In My Father's Shadow (13 page)

“I’ll talk to him after the game tonight,” she
mumbled as she headed to the gym. They’d had a quick practice after
classes, ate a light dinner, and then had to report back to the
locker room to prepare for the game. He’d be there along with the
rest of the boys and it pumped her up to think he’d be cheering for
her a little more than usual.

“Don’t screw this up for us, Jones,” Jennifer growled
as Ally pulled her uniform out of her locker.

“I’m not the weak player on the team, Mansfeld,” Ally
retorted, tensing and preparing for a showdown.

Kelsey walked over and stood between them, sensing
the tension a mile away. “Save it for the other team,” she ordered,
looking more at Jennifer than Ally.

Jennifer glared one more time before stalking off to
change into her uniform. Kelsey smiled weakly and then moved on to
prepare herself.

The gym was near capacity when Ally came out with the
rest of her teammates to warm up. She scanned the crowd quickly and
spotted Cole, RJ, and Jamie about half way up the bleachers - Alec,
Ren, and Parker seated right behind them.

The other team charged out of the visitors’ locker
room amid a loud chorus of boos. Once warm-up was complete, the
official blew the whistle and they all crowded around their
coaches.

Ally listened intently to the coach’s instructions
and headed to her side of the net. Her mind focused solely on the
game as the rush of competition swept through her veins. She loved
to play and couldn’t wait to get her hands on the ball. She tried
the best she could to always be a good sport but the need to win
was so thick inside of her that it pushed her to do her very
best.

The game started and the competition heated – the
rivalry between the teams thicker than mud. The ball volleyed back
and forth several times before Ally spotted her chance. She jumped
and spiked the ball as hard as she could and cheered when it
bounced on the floor on the other side of the net. Her teammates
congratulated her, except for Jennifer, and the game continued.

The intensity of both teams heightened as the night
wore on and Ally was determined they were not going to lose again.
Each team had won a game and Ally was focused on winning the third
so they could take the match. She pushed the damp, loose strands of
her hair back, tucking it behind her ears, and positioned herself
in front of the net, waiting for the set. When the ball came flying
her way, she jumped at the exact same time as the girl across the
net from her and spiked it. But something hit her from behind,
knocking her into her opponent who accidentally punched Ally’s face
instead of the ball. The blow sent her down with such force she
fell on her ankle the wrong way. A sickening crack rent the air as
pain shot up her left leg. She crashed to the floor and shot
upright, clutching her ankle tightly, squeezing her eyes shut to
keep the tears at bay. A sticky ooze of blood flowed thickly from
her nose but she hardly noticed – the agony of her ankle was so
great. The pain in her ankle radiated up her leg, making her
nauseous, and wouldn’t recede so she rocked back and forth, not
even aware of the chaos around her. Coach Phelps reached after
shoving through the horde of players and applied a towel to her
nose. Ally pushed it away in irritation, her sole focus only on the
pain that wouldn’t stop.

“My ankle,” she moaned, struggling to stay upright
and not flop on the gym floor like a fish on dry land. She
swallowed as bile crawled up her throat and threatened to make her
lose her light dinner. Blood was congealing on her lips and that
definitely wasn’t helping matters any.

“I know, honey,” Coach Phelps soothed, forcing a
towel in Ally’s hands. “Hold the towel to your nose and I’ll help
you get to the locker room.”

Ally took the towel and pressed it to her nose,
wincing at the pain, and allowed the coach to gently help her to
her feet. Ally applied slight pressure to her left foot and
stumbled, nearly crashing back to the floor in an intense spasm of
pain. Her head spun and little stars sparked and died in front of
her eyes. She didn’t want to move – wanted to remain on the floor
until the pain abated, no longer how long it took.

“Come on, Ally,” Kelsey said from her other side,
urging her to her good leg. Her voice was shaking but comforting,
at the same time. “Let’s get you off the floor.”

Ally swung an arm around the coach’s shoulder before
grabbing onto Kelsey. The pain continued to throb and she nearly
blacked out from the intensity. She concentrated only on hopping on
her good leg across the gym floor and to the locker room, not even
noticing her cousin and her friend desperately holding on to an
angry Cole’s arms, preventing him from rushing to the floor.

Chapter Eleven

“That spiteful, conniving little wench,” Cole
muttered for the tenth time as he paced near the locker room door.
They had left the gym and congregated by the outer locker room
entrance in the hall, waiting impatiently for some word on Ally’s
condition. Cole couldn’t get the image of Ally, blood pouring from
her nose, rocking in obvious pain on the gym floor out of his mind.
His fists remained clenched at his sides and he was so tempted to
force his way in that locker room and demand to know what was wrong
with her.

“Ally’s going to get Jennifer back and get herself
suspended, isn’t she?” a pale faced Ren asked.

“We don’t know it wasn’t an accident,” Jamie
muttered, not totally convinced.

“Come on, James,” RJ said, his face marred with dark
anger. “Jennifer clearly pushed her into that other girl! We all
saw it.”

“I know! I know! But I just don’t want to believe
Jennifer would be that vicious,” Jamie admitted. He noticed Alec
sitting on the floor, back against the wall, face as white as a
ghost. He squatted down next to him and punched him lightly on the
shoulder. “Don’t worry, cuz, she’ll be fine.”

“Did you see all the blood?” Alec whispered, his eyes
wide and unseeing.

“Nose injuries always bleed a lot. Trust me - I’ve
seen my fair share of them on the football field,” Jamie reassured
him. He tousled Alec’s hair and stood.

Just then Kelsey burst through the door and started
to jog down the hall.

“Kelsey!” Cole shouted. She stopped and turned around
to look at him. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” she called over her shoulder as she resumed
her jog. “I just have to get something from the nurse’s
office.”

The Dean of the school entered the hall next and the
boys all crowded around him. “Boys,” Dean Freeman said, hands in
the air. “I assure you that Miss Jones is okay. She does need to go
to the hospital for some x-rays, but it’s nothing serious. We think
her ankle is broken so if one of you has a large car, I’d
appreciate it if you could drive us. She needs to be able to
stretch her leg out in the back.”

“I have an SUV,” RJ offered, patting his pockets,
looking for his keys as if to prove it. He frowned and jabbed a
thumb over his shoulder. “I’ll get my keys and pull it up.” He
sprinted down the hall and pushed through the doors, the cool air
sneaking in past him.

Dean Freeman looked at Alec and gave him a reassuring
smile. “Mr. Jones, your sister is just fine. We called your mother
and assured her that she didn’t need to rush home but she only
agreed as long as we call her once the x-rays have been read. Your
mother asked me to have you call her – she thought you might be a
little shaken up by the accident.”

Cole bristled at the mere mention of the word
‘accident’. It galled him that the Dean was looking at the incident
as though no malicious intent was behind it. That meant there’d be
no punishment.

Alec produced his cell phone from the front pocket of
his jeans. His fingers trembled as he pushed buttons then held the
phone to his ear, ambling away to hear better. Cole wished he could
comfort the kid but he knew anything he said would sound empty.
Cole was too worried to console anyone.

“Where are the parents?” Jamie asked, his brow
furrowed. “Anyone know?”

“Cleveland,” Ren said as he studied his watch.
“They’re in the same time zone as us so the opening act is probably
on stage right now. I’m sure our parents are in the dressing
rooms.”

RJ returned, his cheeks and nose red from the biting
wind, a jacket draped over his arm. He threw his keys at Cole. “You
drive them and we’ll follow in Jamie’s car.”

Alec ended his call, his face more relaxed, and moved
next to Jamie. “Will one of you take me to the hospital, too?”

Jamie tossed an arm around Alec’s shoulders. “Sure,
cuz. You can ride with me.”

Kelsey came back pushing a wheelchair. She didn’t
stop to chat, just opened the door and maneuvered the chair inside
the locker room.

Cole pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned
against the cold, stone wall, waiting. Ally had to be in pain and
it made his stomach tighten just thinking about it. He wished
they’d just hurry and get her out of the locker room and to the
hospital where someone could help her. He was still tempted to
force his way inside and carry her himself but didn’t need to as
finally, the locker room door opened and the assistant coach backed
out, pulling the wheelchair with her. Once she got in the hall, she
turned it the right way and paused to speak briefly to the
Dean.

The boys gathered around Ally who sat in the chair,
left ankle splinted and propped up, head tipped back, eyes closed
with a white towel, obviously concealing ice, pressed to her face.
Her left hand clutched the arm of the chair tightly and dried blood
covered the front of her yellow jersey.

Cole’s heart stopped and he longed to hold her hand
and whisper words of comfort to her but he knew better. She was
hurting and she was furious. Nothing he could say would matter much
at this point.

“Ally,” Alec whispered fearfully. “Are you okay?”

She cracked open an eye and the corners of a grin
were just visible beneath the towel. She loosened her hold on the
arm and extended her hand to her brother. He stepped forward and
took it, squeezing it softly. “I’m fine, Alec,” she said, her voice
cracking and totally unconvincing.

“Here Ally,” RJ said, as he draped the jacket over
her body. “It’s chilly out there.”

“Thanks,” she croaked, closing her eyes once
more.

The assistant coach wheeled her out to RJ’s truck,
which he’d pulled as close to the gym doors as possible and left it
running. The heater was on full force, warming the entire vehicle.
RJ opened the back door as the coach stopped the chair and applied
the brake.

“Al,” Cole said, bending close to her ear. “Put your
arm around my neck. I’m going to have to lift you to the seat and
you’re going to have to scoot back slowly. It’ll probably hurt like
hell for a few minutes.”

She nodded and did as he asked. He careful lifted her
out of the chair and onto the seat, wincing when she did as she
slid far enough back so they could close the door. Dean Freeman got
in on the passenger side as Cole jumped in on the driver’s
side.

“Al,” Cole called out. “Do you want to call your mom
and dad now?”

“No,” she whispered, barely audible over the noise of
the heat flowing through the vents. “Mom said to call her after the
x-rays.”

Cole drove as quickly as he could through the small
town and hopped on the freeway. The nearest hospital was ten
minutes away and even though he knew it wasn’t a dire emergency, he
didn’t like that she was suffering.

He spotted the bright sign for the hospital and
pulled RJ’s SUV to the emergency entrance. Dean Freeman went inside
to get a wheelchair and inform the administration desk what had
happened. Cole opened the door and gathered her in his arms. Her
eyes were still squeezed shut and she still had the ice pressed to
the bridge of her nose but it didn’t hide the pain etched in her
face.

When Dean Freeman returned with a nurse and a
wheelchair, Cole lifted Ally out of the car and kissed the side of
her head, placing her in the chair. She smiled weakly before the
nurse wheeled her through the automatic doors. The others pulled up
behind him and Alec sprinted after Dean Freeman who was nervously
following his injured student.

“Give me my keys, bro,” RJ said. “I’ll go park the
truck – you go inside.”

“Thanks,” Cole said as he placed the keys in RJ’s
palm and raced inside. He found no sign of them and asked a nurse
at the desk. The nurse smiled kindly and told him that only family
members were allowed in the exam room at that time and if he’d have
a seat in the waiting area, she’d let him know when it would be
okay to see her.

Cole didn’t argue – couldn’t form the words – and
plopped into a chair as RJ, Jamie, and Ren joined him.

“I wonder what happened with the game,” Jamie mused
as he picked a sports magazine off a nearby table. Cole didn’t
recognize the athlete on the cover as it was torn nearly in half.
Jamie dropped it back down and leaned forward, wringing his hands.
“I mean with Jennifer. Do you think the coach punished her?”

RJ shrugged. “I doubt it. It looked like an accident
even though we all know Jennifer meant to do it.”

“That spiteful little wench,” Cole muttered
again.

Jamie’s phone rang and he frowned at the screen.
“It’s Aunt Liz,” he said as he flipped open the phone, the others
listening to his conversation.

“She’s still in the back but she seemed okay when we
brought her,” Jamie said, shrugging at Cole. “Um, they’re going to
x-ray her I guess and she if her ankle is broken.”

He paused as he listened. “It didn’t look like an
accident to me, Aunt Liz, but don’t you worry about it – we’ll take
care of it.” Evil glimmered in his eyes and Cole couldn’t help but
feel that familiar camaraderie and the comfort it brought. He
grinned at Jamie and offered a fist which Jamie bumped. “No, Aunt
Liz, no one is going to get in trouble. Don’t worry about that, all
right? I swear!”