So sorry this is late. Work has been insane and it hasn't helped that I have been busy with other house chores. But here is the chapter.

The news about Everett and I spread like wildfire, but I expected nothing else. And as the week wore on, we were the only topic of gossip. Although I could care less about it. What was on my mind was Charles. He, as much as I hated to admit it, consumed my thoughts like algae at the bottom of mirror lake.

Neither Everett nor I brought up Charles again. But I knew he thought about him just as much as I did. When I tried talking about it to Dad, he turned serious quickly. I begged for answers but he only told me that the university wanted to win and they believe they wouldn't without Charles. He talked about it so factually as if the decision was already made. Maybe it was. But I begged him to help sway the university's mind. We both knew that the university was making a mistake.

Everett and I were not the only gossip. News about Charles echoed the halls, like a swear word under your breath. But the days wore on and no Charles to be seen, I believed that maybe Charles would never join the team, that we were worried about nothing.

Dad told me if the team shaped up, the university would drop the subject of Charles coming back. It gave us hope. But when the team returned from the last away game with no win, Dad, Everett, and I knew what it meant.

The following Monday, there was something in the air that hung around. It was a stink that we couldn't shake off. It hung around me. I even felt it as I went to my classes.

We all silently waited for the shoe to drop and it finally did, that Monday.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" I ask Dad as I spin around in a chair.

Dad opens his mouth but closes it when Melissa walks into the room. Her lips are pushed together in a fine line, looking as uptight as ever. Dad's demeaner changes, he sits upright, more attentive. I know this visit is not a pleasant one.

She often killed the mood when she walked in anywhere. MMK. Melissa the mood killer. That would be my nickname for her.

Dad's gaze switches from me to her then back to me. "Do you have time to get the drill sheet from the assistant director of football sports performance?"

I nod, taking the sheet from his hands. Privacy is what they need, although I wish I could stay.

As I shut the door on the way out, I hear Melissa's muffled voice. She talks about the last failure of a game and how the university won't stand for it.

Her words are harsh if they didn't try, as if they didn't give their blood, sweat and tears. She doesn't know the players like we do. We know they gave it their all. I want to run back in and yell at her, tell her she is wrong. Tell her that she should shut her damn mouth and let us work. But instead, I take slow steps farther from the conversation, leaving Dad alone with her. It makes my blood boil.

"Hey, Nora! So what did you think of the test today?" Shelly asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

The test. Hardly the most important thing on my mind. Wish I could say more. I shake my head as I try to force those questions from my mind. "It was rough. How about you?"

"Taking it tonight after practice. Any words of wisdom for me?"

"Isn't that cheating?"

He winks. "The professor would never know."

If I am going to fail, at least we would go down together. "Somehow that goes against my better judgment," I say as I tap his shoulder, then make my way past him.

"If I fail, I'll blame you."

I grit my teeth. Who can I blame if I fail? Football? "If that helps you sleep better at night, then sure."

"You're turning into a real party pooper, just like Everett. You two deserve each other."

Everett has nothing to do with this. It feels like a low blow, and I am already on edge. With a straight face, I turn to face him again. "Do you think I care, Shelly?"

He furrows his eyebrows together in silence.

Between Everett, Charles, my dad, football, I barely have enough space in my mind to think about one test. He has to understand that I am drowning. Isn't he? "Shelly, seriously, if you want to do good, you have to work for it." I wish I can say the same. "Don't rely on others for that. Not all things are a team sport."

__________________

The locker room is normally the loudest place, but as I walk into the room, the clatter instantly dies down. All eyes are on me as I get the drill sheet.

"Are you all giving me the silent treatment?" I snap. There is no more patience in me. It is gone, dried up, with my faith in getting a passing grade in Shelly and I's class.

"We are just surprised you are here since Everett isn't," one player speaks up.

This got to me. I came here long before I dated Everett. Coaches' daughter. Everett's girlfriend. I am known by anything except a name of myself. "Do you think I'm attached to the hip with him?"

The player shrugs. "We just thought coach would want as much space between you, Everett and Charles. He is coming for an interview with the coaches."

Charles. He is coming. It is real. My blood runs cold as his name bounces around my mind. For days there was barely any mention of him, but now his name was spoken as more than just a whispered swear. They mention him so casually, as if they have known for weeks. I wonder if Everett knew this. That's probably why I haven't seen him today. This was the reason why Dad was eager to shoo me off as soon as Melissa came in. Why am I the last to know? Lie to Nora until she goes crazy. Terrible plan.

"When will him come?" I ask, as I try to keep cool even though my hands are sweating.

"Don't know. Maybe it's happening now," Rick says with a smirk that I want to wipe clean off.

Breathe Nora. I take a breath. It doesn't help. I have to get out of here. Any longer and I will lose my mind. Without another word, I leave the locker room.

As I storm down the hall, Tad stops me.

"Nora, wait."

I turn to face him with a frown. I blink angry tears from my eyes. All I wanted to do is help and this is what I got, being left in the dark. I feel foolish for thinking I am an actual intern. I never would be. Just some goffer, wasting my time.

"Why? So you can tell me more lies?"

"Your dad made me promise."

That makes it worse. My own father, the one who asked me to be here, is hiding massive secrets from me. Well, they aren't secrets if everyone seems to know. "And you listened to him? I thought our friendship was more important."

Tad shuts his mouth.

Charles cannot come back. He will kill the team. I thought Dad would stop this. I thought he cared about the players.

"If I knew it mattered so much to you, I would have told you," he says softly.

I wipe a tear from my cheek. "Does Everett know?"

Tad frowns in silence, answering my question.

The fool is me. I am not an intern. I am just for show. Something pretty for the team to look at. All my work never amounted to anything. I couldn't unify the team. We couldn't stop him from coming back.

"I have to text him," I say as I pull my phone out of my pocket.

"Don't," he says as he lowers my phone.

"Nora, it's great to see you again," Charles' voice rings out from behind me.

My hair stands on edge. His voice is like nails on chalk board. I turn to see Charles approaching. Quickly, I put my phone back into my pocket as I take a step out of his way.

"How's the coach's daughter doing?"

"Fine," I spit out.

"Good to hear. I like your shoes, by the way." He points to my Gola's, then continues his way towards Dad's office no doubt.

I glance at Tad. "We can't let this happen."

"I think it already happened."

My heart sinks. No. I cannot be too late. What about the fight we were going to cause? There was no noise, no fights. Everyone was silent and took this laying down. What about standing up for ourselves? For our team?

"Nora, where is he?" Everett calls out as he storms down the hall towards me.

His eyes are dark, full of anger. He knows, but I am not the one that told him.

At that moment, Dad's office door opens and Charles steps out with a grin on his face.

"Long time no see, Everett," Charles says casually. "How are you, love?"

Smack.

It echoes the hall. Everett's fist makes contact with Charles' face. Charles clasps on the ground then quickly scurries onto his feet just in time to push Everett.

The two toss and turn in a heap of muscles. I can barely make out who is who as they push, punch, and shove each other on the floor.

Charles pulls Everett up from the ground and pushes him against the wall.

Already both faces are bloodied.

"Do it." Everett spits out blood from his mouth. Charles raises his fist to punch him.

I shake in horror. My eyes are wide. So much blood. Someone has to stop this.

"Stop!" I shout. However, they pay little attention to me. I meet Tad's eyes. He looks as terrified as myself.

Everett pushes Charles off him.

This cannot continue.

I run up to them and pull Everett's arm, hoping it will stop him. Unknowing who grabbed him, he elbows me as he try to free himself from my grasp.

I let go. It feels like I have a mouth full of pennies. A metallic taste fills my mouth. I stumble back against the wall and bring my hand up to my nose. There is red on my fingers.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Dad's voice roars as he emerges from his office. He looks at all of us, then stares at Charles. He points down the hall. "Get out."

Saying nothing more, Charles ducks his head low then leaves.

As Everett rubs his side, Dad runs to me. "Nora, are you ok?" he asks. His fingers are nimble as he strokes my nose.

Blood continues to fall, dripping onto the ground in a small puddle. My face stings. I fight back tears. I am fine. At least, I tell myself that.

I meet Everett's eyes. They only have horror. He realizes what he has done.

"It's not broken."

"Good." I look around, trying to find Everett. He is already walking off. I am about to call out to him, but Dad steps in front of me, blocking him from view.

"Leave him. You can talk later. We should get you home."

I want to protest, but the increasing pain around my nose makes me stop. "Fine."

_________________________________________

The ride back home is silent although Dad keeps giving me side glances, checking to make sure my nose won't fall from my face.

With fast food napkins shoved up my nose, I think back to how Everett threw punches at Charles. They were full of anger, pain, hatred. He wanted to maul like a rabbit beast. He wanted to cause as much damage as Charles did to him.

Finally, I can't take the silence anymore. "Charles will bring an explosion."

"Do you not think I know that?" Dad asks, raising his voice as we sit at a red light. He hits the steering wheel. I jump, not expecting him to react in such a way. "This is all Melissa and the board. I don't have a choice. They are pushing me against the wall."

I shrink in my seat. There are very few times I saw him get worked up like this. Never about football though. He was always the man with the plan. But he is planless this time.

"If they really cared about the team, they wouldn't do this," I mutter.

He bites his lip. "And I told them that. But they think Charles will bring them to their goals."

I frown as we pull up into the driveway. We both know they are wrong. Charles should not be anywhere near the team. Maybe Dad did all he could, but there has to be something I can do. Unlike Dad, my hands aren't tied.

"So, what are you going to tell Mom about this?" Dad asks, gesturing to my nose.

"Training accident. I tried to show the guys the right way to do the tires and one fell on my face."

At least that sounds believable. There is no way in Hell that I want Mom to know about how Everett elbowed me.

Savory smells swirled around us as we step into the house. Even though the blocked nose, I could still smell the freshness of Mom's cooking. It makes my mouth water.

"Hey, guys, you're just in time. Dinner is ready," Mom calls out to us.

Please don't have for freak out.

With a deep breath, I brace myself for the conversation that will follow.

I walk into the kitchen and watch as shock comes to Mom's face as she stares at me.

"I'm ok."

"It doesn't look like it." She glances at Dad, fishing for answers.

"Just a training accident. It really isn't a big deal. I was just a klutz. Dad says it's not broken so that's good."

"Paul, seriously." Mom frowns as she shakes her head.

"She's fine. Like she said, nothing to stress about," Dad says as he slips off his shoes to reveal his holey socks.

"She has Wendy's napkins stuffed up her nose. How can I not be worried about that?"

I take them out of my nose and toss them in the trash. "And now I don't."

She shakes her head again. She isn't happy. But honestly, I am not either. I don't think any of us are at this moment.

"You know how klutzy I can be," I say, as I try hard to convince her.

"You do have a point."

I smile. Never in my life have I been happy that I am accident prone until now. "Great. Now that is settled, I want dinner." I clap my hands, ready to change the topic.

"But don't let this be a habit."

"I promise it won't."

Quickly, the conversation shifts to chores, allowing my mind to wander back to Everett. I wonder what he is doing. is he thinking about me? My eyes skim my phone. Still no texts from him. My worry grows into frustration. He is the one that elbowed me and he hasn't checked on me? What is going on? The least he could do is send a text.

"So Nora, how's school?" Mom asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

I shake my head to clear it. It sends a ripple of pain from my nose throughout my body. Too much movement. Too fast.

She doesn't need to know about the C+ I got on the last paper. No one needs to know. Next paper will be better. "It's fine."

Mom nods, taking that simple response as she changes the topic again, talking about Vera and what she is up to.

Dinner finishes and still no text from Everett. My nose has stopped throbbing, thanks to some Tylenol but my heart is still aching. I want him to contact me. To apologize or something...anything. But there are only crickets.

"Hey, Nojo, Everett's here," Dad says from the hallway.

I snap my head up. The mention of his name almost causes whiplash. By now hours have passed, making me think he didn't care. Maybe I am wrong. He does care. He is here. For a second my anger flies away and my heart flutters again.

Before I open the door, I look at my reflection. No blood, but a bruise is starting to show. I would have to cover that up with makeup. Maybe Everett can show me his tricks.

I open the door and lock eyes with Everett. His hands are stuffed into his pockets. His eyes are dark.

I step out onto the front porch in silence. For a moment, we only stare at each other. The cool autumn air sinks into our bones instantly, making the silence heavier.

He crosses his arms over his chest then looks at my nose. "Are you ok?"

My nose will heal, forget what trauma it has endured. But will Everett? Will I? "I'm ok."

"I'm sorry."

The apology falls flat. Even though I have waited for that, it doesn't seem like it is enough. It leaves me wanting more. I am angry that it is so simple. Firstly, it shouldn't have taken this long for those words to come out of his mouth. Charles or not, he hurt me and there was too much silence before he came.

He sighs as he sits on the front porch step. He looks up into the night sky as if he will find the words in the stars. "Shit, Nora."

I raise my eyebrows as I sit down beside him. Shit what? I am waiting. But I will not wait long.

"Charles, he just gets the best of me. And when I saw him smiling at you, all I thought was getting the best of him. I didn't mean for you to get hurt in the process."

"You know, something my mom told me before is that fighting always gets others involved. It never remains between two people."

He nods. "Your mother is wise."

"I know she is."

He places his hand over mine and I relax under his touch. His hands are smooth, gentle, unlike they were just a few hours ago.

He is trying. I want more, but for now, sorry will have to do. It just doesn't feel like enough. "I know you didn't mean to get me."

"But I did. And as soon as I realized it, I didn't know what to do. I felt ashamed and I knew texting wasn't good enough. You needed an actual response. That's why I'm here, but I had to cool down before I came. I wasn't in the right mind. You needed the collected Everett, one that isn't worked up about Charles or football. You deserve more than an 'I'm sorry', and I'm sorry I don't have anything more. I'm sorry... you deserve more. I'm sorry I'm not more...."

His eyes have so much sadness, so much pain. I have to stop him. This is what I wanted. This is more than just the 'sorry' he opened with. He is bleeding out in front of me, giving it his all. I grab his face and kiss him.

His lips are warm and soft. He tastes like sugar and pumpkin spice.

He pulls me closer and kisses me harder.

Our lips move in perfect unison. I don't want him to let me go.

And it is over. He pulls back rests his forehead against mine. He gives a small chuckle then shakes his head. "I was prepared for you to break up with me. I expected you didn't want to be with a guy like me. That kiss was nice."

That kiss was more than nice. It made my insides feel gooey. It is exactly what I have been waiting for. Kissing Everett makes me breathless. He leaves me craving more. Everett always makes me want more. "I wasn't going to leave over what happened today. You didn't mean to."

He gives a sigh of relief. He grabs my hand and stares down the road. "I just hate him so much."

"I know."

He frowns, running his hands on his thighs. "I'm surprised your dad didn't send me away when he saw me at your front door."

"I think because my dad's giving you a second chance."

"Your dad has given me more than my fair share of second chances."

"He's good at that."

He nods although his eyes are distant.

Silence isn't getting us very far. If only I can read his mind. That would be more helpful. With gentle fingers, I push his chin to look at me. "Speak to me, Everett."

"No matter what I do, Charles comes back, ripping scarred wounds up. He's the ghost that haunts my dreams. He's the monster under my bed at night. I can't shake him." His voice cracked.

My heart breaks for him. After all Charles did, he is coming back to cause damage. We cannot let that happen. "What are you going to do about it?"

He shrugs.

This is Everett's battle. If he really does want to fight against the school and Charles, he will not be alone. I will stand by him. He deserves that. "Just know, I'll support you in whatever you need."

"Thank you."

I lean my head on his shoulder hoping to steal some of his heat. I am not dressed for this weather. "Want to come in?"

He shakes his head. "I think your dad has seen enough of me. Don't want to rock the boat any farther. I probably should go home and work on homework."

That is something I should do too. But instead, I want to spend my time with him. "Ok." He gets up from the step. "Did you walk here?" I ask after seeing no car by the house.

He turns back towards me and smiles. "I always do."

"Do you want a ride back?"

He shakes his head. "There's a reason why I walk, Nora." And with that, he walks down the driveway.