammate’s stare that brought Neil’s gaze almost right to him. It was one of the twins. Judging by the calm look on his face, Neil laid his bets on it not being Andrew. Aaron Minyard was oft-referred to as ‘the normal one’ of the two, though that was usually followed by a debate over whether or not he could be sane when he shared genes with Andrew.

Neil crossed the room to meet him. Neil had been the shortest player on the Millport Dingo line, but he had a good five inches on Aaron. The all-black ensemble Aaron wore did nothing to make him look any taller, and Neil wondered how he could stand wearing long sleeves in May. Neil felt hot just looking at him.

‘Neil,’ Aaron said in lieu of hello, and he pointed. ‘Baggage claim.’
‘Just this.’ Neil tapped the strap of the duffel bag hanging off his shoulder. The bag was small enough to be a carry-on and large enough to carry everything Neil owned.
Aaron accepted that without comment and started away. Neil followed him through sliding glass doors into a muggy summer afternoon. A small crowd was waiting at the crosswalk for the light, but Aaron pushed right through them into the street. Brakes screeched as a taxi slammed to a stop inches from Aaron’s pint-sized body. Aaron didn’t seem to notice, more interested in getting a cigarette lit and between his lips. He paid even less attention to the rude words the driver yelled at him. Neil made an apologetic gesture at the cabbie and jogged to catch up.
A sleek black car was parked six rows back in the short-term parking garage. Neil didn’t know much about cars in general, but he knew expensive when he saw it. He thought for a moment there must be a smaller car out of sight behind it, but Aaron unlocked it with a button on his key chain.
‘Bag in the trunk,’ he said, opening the driver’s door and sitting sideways in the seat to smoke.
Neil obediently put his duffel in the back before climbing in the passenger seat. Aaron didn’t go anywhere until his cigarette was half-gone. He flicked the butt onto the concrete at his feet and tugged the door closed. A twist of the key in the ignition got the engine humming, and Aaron glanced at Neil again. The ghost of a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth, but it was a decidedly unfriendly expression.
‘Neil Josten,’ he said again, as if testing the way it sounded. ‘Here for the summer, hm?’
‘Yes.’
Aaron cranked the air conditioner up as high as it could go and put the car in reverse. ‘That makes five of us, but word is you’re going to stay with Coach.’
Coach Wymack warned Neil the cousins Andrew, Aaron, and Nicholas would be in town, but it still didn’t add up. Neil knew who that fifth person had to be. He didn’t want to believe it even as he knew he should have expected it. Kevin had been glued to Andrew’s side since his transfer. Still, Neil had to be sure.
‘Kevin stays on campus?’ he asked.
‘Where the court is, Kevin is. He can’t exist without it,’ Aaron said derisively.
‘I didn’t think it was the court Kevin was staying for,’ Neil said.
Aaron didn’t answer. It was a short drive to the parking lot exit and Aaron had cash ready for the lady at the booth. As soon as the bar lifted to let them out, he stepped down on the gas. A horn sounded at them in warning as they cut right into traffic and Neil discreetly tightened his buckle. Aaron either didn’t notice or didn’t care. When they were on the road, he flicked Neil a sideways look.
‘I hear you didn’t hit it off with Kevin last month.’
‘No one warned me he was going to be there,’ Neil answered, watching the scenery rush by outside the window. ‘Maybe you’ll forgive me for not reacting well.’
‘Maybe I won’t. I don’t believe in forgiveness, and it wasn’t me you offended. That’s the second time a recruit has told him to fuck off. If it was possible to dent that arrogance of his, his pride would have shreds through it. Instead he’s losing faith in the intelligence of high school athletes.’
‘I’m sure Andrew had his reasons for refusing, same as me.’
‘You said you weren’t good enough, but here you are anyway. You think a summer of practices will make that much a difference?’
‘No,’ Neil said. ‘It was just too hard to say no.’
‘Coach always knows what to say, hm? It makes it harder on the rest of us, though. Not even Millport should have taken a chance on you.’
Neil shrugged. ‘Millport’s too small to care about experience. I had nothing to lose by trying out and they had nothing to gain by refusing me. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time, I guess.’
‘Do you believe in fate?’
Neil heard the faint scorn in the other man’s voice. ‘No. Do you?’
‘Luck, then,’ Aaron said, ignoring that return question.
‘Only the bad sort.’
‘We’re flattered by your high opinion of us, of course.’
Aaron pulled at the wheel, sliding the car from one lane to the other without bothering to check the traffic around him. Horns blared behind them. Neil watched in the rearview mirror as cars swerved to avoid hitting them.
‘It’s too nice of a car to wreck,’ he said pointedly.
‘Don’t be so afraid to die,’ Aaron said as the car kept gliding across the four-lane road to an exit ramp. ‘If you are, you have no place on our court.’
‘We’re talking about a sport, not a death match.’
‘Same difference,’ Aaron said. ‘You’re playing for a Class I team with Kevin on your line. People are always willing to bleed for him. You’ve seen the news, I assume.’
‘I’ve seen it,’ Neil said.
Aaron flicked his fingers as if that proved his point. Neil would be hard-pressed to say he was wrong, so he let it slide.
Kevin Day and his adoptive brother Riko Moriyama were hailed as the sons of Exy. Kevin’s mother Kayleigh Day and Riko’s uncle Tetsuji Moriyama created the sport roughly thirty years ago while Kayleigh was studying abroad in Fukui, Japan. What started as an experiment spread from their campus to local street teams, then across the ocean to the rest of the world. Kayleigh brought it home with her to Ireland after completing her degree and the United States picked it up soon after.
Kevin and Riko were raised on Exy. When Edgar Allen’s massive stadium Castle Evermore, the first NCAA Exy stadium in the United States, was little more than blueprints, Kevin and Riko had custom racquets. After Kayleigh’s fatal car accident, Tetsuji took Kevin in, but the Ravens’ new coach had no time to raise children. Riko and Kevin spent their formative years at Evermore with the Ravens instead and were considered the team’s unofficial mascots. When they weren’t being coached by Tetsuji, they were coached by the team, and tutors were brought onsite so they wouldn’t have to leave the stadium for school.
Kevin and Riko grew up in front of cameras, but always with Exy as a backdrop and always together. Until Kevin transferred to Palmetto State, he and Riko were never seen in separate rooms. Their unconventional childhood led many to worry about their psychological well-being but also fueled a rabid obsession with the pair. Riko and Kevin were the face of the Ravens. To many, they were considered the future of Exy.
Last December, Riko and Kevin vanished from the public eye for weeks. When spring championships started in January, neither man was on the Ravens’ starting line-up. It wasn’t until the end of January that Tetsuji Moriyama addressed the topic at a press conference, and the news was a cruel blow to Exy fans everywhere: Kevin Day had broken his playing hand on a skiing trip. According to Tetsuji, Kevin and Riko were too devastated to face either the Ravens or their upset fans just yet.
The next day, Coach Wymack told the press Kevin was recuperating in South Carolina. Hearing Kevin would never play again was bad; finding out he’d left the Ravens was somehow worse for his obsessive fans. If Kevin was relegated to the sidelines as an assistant coach, he should at least lend his prestige and knowledge to his home team. Fans took offense on their beloved team’s behalf, but most everyone assumed he’d transfer back as soon as his hand was finished healing. Except Kevin Day signed with the Foxes in March —not as a coach, but a striker.
His fans went from feeling heartbroken to feeling betrayed. Palmetto State had borne the brunt of that rage since. The university and stadium had been vandalized upwards of a dozen times and there’d been numerous fights on campus. It would only get worse when the season started and people saw Kevin wearing the Foxes’ colors. Neil wasn’t looking forward to getting in the middle of that mess.
The apartment complex where Wymack lived was a twenty-minute drive from the airport. The parking lot was mostly empty, since it was mid-afternoon on a workday, but there were three people waiting on the sidewalk. Aaron was the first out and he aimed the key ring at the back of the car. Neil heard locks pop as he climbed out of the car. Aaron went to meet the others at the curb while Neil retrieved his duffel bag from the trunk. Neil slung it over his shoulder, relaxing a little at the familiar weight of it, and pushed the trunk closed. When he looked up he was the center of attention.
The twins were standing to either side of Kevin, dressed identically but easily distinguishable by the looks on their faces. Aaron looked bored now that he’d fulfilled his duty in getting Neil here. Andrew was smiling, but Neil knew his cheer didn’t mean he was going to play nice. He’d been smiling when he smashed a racquet into Neil’s stomach, too.
Nicholas Hemmick was the only one who looked genuinely happy to see Neil, and he stepped up to the curb at Neil’s approach. Neil was glad for the distraction, since it kept him from looking at Kevin, and he readily accepted the hand Nicholas offered.
‘Hey,’ the other man said, using his grip on Neil’s hand to pull him up onto the curb. ‘Welcome to South Carolina. Flight go okay?’
‘It was fine,’ Neil said.
‘I’m Nicky.’ Nicky gave Neil’s hand another hard squeeze before letting go. ‘Andrew and Aaron’s cousin, backliner extraordinaire.’
Neil looked from him to the twins and back again. Where the twins were light, Nicky was dark, with jet-black hair, dark brown eyes, and skin two shades too dark to be a tan. He also had the better part of a foot on them. ‘By blood?’
Nicky laughed. ‘Don’t look it, right? Take after my mom. Dad ‘rescued’ her from Mexico during some la-di-dah ministry trip.’ He made a show of rolling his eyes, then jerked a thumb at the others. ‘You already met them, right? Aaron, Andrew, Kevin? Coach was supposed to be here to let you in, but he had to head up to the stadium real quick. The ERC called him, probably with more BS about how we haven’t publicized our sub yet. In the meantime you’re stuck with us, but we’ve got Coach’s keys. Suitcases in the trunk?’
‘It’s just this,’ Neil said.
Nicky arched an eyebrow at him and looked at the others. ‘He packs light. I wish I could travel like that, but hell if I ain’t materialistic.’
‘Materialistic is just a start,’ Aaron said.
Nicky grinned and caught Neil’s shoulder, guiding him past the rest toward the front door. ‘This is where Coach lives,’ he said unnecessarily. ‘He makes all the money, so he gets to live in a place like this while we poor people couch surf.’
‘You have a nice car for someone who thinks he’s poor,’ Neil said.
‘That’s why we’re poor,’ Nicky said dryly.
‘Aaron’s mother bought it for us with her life insurance money,’ Andrew explained. ‘It’s no surprise she had to die to be worth anything.’
‘Easy,’ Nicky said, but he was looking at Aaron when he said it.
‘Easy, easy.’ Andrew lifted his hands in a careless shrug. ‘Why bother? It’s a cruel world, right Neil? You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.’
‘It’s not the world that’s cruel,’ Neil said. ‘It’s the people in it.’
‘Oh, so true.’
They rode the elevator up to the seventh floor in silence. Neil watched the numbers tick above the door so he wouldn’t look at Kevin’s reflection. Unease over being so high off the ground was almost distraction enough. He preferred staying to lower levels so he could make an easy escape if need be. Jumping out the window here was definitely out of the question. He made a mental note to find any and all fire escapes.
Wymack’s apartment was number 724. They gathered around the door so Aaron could dig the key out of his pocket. It took him two tries to remember which one he’d put it in. Neil didn’t notice when he found it and unlocked the door. He was too busy staring at Aaron’s pants pockets. They were much too flat to be hiding a pack of cigarettes, but Neil had seen Aaron put the pack away before crossing the street at the airport.
‘Here you go, Neil,’ Nicky said, and Neil forced his gaze up to the open doorway. Nicky gestured for him to precede them. ‘Home sweet home, if anything involving Coach can be called sweet.’
Neil had known since April he’d be crashing on Coach Wymack’s couch for a couple weeks. He’d known, in the days following Wymack’s visit, that it would be uncomfortable. He still wasn’t prepared for the way his stomach roiled inside him now. He’d been on his own since his mother died, and the last man he’d lived with was his father. How was he supposed to let Wymack lock the door every night with both of them under the same roof? He couldn’t possibly sleep here; every time Wymack breathed Neil would wake up and wonder who was after him. Maybe he should back out and check into a hotel, but how was he supposed to explain that to Wymack? Would he have to explain? Wymack thought Neil’s parents were abusive, so maybe he’d understand Neil’s reticence.
He hadn’t expected to lock up like this, and he’d hesitated too long. He saw the look Nicky sent Aaron, curious and confused, and knew he’d made a mistake. Still, it wasn’t until Andrew stepped up alongside him to see what the holdup was that Neil could move again. Andrew was smiling, but his pale stare was intense. Neil met his eyes for only a moment and knew it was worse to stay out here with them than it was to cross that threshold. He’d figure it out, but not here and not now, not with Andrew and Kevin as witnesses.
Neil stepped over the threshold and started down the hall. The first doorway opened up into the living room Neil would be sleeping in. The couch Wymack had referenced was cleared off and even had a sticky note tacked to it saying that the blankets were in the coffee table drawer. It was the only clean surface in the room. Everything else was covered in paperwork and empty coffee mugs. Overflowing ashtrays were in unhealthy abundance as well.
Neil was halfway across the room to look out the window when Nicky spoke up behind him.
‘What was that all about?’
Neil’s blood turned to slush. It wasn’t the words that got him but the language Nicky used. German was Neil’s second language thanks to three years spent living in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. He remembered more of Europe than he wanted to; most of their time there had been a cold mess. He knew the tang of blood in his mouth was just his imagination, but it was sharp enough to choke him. He could feel his heartbeat on every inch of his skin, going so fast it set him trembling head to toe.
How did they know he spoke German?
Neil had half a mind to run for it, but then Aaron answered, and Neil realized with a sick rush Nicky wasn’t talking to him. No, they were talking about him, not intending for him to understand. Neil forced himself to move, finishing his trip to the window. He pushed the curtains back and put his hands to the glass, needing something to steady him while his heart tried to ease back to a normal rhythm.
‘Maybe he was savoring the moment,’ Aaron said.
‘No,’ Nicky said. ‘That was pure fight or flight. What the hell did you say to him, Andrew?’
Neil looked back at them. Nicky wasn’t looking at Andrew, maybe already knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer, but was watching Neil across the room. When Neil turned, Nicky gave a bright smile and switched back to English. ‘How about a tour?’
Neil considered saying something, but he’d already given too much away. ‘Sure.’
There wasn’t much to look at. A bathroom and kitchen sat opposite each other, and the bedrooms were at the end of the hall. Wymack had converted the second bedroom into an office. The office made up for the bare living room walls: it was covered with newspaper articles, team photos, outdated calendars, and miscellaneous certificates. Two bookshelves lined the wall, one full of Exy books, the other a mishmash of everything from travel guides to classic literature. Wymack’s desk was buried in paperwork, not an inch of wood visible, and Neil’s file was on top. Holding down one corner was a hefty prescription bottle. Nicky scooped the bottle up with a triumphant sound and twisted the lid off.
‘That’s not yours,’ Neil said.
‘Painkillers,’ Nicky said, ignoring that implicit accusation. ‘Coach shattered his hip a few years back, you know? That’s how he met Abby. She was his therapist, and he got her the job here. Team’s still split fifty-fifty on whether or not they’re boning. Andrew refuses to vote, which means you’re the tiebreaker. Let us know ASAP. I’ve got money riding on it.’
He shook a couple pills into his hand, screwed the lid on, and put the bottle back. Neil looked to see what the others thought of this, but Andrew and Kevin had vanished. Only Aaron remained, and he didn’t look at all concerned.
‘You’ll meet Abby tonight at dinner,’ Nicky said, stuffing the pills into his pocket. ‘We’ve got a couple hours to kill before then, so maybe we can take you by the court and let you gawk at it. We’ve got the perfect number for scrimmages now. Kevin’s probably pissing himself in excitement.’
‘I doubt that,’ Neil said, thinking of Kevin’s dispassionate expression downstairs.
‘Kevin doesn’t do excited,’ Aaron agreed, ‘but since Exy is the only thing he cares about, no one wants you on our court more than he does.’
Neil’s answer got stuck somewhere in his throat as he processed that. It was the same thing Aaron said in the car, almost, except Aaron sounded apathetic now where he’d been scornful earlier. Between that sudden change in attitude, the disappearing pack of cigarettes, and the matching outfits, Neil was starting to second-guess what was going on here. These were just small things, but Neil had learned to survive on the fine details.
‘Isn’t it difficult playing with him?’ he asked, changing what he’d been about to say. ‘I mean, with him being a champion.’
‘Technically we haven’t played with him yet,’ Nicky said. ‘He just started getting into drills with us last month. If he’s anything on the line like he is as an assistant coach, you are going to have the most awful year ever.’ Despite his ominous words, Nicky sounded amused. ‘But he’s worth it.’
‘Worth the fights, too?’ Neil asked. ‘Like that one two weeks ago that Aaron said got completely out of hand. How many people got injured in that, again?’
There was a slight pause as Aaron thought, and for a moment Neil decided he’d imagined things. Then Aaron answered, ‘Eleven.’
It was the right answer; Neil had read about the brawl in an article. But he and Aaron hadn’t had that conversation in the car and Aaron should have known that.
Too late, Neil remembered Nicky’s exasperated accusation in the living room: ‘What the hell did you say to him, Andrew?’ Neil had assumed Nicky was referring to their first meeting in Millport, but Nicky had been talking about the car ride from the airport. It wasn’t Aaron who picked Neil up from the airport after all.
Neil was annoyed by the trick and relieved he’d seen through it, but caution overrode both. Andrew wasn’t cheerful naturally; his mania was drug-induced and court regulated. Two years ago some men attacked Nicky outside of a nightclub. Andrew was within his rights to defend Nicky, but he’d almost killed the four of them. The courts thought his violence to be a gross overreaction and tried to charge him. His lawyers struck a deal instead: Andrew would spend some time in intensive therapy, attend weekly counseling, and take medication.
After three years of this they’d let him off his medication long enough to assess his progress. Sobriety at any point before that was a violation of his parole. If the team nurse, Andrew’s current psychiatrist, or the court psychiatrist who managed Andrew’s parole suspected Andrew wasn’t following the rules, they could request a urinalysis. If Andrew failed he’d be charged.
Andrew only had to hold out through spring, but apparently he couldn’t wait that long. Neil couldn’t believe Andrew would even risk sobriety when the consequences were so steep. He wondered if his arrival had to do with it, if Andrew wanted to meet his newest teammate without a hazy mind, or if Andrew just hated spending his summer break drugged to the gills.
As if on cue, Andrew appeared in the doorway with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and Kevin at his back. ‘Success.’
‘Ready, Neil?’ Nicky asked. ‘We should probably beat it before Coach shows up.’
‘Why?’ Neil pointed at the liquor. ‘Is this a robbery in progress?’
‘Maybe it is. Will you tell Coach on us?’ Andrew asked, sounding entertained by the notion. ‘So much for being a team player. I guess you really are a Fox.’
‘No,’ Neil said, ‘but I would ask him why you’re not medicated.’
There was a heartbeat of startled silence. The only one who didn’t react was Andrew; even Kevin looked surprised.
Nicky was the first to find his tongue, but he reverted to German to ask Aaron, ‘Am I crazy? Did I just see that happen?’
‘Don’t look at me,’ Aaron said.
‘I’d prefer an answer in English,’ Neil said.
Andrew put a thumb to the corner of his mouth and dragged it along his lips to erase his smile. ‘That sounds like an accusation, but I didn’t lie to you.’
‘Omission is the easiest way to lie,’ Neil said. ‘You could have corrected me.’
‘Could have, didn’t,’ Andrew said. ‘Figure it out for yourself.’
‘I did,’ Neil said. He tapped two fingers to his temple, copying Andrew’s mocking salute from their first meeting. ‘Better luck next time.’
‘Oh,’ Andrew said. ‘Oh, you might actually turn out to be interesting. For a little while, at least. I don’t think the amusement will last. It never does.’
‘Don’t mess with me.’
‘Or what?’
There was a rattle as someone tested the knob on the front door. Andrew’s smile was back in a heartbeat, bright and vacant. He turned to Kevin, and Kevin moved at the same time. The whiskey vanished somewhere between them in a practiced move.
‘Hi Coach,’ Andrew called over his shoulder.
‘Do you have any idea how much I hate coming home and finding you in my apartment?’ Wymack demanded from out of sight.
Andrew held up his empty hands in an innocent gesture no one believed and stepped into the hallway. Aaron and Kevin went after him, presumably with the alcohol tucked between their bodies, and left Nicky and Neil in the office.
‘I didn’t break anything this time,’ Andrew said.
‘I’ll believe that after I’ve checked everything I own.’ The door slammed down the hall, and it wasn’t long before Coach stepped into his office doorway. Clad in jean shorts and a faded tee, Wymack looked more like a garage band rocker than a university coach. Neil guessed he didn’t have to look presentable on his home turf, but it was still disorienting.
Wymack gave Neil a once-over and nodded. ‘I see you made it all right. I was pretty sure Nicky’s driving was going to get you killed.’
Neil felt Nicky watching him and said, ‘I’ve survived worse.’
‘There is no surviving worse driving than that idiot’s,’ Wymack said. ‘There’s just open casket or closed.’
‘Hey, hey,’ Nicky said. ‘That’s not fair.’
‘Life isn’t fair, tweedle-dumb. Get over it. What are you still doing here?’
‘Leaving,’ Andrew said. ‘Goodbye. Is Neil coming too?’
‘Going where?’ Wymack asked, looking suspicious.
‘Jeez, Coach, what kind of people do you think we are?’ Nicky asked.
‘Do you really want me to answer that?’
‘We’re taking him to the court,’ Aaron said. ‘We can give him a lift to Abby’s after. You didn’t need him, did you?’
‘Just to give him this,’ Wymack said, and Neil snagged the keys tossed his way. There were two rings looped together, two keys on one and three on the other. Neil eyed them as Wymack ticked them off on his fingers. ‘Long key is for when the front gate closes at night. Small one gets you into the apartment. The others are for the stadium: outer door, gear room, and court doors. Kevin has a matching set, so make him show you which is which. I expect you to make as much use of them as he does.’
‘Thank you,’ Neil said, clenching his fingers tight enough around them he could feel the teeth digging into his palm. He felt steadier with them in his hand. It didn’t matter where he was sleeping or what tricks Andrew was up to. There was a court here and he had permission to play on it. ‘I will.’
‘Blatant favoritism, Coach,’ Andrew said.
‘If you ever went to the court of your own volition, maybe I’d give you a set too,’ Wymack said. ‘Since I don’t see that happening anytime this lifetime or next, you can shut up and share with Kevin.’
‘Oh, joy, joy,’ Andrew said. ‘My excited face begins now. Can we go?’
‘Get out,’ Wymack said, and Andrew vanished. Kevin and Aaron followed. When Nicky reached the office doorway, Wymack put a hand in his path to stop him. ‘Don’t you dare traumatize him his first day here.’
Nicky looked from Wymack to Neil. ‘Neil’s not traumatized, right?’
‘Not yet,’ Neil said.
After a moment’s debate, he shrugged his bag off his shoulder. The thought of leaving it behind made his skin crawl, considering what was hidden inside it, but he didn’t trust Andrew’s intentions. Neil didn’t know why Andrew was sober or why he’d picked Neil up from the airport when it now seemed Wymack had tasked Nicky with that responsibility, but he didn’t think Andrew was done playing yet. Neil trusted Wymack more than he did Andrew right now and hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.
‘Do you have someplace safe I can hide this?’ he asked.
‘There’s space in the living room,’ Wymack said.
Neil glanced at Nicky, wondering how he could elaborate without making them curious enough to pry. He never walked away from his bag unless it was locked up somewhere, usually in his locker at Millport’s stadium.
Before he could say anything, Wymack gave Nicky an impatient look. ‘Why are you still here? Get out.’
‘Rude,’ Nicky said, but he slipped past Wymack and disappeared down the hall.
Wymack looked at Neil again. ‘How safe is safe?’
Neil had never been an easy read before, but then, he’d never let the situation get so completely out of hand, either. On the run his mother had always stayed in control, weaving the perfect stories and choosing ideal marks to help them. Neil had fumbled his way through his transition to Millport, but he could have cut and run at any time if he didn’t like the way things were going. This, he desperately wanted to make work, for however long he could hold onto it.
‘It’s all I have,’ Neil said at length.
Wymack motioned for Neil to get out of his way. Neil watched as he unlocked the bottom drawer on his desk. It was full of hanging files, but Wymack pulled them all out and stacked them on the floor nearby. The pile tilted over as soon as he let go, papers and folders sliding every which way. Wymack didn’t even seem to notice, too busy digging a tiny key off his key ring.
‘This is only a temporary fix,’ Wymack said. ‘When you move into the dorms, you’re going to have to figure something else out.’
He held the key out to Neil. Neil looked from him to the desk to the pile of papers and back again. He opened his mouth, closed it, and tried again. He’d only managed ‘Why’ before Wymack got tired of waiting on him and pushed the key into his palm.
‘Better hurry before Andrew sends someone looking for you,’ Wymack said.
Neil swallowed the rest of his question in favor of stuffing his duffel into the drawer. Luckily most of what was in the bag was clothes, so it fit into the cramped space with a couple shoves. Neil pushed the drawer shut and locked it. He tried to give the key back, but Wymack gave him a pitying look.
‘The hell would I want that?’ Wymack said. ‘Give it back when you move out.’
Neil looked down at the key in his palm, at the security Wymack so easily and unquestioningly gave him. Maybe Neil wouldn’t get any sleep tonight, and maybe he’d spend the next couple weeks waking up every time Wymack snored a little too loud, but maybe Neil really was okay here for now.
‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘Move along,’ Wymack said.
Neil left the office. The others had left the front door open and were waiting for him in the hallway. Neil slipped the key onto his key ring as he walked to meet them. Andrew led his cousins and Kevin to the elevator while Neil closed the door and locked it behind him. The elevator car arrived only seconds after Neil rejoined them, and they filed inside.
Neil’s fleeting sense of safety vanished the second the doors closed behind him, because the others had arranged themselves in a ring around the walls of the elevator: Nicky and Aaron to his sides and Andrew and Kevin opposite him. All eyes were on Neil.
Andrew’s smile vanished when the elevator started its slow crawl down. Neil returned his stare, every muscle tensed for a fight. At the fifth floor, Andrew pushed away from the back railing and started for Neil. He reached for Neil’s keys, but Neil moved the ring out of reach. Andrew tried again, and Neil had to step back to dodge his grab. He backed right into the metal doors and realized a moment too late Andrew didn’t care about his keys at all. He buried the ring in his pocket, feeling pinned in. How stupid, that someone so short could have such presence.
‘How nice to meet you, Neil,’ Andrew drawled. ‘It will be a while before we see each other again.’
‘Somehow I don’t think I’m that lucky.’
‘Like this,’ Andrew clarified, gesturing between their faces. ‘It will have to wait until June. Abby threatened to revoke our stadium rights for the summer if we break you sooner than that. Can’t have that, can we? Kevin would cry. No worries. We’ll wait until everyone’s here and Abby has too many other Foxes to worry about. Then we’ll throw you a welcome party you won’t forget.’
‘You need to rethink your persuasion techniques. They suck.’
‘I don’t need to be persuasive,’ Andrew said, putting a hand to Neil’s chest as the elevator slowed to a stop. ‘You’ll just learn to do what I say.’
The doors slid open behind Neil. As soon as they’d parted enough Andrew gave Neil a small push. Neil tripped backward into the lobby. Andrew shoved past him, bumping him from shoulder to hip, and headed for the door. Kevin was a half-step behind him, and Aaron didn’t even look at Neil on his way by. Only Nicky stayed behind long enough to smile at Neil.
‘Ready for this?’ he asked, and he went on ahead.
Neil remained behind for a few seconds longer to stare at their backs. He was starting to think Kevin wasn’t his only problem at Palmetto State. It was almost a relief. Neil couldn’t anticipate Kevin; he couldn’t ask how much Kevin remembered about his past and he wouldn’t know until too late what finally triggered Kevin into remembering him. But Andrew was just a psychotic midget, and Neil had grown up around violence. Handling him would be easy. Neil would just have to be careful.
‘Ready,’ Neil said, and started after his teammates.