I was just about to pick up my cell to call Howard, when I thought him being the one who changed our arrangement. He claimed that he wanted us to go on a date. Now, we had and we were getting close, he’d disappeared. Part of me was curious and wanted to know, why? The other part was pissed for falling for him. Either way, it was irritating. At first, I didn’t know what to think of it, but I decided quickly enough that I didn’t like it.Right after morning practice, the guys were allowed to roam the facilities and do as they pleased. They could even leave, as long as they were back in time for practice in the afternoon. Dad and the rest of the staff had gone off somewhere to discuss the morning practice and make plans for the afternoon. With him out of the way, I tried to go ahead and talk to Howard, who was standing in for one of our missing players, but every time he noticed me getting close, he would move away. He kept doing it up until Dad showed up, and I couldn’t force the issue

I left the house, because I felt like I’d go crazy if I stayed there any longer. I figured I was overdue for a night out. The first person I thought to call was Howard, but I quickly changed my mind.He and I had barely talked after we’d started this little game. I decided, if he was going to ignore me around other people, then I wasn’t going to talk to him at all. I wouldn’t receive his calls because I was still a little bitter. I’d only just started replying to his texts a few days ago, and only because the bitterness in my chest was no longer sorely pointed at him. Now, I wondered if it wouldn’t be best for us to just stop seeing each other like this for good.It was no wonder Dad didn’t want us being together. Before, I’d just figured it was him being protective, but it was more than likely his selfish side rearing its head, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. A part of me felt like I should be angry that he could do things without talking to me, but I needed to talk him into

I left home early in the morning, long before Dad and Katie woke up, because it would be too awkward to see them. The two of them didn’t need me around for anything, and they both seemed happy with the current situation, which just made it worse for me. They were very much in love and had no problem showing it even with me in the room, and there was no way I was going to be comfortable with that.I really need to move out. Should I look into other teams to apply to?This was something I needed to put more thought into. I was sure I could get used to it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Still, it wasn’t like I was needed in the house anymore.Money was a problem, but not that big a problem. When Mom passed away, she’d left some money in my name, and I’d never touched it. It wasn’t enough to live on, but I could get an apartment and settle in for a few months, but no more. Still, I could have made the decision to leave the house and look for work ages ago, but the real reason I didn’t mov

When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. It took a minute before I remembered where I was, and stretched out, then sat up. I slipped out of bed and went to my luggage for a change of clothes before I headed for the bathroom.I was in Montana, in my grandma’s house. It had been a while since I’d been here, but nothing had changed, and unlike my stifling house, this was comforting. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs and found Grandma up and in the living room, watching TV.“Good morning, Grandma.”“Morning, Zoe,” she said, looking up with a smile. “Though you’re a little late getting up, it’ll be time for lunch in under a couple hours. Are you hungry? I had some cereal for breakfast, but I can make you something to eat.”“No, it’s fine. I’ll just have some cereal, too. Sorry for sleeping in.”She waved a hand at me. “No need to apologize, it’s not like either of us have anywhere we need to go.”I could have cooked myself, but I didn’t feel like it. Grandma was good at t

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could tell I was dreaming. Something about the blurry edges of the scenery just didn’t seem real, I was probably close to waking, too, since I could tell I was dreaming.In this dream, I found myself in the middle of a party. This wasn’t anything strange, because I’d been to lots of parties. It was someone’s house, though I had no idea who. The lighting was dim, but someone had set out some strobe lights. There were a lot of people around. I didn’t recognize any of them, though more importantly, I couldn’t even see their faces. Everything was blurry, but I could smell alcohol and sweat in the air, the sensory memory feeling so real. This was pretty much what my life used to be, before. Before I fell from grace and decided on changing myself. I would never go back to that. There were women everywhere, surrounding me, grabbing into me, too many. Back then, it was a situation I would have liked, but it could have been a nightmare right then. The hand