Broken Ties

Poppy“YOU DON’T THINK he’ll bring her, right?” My cousin Ashleigh whispered as we made our way through Deacon Faris’s house.It was crowded, but the Rixon Raiders had won 20 - 13. So everyone was amped up and ready to party.Including me.“Who?” I frowned back at her as we fought through the crush to find the rest of our friends.“Penelope.”“I thought you and Ezra weren’t—”“We’re not,” she rushed out. “But Jesus, Poppy. I don’t want to see him with her. Maybe this was a bad idea.” She hesitated.Ashleigh was kind of involved with our friend Ezra. He was Aaron’s foster brother, and Aaron was my… friend.One of my best friends.I grabbed her arm gently and pulled her over to a quiet spot. “Sorry. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?” I gave her a soft smile.“Doing what?”“Being insensitive,” I said. “I don’t mean to be. I’m just… I’m nervous.” So nervous my heart was beating wildly in my chest.“Nervous?” she asked. “But why?”“Because I like Aaron, Leigh,” I admitted. It was a relief to t

“Get it together, Poppy,” I chided myself in the mirror. “You’re being ridiculous.” Laughter in the hall caught my attention and my heart ratcheted at that voice.His voice.Aaron Bennet.One of my best friends.My…I shook those thoughts out of my head.Crap. He and his friend Cole were right outside the bathroom, laughing and joking.“I thought we were hanging with everyone for Ashleigh’s birthday?” Cole asked.“Yeah, we can, for a little bit,” Aaron said. “But then I figured we can invite some people to your house and chill.”“Dude, it’s Monday. We have an early practice tomorrow.”“So? We’re seniors now, Kandon.” Aaron chuckled. “We’ve got to make the most of it while we can. Besides, I heard Madison say she wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.” “I’m not interested in Madison,” Cole said.“Why the hell not? She’s hot as fuck.”My breath caught and I clapped a hand over my mouth.“You hook up with her then.”“Maybe I will.” Aaron snorted, and thankfully, they moved down the ha

“Just don’t lose sight of—”“The end goal.” I moved around her but stopped to kiss her cheek. “Yeah, yeah, Dad already gave me the lecture.”“We’re not lecturing you, Aaron. We’re just aware you’re under a lot of pressure.” “Not this again.” Sofia shuffled into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and yawning.“Something you want to tell us, sweetheart?” Dad’s brow went up at her bedraggled state.“I didn’t sleep well. Is there coffee?”“Fresh pot,” Mom answered. “I’ll make it. Sit.” She went over and pressed her hand to my sister’s forehead. “Are you feeling all right?”“I feel fine. Exhausted, but fine.”“You let me know if you start to feel sick, okay?”“Sure, Mom.” Sofia dropped her head onto her arms and I glanced at Mom.“And you worry about me burning the candle at both ends.” “I’m fine,” Sofia murmured, lifting a hand in a small wave.“Where’s Ezra?” Dad asked.“Probably over at the Chases’.”“He’d better not—”“Morning.” Ezra clapped Dad on the back.“We were just talking about you.”“Wh

“Aw, look at all that cuteness.”“You call it cuteness, I call it chaos. They run me ragged, and I can swim two hundred yards in one-fifty point eight.”“Impressive.” I grabbed the books I needed and closed my locker.“You should come watch me practice.”“Maybe I will.”His eyes twinkled. “Yeah? I thought I’d have to work a little harder to get you to say yes.”“Half naked guys in itty bitty Speedos. What’s not to like?”“Oh, it’s like that, huh?” Laughter bubbled in his chest. “Can I walk you to class?”“Sure.” I shrugged, keeping a respectable distance between us. It wasn’t like we were dating, not really. We’d hung out a few times. Maybe shared a kiss in the library last week.My cheeks burned as I remembered his words.“You know, my friends told me you were a lost cause. Said that you and Aaron Bennet were a thing.”I’d instantly regretted it—not that I’d kissed him, but that I’d done it out of anger. Because a few days before, I had watched Aaron kiss Zara, and I wanted to get ba

I shoved away the sinking feeling in my chest. I had three colleges on my list: Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Iowa. But things had moved slow last year. Coach Ford and Dad constantly reassured me not to worry, that I still had time. But how could I not? I wasn’t like Sofia. I didn’t have my future all mapped out or a 4.0 GPA. I was an average student with average life goals. Except for football.Football was my shot at being something, at making my mark.“Hey, you okay?” Ezra noticed my sullen expression.“Yeah.” I gave him an easy smile. Because that’s what people expected of me. I was the laid-back one, the joker, the good guy. I didn’t take myself—or life—too seriously.“Hey, you guys want to go to Riverside after we’re done here?”“No can do, I’m meeting Ashleigh. We’re going out with McKay and Pen,” Ezra said, dragging his jersey over his head.“Of course you are.” I smiled. He and Ashleigh spent a lot of time with Gavin McKay and his girlfriend Penelope. But McKay was good people