Somebody read?

I've kind of been writing a story and was wondering if anyone would like to read it? I don't want to put it on here if I'm not going to get feedback.

-Thanks-

Oooo what kind of story? I want to read it =) Posty posty!

Well I don't really know how to explain it. It's like a teen story, or whatever you want to call it.

I'll read it!

Alright guys. I'll post chapters at a time, is that fine?

Yuppers!! Can't wait!

Hey Gibbee! Just a reminder that one-word posts are not allowed. Please edit your latest post

Post, Cass, post! =D You've got me excited now....

Okay. Here goes nothing. The first chapter might not be that good, just setting a few things up.

I get in postion, knees bent, arms out in front of me. The roar of the crowd fills my ears, they all wanted us to win. Ball goes up....and over the net. "Mine!" I yell, putting my arms together and swinging up. The girl nexts to me sets it up and I spike it over. I hear the thud and the whistle blows. The ref indicates that the ball hit the opponets side and that we got the point, winning. We won! The crowd urrupts in cheers and applause. After losing the first game, coming back the second and winning the set in the third when we started out down by twenty. A smile overwhelems my face as I get patted on the back. Time to line up and congragulate the other team.

"Good game girls!" Coach McWilliams, aka Coach Mac, congragulates us. "Close, but a great come back. Now head to the locker room!" We all follow her orders, and begin to make our way to the locker room. "Wilson, wait up."

I stop and turn around, what could she want? "Yeah Coach?" I ask.

"Great game, I'm very proud of you." She pats me on the shoulder. "Now go get changed."

"Thanks Coach," I say, a smile on my face. This whole year I had been wanting Coach Mac's approval and I had finally gotten it. I turn and head to the locker room, ready to change into my sweats and t-shirt. I push open the door of the locker room and the place errupts. My ears are filled with the sound of applause and everyone congragulating me.

My best friend and my sister, Kently pats me on the shoulder. "Sis! I'm so proud of you!" she yells, in my ear too.

"Should be, Kent," I say. "Now let me change so we can get home and I can do my homework." I unzip my gym bag, removing my change of clothes. I slip my spandex off and volleyball sweatpants on. I take off my volleyball jersey and put on my t-shirt. "Alright sis, let's go," I say, puttin my gym bag strap on my shoulder. I slip on my slidders and walk towards the locker room door. "See you all later!" I push open the door, Kently close behind me.

Once in the gym, there are still people hanging out, parents waiting for their kids, boyfriends waiting for their girlfriends. "Jaz," Trayton, my boyfriend, says, "good game." He smiles and bends down to give me a peck on the cheek. The smell of his Axe cologne fills my nose. "I'm so proud of you." He stragithens up, putting his around my shoulder.

"Thanks Tray," I say, smiling up at him, looking into his deep blue eyes. Those eyes that made me fall in love with him in the first place. Trayton, Kently, and I, all in a row, make our way outside and to our cars. "I'll see you tomorrow at school," I tell Trayton and stand on my tippy toes to give him a kiss.

"See you tomorrow Jazlyn," he says, giving me a small kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself up, and he wraps his arms around my waist, picking me up.

We hear Kently groan and we pull apart. "You two," she says, rolling her eyes. "Sis, didn't you say you have homework?"

I sigh and look into Trayton's eyes. "She has a point, we should be getting home," I say. I give him a small hug and get into my car. Backing out, I wave to Trayton.

***********************************
The next mornig, I wake up to the sound of the pipes creaking when the shower is turned on across the hall. I rub my eyes and look at my clock. 7:00? Already? I was supposed to be up half an hour ago, to take my shower. It was a good thing I had decided to take it last night. I roll out of bed, my feet hit the plush carpet that filled my room. I wiggle my toes and stretch, my back popping.

I walk into my parents room to use the restroom. After I wash my hands, I head back over to my room. I open my closet door and look for a shirt to wear. "What to wear today?" I ask myself outloud. Since it was a football night, I decide to wear a school t-shirt and a pair of dark wash pants. I plug in my Ipod and turn it on. 'Crazy for this Girl' by Evan and Jaron plays out the speakers. Getting ready, I sing along to every song that plays. I decide to leave my light brown hair down today. I turn off my Ipod and put it in my purse.

7:30, not to bad on my time. I slip on my black Toms and pick up my backpack, purse, phone and keys. I head downstairs, stopping off at Kently's room. "Kent, be ready in fifteen, we're going to leave at 7:45," I say.

She looks away from her mirror and says, "Alright sis, I'll be done in five."

"Better be," I say and continue my way downstairs. My mom is picking up her briefcase when I reach the bottom of the stairs. "Early appointment this morning, mom?"

She jumps a little, not realizing I was there. "Oh, yes, Jazlyn," she says, looking at her watch. "And I'm going to be late if I don't hurry. Bye." She waves and leaves the house, not telling Kently or my brother, Destin, goodbye. I guess I should be used to it by now, but I'm not. It seems she never has time for us now.

In the kitchen, I pick out an apple to eat and walk to Destin's room. "Destin," I say, knocking on his bedroom door. I crack open the door, his little body is lost in his bed sheets. He lays in the middle of his racecar bed, currled up, more than likely due to a nightmare. I manuver my way through his clutered room and sit on the edge of his bed. "Destin," I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. I shake him a small bit. "It's time to wake up."

He opens his eyes and looks up at me. "I don't want to go to school," he says into his blankets.

I sigh, readying myself for another struggle to get him to go to school. He was always picked on at school, for his name, grades, anything his first grade class could think of. "Come on, you have to. Just think of it this way, it's Friday," I say. "Do it for me?" I stick out my bottom lip.

"For you sissy," he says, and pushes his blankets away. "Now leave so I can get dressed."

I laugh and stand up. "Alright, be ready in five minutes," I say and turn to leave.

Back in the kitchen. Kently is sitting a barstool, eating a bowl of cereal, in a skirt. She had always been the more girly of the two of us girls. "Did you get Destin up?" she asks, concern in her eyes.

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "I feel so bad for the kid. I didn't realize first graders were so harsh." I throw my apple core in the trash and sit down next to Kently.

"Me either," she says, shaking her head, her blond curly hair bounching. "Times certainly have changed." She drinks the rest of her milk and gets up. She rinses out her bowl and place it in the dishwasher.

"I'm hungry," I hear Destin whisper from the doorway. His short brown hair was sticking up everywhere, his jeans were just a little short. Poor kid.

I stand up and brush down his hair. "Do you want a banana or something?" I ask, bending down in front of him.

"I want pancakes," he says. "With chocolate chips."

"Maybe tomorrow, buddy. We don't have time today," I say.

He crosses his arms. "Pancakes."

I sigh and stand up. "Here's a banana, I'll make you pancakes tomorrow, promise." I hand him a banana.

He looks at it, then up at me. "Pinky promise?" We pinky promise, and he takes the banana. He peels it and throws the peel in the trash.

"Alright, Kently, Destin, time for school," I say and we head out the front door. "Make sure to buckle in Destin." I turn on the car and we make our way to Destin's school.

******************
After I drop Destin off at school, we head over to the high school. I park in my usual spot, next to Trayton. He's leaning against his old truck, football jersey tucked into his faded jeans, sticking out the back. I get out of the car and give Trayton a hug. "Alright, let's go endure another day of school," I say. Hand - in - hand, Trayton and I walk into the school building, Kently way ahead of us.

I really like it so far! Kinda cool that it's two older girls and a little brother (I take it) just like my family. Although we don't get on nearly as well as they do! Keep going! I want to keep reading ^.^

Awesome. Thanks. Here's chapter 2

The first half of the day went by so slow, but of course that's just how Friday's worked. We had finally made it to lunch, my favorite part of the day - not because of the food, but because I got to spend time outside. The quad, it was ours, it was something every Freshmen dreamed about, but rarely that dream came true. My group of friends just happened to be the lucky ones, my friends and Kently. Normally the people who claimed the quad were Seniors, but since Kently was my sister, and my friends liked her, she got to bask in the glory as well.

Laney, my best friend, and I get out of Trig late, so by the time we got to the caf, the food was picked over, and there wasn't much to begin with. We both settle for a salad. Back in gradeschool, Laney and I didn't really get along. I always thought she was on the of those prissy kids who always got what she wanted. Which was half true, she did always get what she wanted, but she was actually quiet nice.

The air was perfect, it smelled like fall out. It was still warm enough that they hadn't put up the glass walls of quad up yet. At lunch, Laney and I sat at different tables. She sat more with the cheerleaders, while I sat with Trayton, his best friend, Clay, and his girlfriend, Sarah. We didn't really have that good of a friendship, Sarah and I. I don't know why, but I always felt like she hated me. And I had no idea why.

"Finally, there you are. I was worried you had ditched me," Trayton says, smiling up at me, a piece of cheese hanging from the corner of his mouth. It looked like it was pizza day, which made me sad a little bit, pizza was the one good thing they had at this school.

I sit my bowl down and shake my head. "Of course I didn't, babe. Henney didn't let us out until everyone was done with their test," I say. "Is that piece of cheese mine, or did you save me a whole piece of pizza?"

He wipes at his mouth, getting a hold of the cheese. He smiles his award winning smile. I swear, it's perfect. "Actually, I did save you a piece. I know how much you love pizza." He picks up the piece left on his tray and holds it out to me. I take it and smile. "Thanks. But I was just teasing," I say, and take a bite.

"I know. But I really did save you a piece, normaly you're first in line. You do like to eat," he says, with a small teasing sound. Or atleast I hope it was teasing.

"You're such a doll," I say, leaning against his arm. "Has anyone seen Kently?" I ask, looking around. Kently bounced from table to table, and I couldn't see her anywhere. See here, or hear her. They all shake their heads. Where could she be? I decided to text her to see where she's at. It wasn't like her, not showing up to lunch. Trayton was right, I liked to eat and so did Kently, but somehow we stayed slim. We both knew it would hit us in a few years.

---------------------------

The rest of the school day had gone smoothly, but Kently hadn't texted me back. What happened to her? Hopefully she just forgot to turn her phone off and would be at practice. And if not, it'd be my head as the oldest.

Friday was just a good day all around. It lead to the weekend and football games which meant shorter practices. After sending Trayton off with a kiss, I headed to the locker room for practice. The locker room was buzzing. We were all excited for the game tonight. We were playing our rivals, the Pirates, and it would bea tough game. Everyone knew that.

The whole team seemed to be in the locker room, everyone except Kently. "Hey, has anyone seen Kently?" I ask, hoping someone would know.

One of her friends, Emily, spoke up. "She went home after second hour, she said she felt sick." This wasn't like Kently; she hardly went home sick, unless she was dying. We both had perfect attendance, and we weren't willing to just let that go. It had to be something else.

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Practice was short, shorter than normal, and I had no idea why. But I was glad it was. I needed to pick up Destin from the babysitter and get home to shower before the game. Instead of changing completely, I throw on a pair of sweats, tell the girls I'll see them at the game, and head off. I couldn't stop thinking about Kently. Was something else bothering her? Or was she really sick?

Awesome! Keep it coming! We're really getting into the plot of the story now

When I went to pick up Destin, he was off in a corner by himself. There were other kids there, they were just ignoring him. I didn't know what their problem was. Destin was a great kid, but he couldn't make any friends. I hoped that someday it would pass. But what really bothered me was he didn't even have a toy with him, he seemed to be talking to himself.

I started to walk towards Destin, but I hear my name being called out. It was Mrs. Richards, the babysitter. "Jazlyn, can I talk to you? It's about Destin." What had he done? I change my direction and she leads me towards the small kitchen she had in her basement for the kids. "Destin's a great kid, but these past couple of weeks he's been getting in a little trouble. I've been looking through his bag, to see if it's just here or not. I hope you don't mind, but there was a note today from his teacher. I wanted to see if maybe the note said the same thing I'm about to tell you." I really wish she would just get to the point already; I needed to go home to check on Kently. She takes a deep breath. "Jazlyn, these past couple of weeks, I've been noticing a slight violent side to Destin."

I shake my head. "Destin would never hurt someone," I say. "What are you trying to say?" What could she possibly mean?

"Well, I've had a couple of my helpers report them seeing Destin hit a few of the kids. And they had been watching them for a while, and it looks like he just did it," she says. "I asked him why he was hiting these kids, and he told me he wanted to be like daddy. Jazlyn, do you have any idea what this could mean?"

"I have no idea what he's talking about Mrs. Richards, but I'd like to take my brother home," I say. "We'll see you Monday." I walk back over to Destin, grab a hold of his hand and walk out to my car. What had Destin been seeing? I've never seen my dad be abusive. Had he been hiting mom? Or Destin? Or maybe Kently? In the car, I look in the rearview mirror to look at Destin. "Destin, Mrs. Richards told me that you've been hitting kids. Is that true?" I ask.

He nods his little head. "I sure have, just like daddy," he says. He smiles, his two front teeth missing.

"Has daddy been hitting you?" I ask, affraid of the answer.

He shakes his head no. "No, only mommy. He likes to hit her," he says, as if it was nothing.

How long had this been going on? "How do you see this?" I ask.

"At night, when I get up to go to the bathroom. I don't think they know I see them."

I put the car in drive and start to head home. "If daddy ever hits you, you need to tell me," I say. "And you need to stop hitting kids, it's not nice."

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After putting Destin in front of his homework, I head upstairs to Kently's room. Her door is closed, but I can hear music so I knew she was home. I knock on the door and wait for her response. After a few moments of not getting a response, I open the door to see Kently lying on her bed. She looked terrible - her hair was all matted up, her face was tear streaked. What had happened.

I go over to her bed, and gently shake her. "Kently?" When she doesn't wake up, I shake her again. "Kently?" I say again, a little bit louder. Finally I get a response, a grunt and her eyes flutter open. "Kently, are you alright?" I ask.

At my voice, her eyes open all the way. "Jaz, you need to get out of here," she whispers.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh things are heating up!!! POST MORE, POST MORE! I'm super into this right now!!

I couldn't leave until Kently told me everything, and it took awhile for her to pour it all out. At first all she told me was that she came home not feeling good. Eventually she told me that was having a bad feeling and needed to go home to check on the hosue. Dad's car was in the driveway, as was someone else's. Dad had been on a business trip and wasn't supposed to get home until later today. Kently didn't think anything about it, Dad had caught an earlier flight and was with a coworker. She was right, Dad had caught an earlier flight and was with a coworker - his secretary. She checked every room in the house, twice, before going back to our parents' bedroom where she found Dad cheating with this woman. The woman eventually left, and so did Dad. "That's everything," Kently said.

I wasn't sure if it was everything, but I didn't want to push her. "Where's Dad?" I ask, stopping in the middle of the room. I had been pacing, something I did when I got nervous.

Kently shrugs. "Don't know, don't care. Hopefully he went and got himself killed." She said the word with such power, like she really ment it.

"K, I get that you don't like him right now, but he is our dad. You don't want that."

"How could he do this to mom? To us? To Destin? Espically Destin, he needs a good example. I always thought Dad would fit into that role, guess not."

I turned to Kently. "Dad wasn't who we thought he was. I guess he's been abusing mom too," I say. She looks at me with a confused look, so I go on to tell her about earlier.

"I can't believe it," she mutters. "Why is mom putting up with this?" She shakes her head.

"I have no idea," I say, sitting down next to Kently. "I wish she wouldn't though. She doesn't deserve this. Do you think that's why she's been distancing herself from us? I mean she doesn't get back from work until late and leaves early. I've only seen her this morning. And she seemed hurried to leave then."

"I think you're on to something, Jaz. I haven't seen her at all this week. She wasn't even at our game last night," she says. "Hey, speaking of games, don't you have to go watch Trayton play? I'm sure if you don't show up Trayton won't be too happy."

I look at the clock, not realizing how late it had got. I had totally forgotten about the game. Kently was right, Trayton probably wouldn't be happy if I didn't show up. But right now I didn't care. "You're right. He won't be too happy if I don't show, but I don't really care. He can get over it, besides the game's probably already halft over."

"But isn't it the big game tonight? I didn't figure you wanted to miss this one."

Tonight was the night of the big game, the game I had been looking forward to. "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine. Go to the game, I know you want to," she says. "I'll watch Destin and fix him some dinner."

I get up and hug Kently. "I'll be back soon, promise. "

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When I showed up at the game, there was still two minutes left in the first half. The score was tied at fourteen. I could tell it was an intense game. We had the ball and were getting ready to score. And when we did, the crowd went wild.

The game ended with us on top. We had won 35 to 21. My friends and I all waited for the boys to come out so we could congratulate them. The football players came out of the locker room at different times. It seemed like everytime someone came out, a cheer came from the crowd.

As soon as Trayton came out, I had to hold myself back. He made a few stops on his way, and none of them concerned me until he came up to this girl and gave her a hug. Now I wasn't the jealous type, but I had never seen this girl before. I watch him as he smiles and laughs with this girl, before starting to walk again. He didn't head towards me, but instead began walking in a different direction.

"Where's Trayton going?" I ask aloud.

The girls around me quiet down and look towards Trayton. Laney shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe he's going off to talk to someone. Don't worry, he'll come find you," she says.

I know I could of waited for him to come up to me, but I wanted to get home. I decide to follow him to wherever he was going. He finally stops to talk to someone. I walk up to him and stand next to him. The guy he was talking to looks down at me and then back to Trayton. "I better be going. Good game though," he says, shaking Trayton's hand.

After the guy walks off, Trayton turs to me. "Hey babe," he says, picking me up in a hug. We were face to face now and I could see straight into his eyes. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"I am too," I say, resting my head on his forehead. "You did great. Way to make that winning touchdown. I'm so proud of you." I give him a kiss.

He pulls away from the kiss and sets me down. "There's a party at Clay's, you game?" he asks, taking my hands.

"I can't," I say. "I need to get home. Kently went home not feeling good, and neither of my parents are home yet. I'm sorry."

I could see the disappointment growing in his eyes with each word. He sighs. "Alright, you go be a good sister. I'll miss you," he says.

I smile. "Hang out tomorrow?" I ask.

He nods. "Of course. I'll come over at noon and we can decide what we want to do, okay?"

"See you then," I say. I stand on my tippy toes and give him a peck. "Have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do." I turn and wave, walking off.

---------------------

I arrive home and my mom's car is in the driveway. I thought about going to Clay's, but I knew Kently needed me. We needed each other in a time like this. I walk into the house and mom's sitting in the living room, watching the news. "Hey mom," I say.

"Hello sweety," she says, smiling at me. "How was school?"

"It was good," I say. "Practice was cut short today because of the big football game tonight. We won, by the way. How was work?"

She rolls her eyes. "It was work," she says. She goes back to watching TV, and I just stand there looking at her. She was a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and brown, and she had had the biggest brown eyes. I was a spitting image of her, while Destin had her hair but Dad's green eyes, and Kently looked like Dad. Although Dad had straight hair, so we had no idea where Kently's curly hair came from. Mom must of felt my eyes, as she turns back to me. "What?" she asks. "Do I have something on my face?"

I shake my head. "No, mom. Just looking at how beautiful you are," I say.

Her face lights up. "Well thank you, honey," she says.

I smile. "You're welcome mom, I'm going up to bed. Good night," I say and head upstairs. The look on her face made me happy, but sad. She probably hadn't been called beautiful in a long time. Sure she had grey strands in her hair, she was getting a little wrinkled, but she still looked so young. But I had noticed she looked a little more aged than she did a couple of months ago. What was going on?

.... Is Trayton cheating? I thought the dad was abusing Kently, too. I'm glad he's not, but still... ouch.

I'm super excited for the next part!!

For it being such a stressful day, I surprisingly fell right asleep and didn't wake up until the next morning.I took a quick shower, get dressed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and head downstairs. Before I could take the last step, I hear yelling from somewhere downstairs. "Jack, where are you?! You were supposed to be home last night," my mom voice comes from the living room. It was quiet for a minute as my dad tried to defend himself. "Look, Jack, I'm tired of this. I've stayed up too many nights waiting for you to get home, and you never show up." It was quiet again. "You know what Jack, just don't show up ever, okay?" I was about to turn when my mom spoke up again. "I know you don't want to do this to the kids, but you're never here anyway. Nothing will change." She sighs. "One more chance. If you pull your little disappearing act again, you will be gone."

I turn around to head back up the stairs when I hear my name. "Jazlyn, can you watch Destin today? I need to run a few errands and go to the office," she says, looking flustered. I wondered if she thought if I heard the conversation.

"Uh, actually I was going to hang out with Trayton today," I say. "But it's fine, I can watch him."

She smiles and gives me a small hug. "Thank you so much sweety." She lets me go, straightening out her outfit. "I'll see you tonight. Tell the others that I love them."She grabs her keys and heads out the door.

I sighed and sat down on the bottom step. I take my phone out of my pocket and speed dial Trayton's number. Putting my phone up to my ear, I wait for him to answer. I didn't have to wait long though, it went straight to voicemail. That was strange, he always had his phone on. 'Hey, this is Tray. Sorry can't get to the phone right now. Leave a message and I'll get to ya.' I sigh and press 1 to leave a message. "Hey Tray, it's Jaz. Mom had to go to the office, so I'm stuck watching Destin. Sorry, call me back. Love you." I hang up and rest my face in my hands.

"Jazzy." I look up to see Destin standing in front of me, his hair sticking up every which way, still in his pj's because he just got of bed.

I smile up at him. "Hey buddy. Did you sleep good?" I ask.

"Yeah, but there was some yelling," he says. So he had heard it. Poor boy, he was only six and was going through so much that he didn't know. He had an abusive and cheating dad and a mom who took it, and because of it she was never around. "Where's mommy?" he asks.

"Mom had to go do somethings, she'll be home tonight," I say. His face falls. He didn't deserve this. "How about those pancakes I promised you?" I ask, and as soon as I do, his face fills with a smile. "Come on, go get dressed and I'll cook you breakfast." He runs off to his room. I get up and go up the stairs to wake up Kently, but I didn't ahve to. She was already up. "Hey," I say. "Mom went to work, I'm cooking chocolate chip pancakes, you want some?"

She was sitting at her vanity, putting on make up. She met my eyes through the mirror. "Uh, sure," she says.

Kently had always been more worried about her looks than I, but I don't think I ever saw her putting on make up on the weekend. "What's the special occasion?" I ask, leaning against the doorframe.

Her face reddens. "Nothing. Am I not allowed to look pretty?" She pushes herself away from the vanity and stands up, turning around to face me. "But actually, I was going to run down to the library, I have a study date with Nick."

I smile. "Nick Richards? The starting quarterback?" Not only was Nick the starting quarterback, he had been Kently's crush since her seventh grade year.

She smiles. "Yeah, he needs help with Anatomy, so I told him I'd help," she says, shrugging. "It's no big deal."

"Sure, no big deal. Well you have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do," I say. "I'm just glad someone gets to spend their day with their man."I turn around and get ready to go back downstairs, but Kently speaks up.

"You were supposed to meet with Trayton, weren't you? Do you want me to stay and watch Destin?"

I shake my head. "It's fine. I already called him. Besides, he's already mine, Nick's not your's yet. Have fun." I head downstairs and am greeted at the bottom by Destin. "Don't worry bud, I'm getting ready to start on your pancakes," I say, patting him on the head. I make my way around him and into the kitchen.

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The morning went by slow and it turned into afternoon. It was three and I hadn't gotten a call from Trayton. I sat across from Destin playing Sorry! when Kently came in through the door. "Jaz, we need to talk," she says.

I look at her, then back at Destin. "Can it wait a minute, sis? Destin and I are about done with our game. Go ahead and head upstairs," I say.

Kently goes up to her room and Destin and I go back to our game, which we finished in five minutes. "I'm going to talk to Kently, you stay down here and watach toons, okay?" I ask and he nods his head. I push myself up off the floor and walk up to Kently's room. I open the door and sit down next to her on her bed. "So how was your study date with Nick?" I ask.

"It went well," she says. "I think we made some progress, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

I look at her. "Okay, well, what is it?"

She takes a deep breath. "He took me out to lunch...And well, I saw Trayton there. He...he was with another girl," she says, looking at me, biting her lower lip.

"I...I don't believe you. He wouldn't do that," I say, shaking my head. "He loves me."

"Jaz, I know what I saw. He's obviously a sleeze bag."

"M-maybe it was just his cousin or something," I say.

She shakes her head. "I don't think he would look at his cousin the way he looked at this girl, sis. I'm sorry."

"You're just jealous. Jealous that I have a boyfriend, and you don't. You want me to break up with him," I say, getting up mad. I didn't believe her. I storm out of her room and run to my room, slaming my door. It couldn't be true, I think as I lay face down on my bed. It's not true.

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I stayed locked up in my room pretty much for the rest of the weekend, I couldn't face Kently. Monday morning finally rolled around, and I was glad. I hadn't called Trayton, I knew I would break down, so I was anxious to see him. I got up early to take a shower and get dressed. Today we had a game, so we have to dress up. I decide on a floral skirt and a white v-neck tucked into it. While I'm sitting on my bed putting on my Jesus sandals, someone knocks on my door. "Come in," I say.

I look up as Kently opens the door, but stays out in the hall. "Are you almost ready? Destin and I are ready," she says.

I look over at the clock, I hadn't realized I was running so late. "Yeah," I say, tighting my left shoe. I adjust my bracelet and grab my bags. "Let's go."

The ride to school is quiet and I was glad when we finally got there. I don't know why, but it felt awkward riding in the car with Kently. Trayton was standing by his car with his football buddies, the victory still hung in the air. He catches my eye before I get out of the car. He smiles and walks over, opening the back door and grabbing my stuff. I get out of the car and he gives me a big hug. "I missed you this weekend," he whispers in my ear.

I look up at him and smile. How could he be seeing someone else? "I missed you too," I say. I stand up on my tippy toes and give him a kiss. "I'm sorry I had to babysit Destin, mom had to work. And Sunday I wasn't feeling good."

"If I knew you weren't feeling good, I would of come over," he says. He lets go of me, and puts his free arm around my waist. "Hey Kently, you watch over your sister for me?"

She looks over her shoulder and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I did," she mutters. "I'll see you later sis." She heads off, obviously not very happy.

"What's her problem? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Trayton asks. I just shrug. "Well I'm just glad you're feeling better." He squeezes my side, which makes me squeal a little. I was ticklish. He laughs. "Come on, let's go. You need to put your stuff up."

We head inside and to the gym. I quickly put my stuff up in my gym locker. Once I leave the locker room, I see Trayton on the phone. "Yeah, I'll see you later. Love you too, bye," he says, and hangs up. He turns around to see me walking towards him.

Who was telling that he loved them? "Who was that?" I ask, with a frown.

"It was...my mom," he says hesitantly. "She was just telling me that she's back from her trip." He shrugs. "Come on, let's go."

I KNEW IT! Darn. She doesn't need yet another thing to worry about. I'm super excited to read more!

I'm so sorry it's been such a long time! I've been busy. Here's chapter 6 if you're still interested.

It was game time; we were in the locker room getting pumped. "Who are we?" Coach Mac would yell and we would respond with "Vikings!" "And what are the vikings going to do?" She would continue, which we would follow up with "Win!" "Alright ladies, let's win!" We all run out of the locker room and onto the court for warm ups. First we all dive to the floor in a circle and pound on the floor. We were all excited, for this should be an easy win. We were playing one of the worst teams in the conference.

After we warm up, we all huddle up around Coach Mac. "Alright girls, let's do our best," she says. "On three. One, two, three." And we all yell "Vikings!" The six starters - Kently, Leah, Josie, Lanie, Sarah, and I - all run out onto the court. We all get into position; Kently and I are both up front as setters. We start off good, getting a lead of six to zero, before their coach calls a timeout. Normally during timeouts I focus on Coach Mac, but today I can't help but look around the court. Trayton isn't anywhere to be found. That's strange. He had football practice, so he might be a little late.

We finish the first set and we circle around our coach. Once again I look for Trayton. As I look towards the gym door, I see him walking in. I watch him as he walks up the bleachers - on the opposite side of the gym - and sits down next to some girl I don't know. They hug each other, and I grow furious when I recognize the girl. It was the one from the game on Friday. They sit back down, a little too close for my comfort. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Back out on the court, it's my serve. The ref blows her whistle, and I throw the ball up and hit it over the net. The line judge indicates that it's out of bounds. I couldn't believe it, that hadn't happened since Freshmen year. It was obvious I was angry. The rest of the night I was off, and at times we weren't sure if we were going to win. But we pulled it off, thankfully.

___________

After the game and back in the locker room, Coach Mac is yelling at us. "We almost lost tonight. And why? Because we weren't all there! Jazlyn, where were you tonight?! You missed so many hits!"

"I'm sorry coach," I mutter.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to your team. Practice will be running late tomorrow, be ready," she says and walks out of the room.

"Way to go Jaz." "I can't believe it. We didn't do anything." The team was obviously mad at me.

"Leave her alone guys. We all have our days," I hear Kently say. I look up and she looks at me and smiles. Kently and I hurry up and change into sweats and a t shirt, we both could tell I wasn't wanted. We head out to the gym, where it's almost empty. Tonight only parents have stayed back to take those under sixteen home. I look around the gym for Trayton, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Where's Trayton?" Kently asks. "Normally he waits for you. Something happen?"

I shrug. "I don't know where he is," I say. "I don't know everything he does. Let's go." We head outside and out to my car, where Trayton's leaning against the hood.

"Hey, there you are," he says and smiles. He gives me a quick hug and kiss. "Good game."

Was he even paying attention? "Thanks," I mutter. "I need to get home. I'm really tired."

He frowns. "Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow then," he says. He leans down and gives me another kiss. "Love you and good night."

"Love you too, night," I mutter and get in the car.

----------------------

As soon as I get up to my room, Kently starts asking me questions. "Sis, what's wrong? Don't tell me nothing, something has to be wrong. You were totally off your game tonight, and that's not like you. What happened?"

I sigh and flop down on my bed. Looking up at the ceiling, I start to tell her everything. "At first I didn't think Trayton was going to be there, but then he showed up. He sat on our opposing team's side, next to this girl. They hugged, and sat next to each other. Like, way close. Kently, you're right."

"About what? Oh, never mind. Look Jaz, maybe she's just his cousin or something. I'm sure everything's fine."

"I hope so," I mutter. Trayton was my first boyfriend, my first date, first kiss, first slow dance, and I thought first love.

Kently pulls me up and gives me a big hug. "Don't worry sis, everything's going to be fine."

--------------------------

I had a restless night; I hardly slept because I cried all through the night. Today was going to be a 'I don't care' day, so I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. After gathering up my stuff, I make sure Kently and Destin are awake. Dad still hadn't come home and Mom seemed to be just fine. She actually seemed to be happier. At least someone was happy about Dad being gone. Destin was confused. He didn't understand why his dad hadn't gotten home yet, and I think he might of been the one person who missed him. Of course he didn't know what he was doing to his mom.

Kently's in her room sitting in front of her mirror. I knock on her door to let her know that I'm there. She smiles at me in the mirror. "Hey sis," she says. "Don't take this personally, but you look like crap."

I roll my eyes and lean against the door frame. "Thanks," I say. "That's really what I needed to hear."

She shrugged. "You don't even have mascara on," she says. She pushed back from her table and comes over to me. "I'm going to fix that," she says, grabbing on to my arm.

"Kently, I don't feel like it," I say, pulling my arm from her grasp. "I mean, why should I?"

Kently shakes her head. "To show Trayton what he's missing, duh." I just shake my head and leave the room. "Whatever, I'm just trying to help!"

--------------------------

Once at school, the day seemed to drag on. I had managed to go most of the day without having to see Trayton. He wasn't outside when I showed up and it wasn't until lunch that I saw him. I had been let out early from my previous class and was already at the lunch table when he came out. "Hey babe," he says, sitting by me, "I haven't seen you all day. I didn't think you showed up."

I look up from my tray to look at him. "Yeah, I've been really busy, trying to get from class to class," I say and look back down at my tray, where I go back to pushing my corn across my plate.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, putting his arm across my shoulders.

"Nothing," I mutter into my tray.

"I love you, you know that right?"

I look at him and shake my head. "Why don't you tell your mom that?" I ask, shrugging his arm off my shoulder. I stand up from the table and walk inside, leaving everything behind. No one came after me, not even Trayton.

Ooooo drama-llama! I'm so excited to find out what happens next!!!

Thank you so much for continuing to read, Jade!

My earphones were in, music blaring and I was sitting at my desk doing homework when there was a knock on my door, which I was surprised I heard. I take out my right earphone and stand up to get my door. I was curious as to who it could be - Kently and Destin would of just walked in. When I open my door, Trayton is standing, looking a little nervous.

I shake my head and begin to close the door, but he stops me. "Jazlyn, can we talk?" he asks. He begs me with his eyes, which he knows I can't say no to.

"Trayton, there's no talking to be done," I say, closing the door with more force, but it won't budge.

"Destin seemed happy to see me, why don't you? Why can't you tell me what I did wrong?"

"Like you don't know."

He shakes his head. "Obviously I don't or I wouldn't be asking you. Come Jaz, I love you and I don't like seeing you like this," he pleads.

"You love me? How many other girls do you say that to?"

He sighs. "Is this about the phone call last week, Jaz? I was on the phone with my mom, you know she was on a trip," he says.

"Right your 'mom'," I say putting air quotes around 'mom'. "And what about that girl at the football game last week? The same girl you spent Saturday with and sat with at the game last night? Was she your 'mom' too?"

"Brytani? You mean my cousin? She's been overseas and she came to support me Friday. I haven't seen her in six months and wanted to catch up. I knew I should of texted you Saturday, but my phone was left at the party. And last night she came to watch you," he says. "You know her, remember? You were best friends. She was the one who got us together."

It had been six months since we last saw her, but I still couldn't believe I didn't recognize her. Maybe I didn't get a good look, but thinking on it now, I could see it. "Oh my Trayton, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize her," I say, shaking my head.

He brings me in for a hug. "Jaz, it has been six months. I should of told you, but she was going to come to your party on Saturday. We wanted you to be surprised," he says. "If I knew you thought I was cheating, i would of told you." He gives me a kiss on the forehead.

I wrap my arms around his neck. "I feel so stupid," I mutter into his chest.

He laughs. "Don't feel stupid babe," he says. "I almost didn't recognize her when I first saw her. She's grown a couple of inches, her hair is longer and dyed, and she's tan now. I guess South Africa will do that to you." He smiles down at me.

"I've just had a really bad week," I say.

He tightens his arms around me. "I'm sorry about that. Wanna talk about it?" And when I shake my head, he moves away so he can look at me. "Jaz, you know we can talk about anything right?"

I nod. "I know. I've just been stressed, districts are next week in volleyball, and I've been worried about it. Coach Mac was down my throat tonight at practice," I say.

"You shouldn't worry about that; you're a great player Jaz. You're a beast on the floor."

I smiles. "Thanks," I say, laughing a bit. "Look, I've got tons of homework; I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

He sighs and bends down to give me a kiss on the lips. "Yes you should work on that homework. Goodnight beautiful. I love you and see you in the morning." Then he turned and he was gone.

---------------------------

The next day arrived sooner than I would of liked. Because Trayton had stopped by, I hadn't gotten my homework done until a little after eleven and didn't get to sleep until midnight. I woke up late and had to rush around, but the way I looked today was a big change since yesterday. Today I actually put on make up and dressed up a little bit.

There was a knock on my door and Kently let herself in. "Both Destin and I are ready whenever you are," she says, sitting on the bed. "Makeup? Did Trayton say something last night?"

I smile at her and shrug. "I was wrong. It was just his cousin, you remember Brytani?" When she nods, I continue. "She just got back from over seas and they were going to surprise at my party on Saturday."

"Wow, she changed a lot. But thinking on it now, I can see the resemblance. Sorry sis," she says.

"It's whatever, I mistaked her for someone else too. Come on, let's go."

--------------------------

Trayton's truck wasn't at school when Kently and I arrived. "That's strange," Kently says, "he's always here before you." And she was right, this was unusal.

Before I get out of my car, I call Trayton's phone. It rings for a very long time, and right before it goes to voicemail, somone answers. "Hello?" an unfamiliar voice speaks up.

"Uh, is this Trayton? Trayton Black?" I ask, bitting my lower lip. Kently shoots me a look of concern.

"Ma'am, I don't know who this Trayton is. I found this phone on the side of the road," the voice says.

"Oh, um, okay, thank you." I hang up, nervous. What happened to Trayton? "That wasn't Trayton, someone found his phone on the side of the road. I'll try his home phone."

Once again the phone rings for awhile, but eventually someone picks up. "Hello?" This time it's a familiar voice - Trayton's sleepy voice.

"Trayton, this is Jaz. Are you still in bed?" I ask.

Trayton grunts. "Shit," he mutters. "I'm going to be late. I overslept. Why didn't you call my cell?"

"I did, someone else picked up, said they found it on the side of the street."

"That's strange, my phone's on my bedside table. I'm looking at it right now."

"It is strange," I say. But then something hits me. The voice wasn't so unfamiliar at all - it was my dad's, disguised. "Trayton, is my dad at your house?"

"Uh, I don't think so...Why?"

"I'm pretty sure he was the one who picked up the phone."

Ohhhhhhhhh my gosh. Run! Yup, I'm still reading. I don't stop reading stories I can't put the book down, to

Kently, Trayton, and I had decided to eat at a table at lunch that no one ever sat at. We were deep in conversation about whatever was going on. "Kently, you saw her didn't you? Did she look like Trayton's mom?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "At least, I don't think she did. I didn't really get a close look at her," she says. "Sorry."

"I just don't know why your dad would be over at my house. It's kind of freaky. I mean my mom is pretty happy with my dad, or at least I think she is," Trayton says.

It just didn't make sense. Why was my dad over at Trayton's? And why had he picked up the phone? "Kently, didn't you say the woman was his secretary? Trayton, your mom doesn't even work for my dad," I say.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything Jaz. I mean if your dad was cheating on your mom with his secretary, he could be doing it with my mom too. I hope not," he says.

We lost track of time and the bell rang for the next class. I looked at our plates - nothing had been eaten. "Well we got real far," I say as we stand up to throw our trash away.

"We're going to find out what's going on, Jaz. I promise," Trayton says.

---------------------

When Destin, Kently and I arrived at home, our dad's car was in the driveway. "Daddy's home!" Destin exclaimed, running inside the house.

"Great, Dad's home," Kently muttered. "I wish Destin was old enough to know what was going on."

"I'm glad he's not. I hate knowing what's going on," I say. "Come on, let's go face the music." We both get out of my car, gathering our stuff slowly; both of us didn't really want to see our dad. I look over at Kently as we make our way inside; there's a look of worry on her face. "Everything will be fine," I say.

Destin had forgetten to close the door, so all Kently and I have to do is walk through the door. Dad is sitting in his chair, Destin on his lap. Destin is babbling on about whatever has happened for the day. Kently and I go to head upstairs to put our stuff, but then Dad speaks up. "Destin, why don't you go do your homework while I talk to your sisters, okay?"

"Okay daddy," he says and runs off to his room.

"Hello girls," Dad says, and gets up to meet us at the stairs. He gives us both a hug, but when we just stand there, he pulls away. "What's wrong? Don't you miss your dad?"

We roll eyes. "Dad, how could you?" Kently asks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he says. "Is mom feeding you lies again?"

"I saw you in the act dad," she retorts. "Mom didn't have to tell me anything."

That seemed to take him by surprise, like he didn't remember Kently walking in on him. "You don't know what you're talking about," he says. "Was it you who told your mom? You little bitch." He grabs ahold of her hair.

"Dad, let go of her," I say. "Are you really going to do this with Destin in the next room? Oh wait, you did. With mom, you hit her while Destin watched."

He glares at me. "Destin doesn't know what he's talking about either. All you kids are like your mother - liars." He lets go of Kently's hair with such force, she falls down.

"Right mom's a liar. Just admit dad, you're a cheat, a liar and abusive."

He shakes his head and slaps me. "Don't talk to me like that ever again, you hear?"

"Phil, what are you doing here?" I hear my mom's voice. "I kicked you out."

"Oh great, you too? You need to stop feeding lies into our daughters' heads." He walks over to our mother and walks past her, hitting her with his shoulder.

"I'll see you in court," she says.

"Don't threaten me," he replies and pushes her.

"Mommy?" Destin pipes up from the hallway.

---------------

"Trayton, I just don't know what to do. How could my dad do this?" I ask as he puts his arm around my shoulders. I had called Trayton and he came over right away.

"We'll never know. I tried to ask my mom why he was over there, but she said he wasn't there. Are you sure it was your dad's voice?"

"I'm pretty sure it was. He used to use that voice when he read to me." I look up at him. "What if your mom didn't know he was in your house? Was she gone when you got up?"

"First off, that's creepy. And yeah, she was gone. But why would he be in my house?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I'm just tring to think of something. Nothing makes sense anymore."

"I think we can both agree that your dad is scum. I mean, who beats his wife, cheats on her, calls her a liar and when his kids stick up for her, hits them too?" He shakes his head. "I wish I could of been here. He wouldn't of laid a hand on you."

"That's why I love you," I say, wrapping my arms around him. "I wish things could go back to normal."

"I do too," he says, wrapping his arm around me. "Everything's going to be alright, I know it will. You'll make take your dad to court, and he'll get thrown in jail for domestic abuse."

"But what about Destin? He's not going to have a man in his life to show him how to live."

He pulls away from me a little bit, a face of shock. "What about me?"

I smile. "You plan on sticking with me that long? I mean, he has eleven years until he's eighteen."

"I plan on sticking with you as long as you want me too," he says and kisses me on the forehead.

This makes my smile grow even larger. I lay my head on his chest. "I hope that's true," I mutter.

Righty...I don't have time ATM because it's midnight where I am, but I will cast my eye over it and write up a full feedback-post when I get the time. Usually I don't take the time to review this kind of story because it isn't my usual type of pleasure reading, but hey...anything to help a friend out

Definitely write more! Sorry for not adding constructive criticism. I find that once I start, I can't stop. Which is kinda like what I'm doing reading your story right now

Jade it's fine.

When I go to head downstairs the next morning, I hear crying from the end of the hallway: my parent's room. At first, I stand in my doorway, debating whether or not to go see what was wrong. I finally decide that I would go and comfort my mom. When I reach her room, I knock on the door and push it open the rest of the way. She stands infront of her mirror, looking at herself. "Mom?" I say.

She jumps a little. "Oh, Jazlyn, I didn' t know you were there," she says. She turns arounds to look at me, bags under her eyes. She looks like she hasn't slept in a week, which she probably haan't.

"Mom, are you okay?" I ask, walking over to her.

She lets out a sigh. "Oh, sweety. I'm fine."

"Mom, you were crying. What's wrong? Is it dad? You don't have to worry about him. Everything will be alright." I walk over to her and give her a hug. Reluctantly, she puts her arms around me. "Mom, I promise things are going to be fine."

"I feel like I failed you all as a mother. I failed your dad as a wife, then I failed you three. I'm a terrible person."

"Did dad tell you that? You haven't failed us, mom. You've been there for us all. We all understand you have to work."

"Oh, honey, it wasn't only your dad. After we had Kently, I had trouble getting pregnant again, so I went to see a doctor. She said I probably wouldn't be able to have another child. Well a few years later, I don't know what got into me, but I had a one time affair. It was only once, I promise. And well, I got pregnant. This is all my fault. Your dad isn't sure if Destin is his, and that's when he went down hill."

I pull away from her. Was this really happening? Could Destin really be my half brother? "You...You never tried a praternity test?" That was all I could ask.

"Jazlyn, your dad didn't want to know." She looks at me, concern in her eyes. "You understand right, baby girl? Jazzy, you still love me right?"

I stand there and look at her. After a few seconds, I shake my head. I couldn't believe this. "I don't know mom," I say and turn around to leave. Downstairs, Kently and Destin are waiting for me. "Let's go," I mutter, pushing them out the door. Once their out, I turn around and see my mom; she looks like she wants to say something. I turn back around, go outside and slam the door shut behind me.

----------------------------

After we drop off Destin, Kently finally speaks up. "What's wrong? Did you and mom get in a fight?"

I look at her from the corner of my eyes. "Let's just say, mom's not who we thought she was." I shake my head. A few moments of silence sinks in, and I speak up again. "Kently, are parents are both cheaters." I wasn't going to tell her what mom had told me, but I needed to tell someone. "When she got pregnant with Destin, she had had an affair. She says it was only once. Her and dad aren't sure if Destin's his or not."

Kently looks at me in shock, shaking her head. "It can't be true. I mean, Destin looks like dad. Destin is definitely our full blooded brother."

I pull into the parking lot. "I know sis. Look, nothing about this to anyone okay? Especially Trayton. And don't bring it up to mom. I don't want her to know I told you."

"Alright, sis. See you at lunch," she says, grabs her stuff and gets out of the car. I sit in the car and watch her walk into the school.

A knock on my window brings me out of my trance. When I look over, Trayton stands outside my car, looking down at me with a devilish grin on his face. I roll my eyes and shake my head as I open my car door. "Hello beautiful," he says, wraping his arms around me. He bends down to give me a kiss.

"Hello," I say. And as soon as I say it, I realize that I don't say it with much enthusiasm.

He pushes back a strand of hair that has fallen out of place. "What's wrong, Mr. Grumpy Gills? Are you not happy to see me?"

"I am. It's just this place, I guess." I shrug. "And there's the game tonight, I'm kind of worried about it."

"Well," he says, grabbing my stuff. "You have nothing to worry about, remember? I'm dating the best player on the team."

I raise my eyebrows as he takes my hand and we begin walking into school. "I thought you were dating me, not Sarah? When did this happen? And does Clay know this?"

He lets out a short laugh. "Very funny. You know I would never date her, and not just because she's dating my best friend or because I have you."

I smile. "You be nice. Sarah is a nice girl."

"Right. And you don't love me."

"I actually don't. How'd you know?"

He shakes his head. "You lie." We get to my locker and he lets go of my hand. "I'll see you after class, darling." He kisses my cheek and puts my stuff on the floor.

"Really, the floor?" I say as he walks away. He turns his head and smiles. I shake my head and put my stuff in my locker. This is why I loved Trayton so much: I could be having a terrible day and he could turn it around so easily.

---------------------------

It was game time, finally. We were all in the locker room getting ready. All the seniors knew that this could be the last time to really impress the scouts. Kently and I were off by our lockers in the corner. "Do you think mom will show up?" she whispers.

I shrug. "I don't know, Kent. I really don't. I hope she does, yet I hope she doesn't," I say. I finish lacing up my shoe. I adjust my headband and kneepads, finally ready. All eyes were on me, like they were expecting me to give a speech, when I remembered that it was time in the rotation to give the motivational speech. "Ladies, where do I start? We're about to play the team that knocked us from getting Conference champs. This time, we're not going to allow them to beat us though. This time, we're going to show them who's boss."

The girls stand there and look at me. Sarah gives me a strange look and shakes her haid. But Laney, the sweet soul she is, starts clapping and everyone follows suit. Kently pats me on the back. "Let's go get 'em girls!" she yells and we all run out onto the court. The first person I spot in the stands is my mom, and I look at Kently as we start our warmups, hoping she'll notice. Destin is sitting on her lap, waving at us. We both wave back at him and continue with warming up. This was not a game neither of us could blow; we needed to be focused on the game. Not only was it a big game, but I knew scouts were going to be here. College volleyball had never really crossed my mind, but you never know.

The buzzer went off, indicating to the teams they needed to wrap up. We huddle around our coaches, ready to hear what they have to say. "Ladies, none of that stuff from the beginning of the season. We're playing on as a team now. Jazlyn, I want you to serve first. Kently, Sarah, and Laney will be up front. Okay, on three girls! 1,2,3!" We all put our hands in and yelled "Vikings!" on three.

----------------------

We all played our very best, and we came out on top. The first and second sets were close, but by the thrid one, we smoked the other team. It was a celebration in the locker room. Even though we were there, we still didn't believe that we had actually won. It was a great way to end the regular season.

"Ladies, way to pull it off!" Coach Mac excalaims as she walks into the room.We all errupt in cheers. "I'll see you all tomorrow." She goes into her office and closes her door behind her.

"Good job Jazlyn," I hear someone say behind me. And when I turn around I see Sarah. "I guess you proved Trayton right tonight." She smirks. Did she hear what Trayton and I said in the hallway?

"Thanks. You did good tonight," I say. "See you tomorrow." I shoot a look at Kently telling her to hurry up. I gather up my stuff and walk out to the gym. While I'm looking around the room to find Trayton, an older man walks up to me.

"Hello, Jazlyn Reynolds?" When I nod my head, he continues. "I'm Harold Carlton, from Spring Hill College over in Mobile."

When he sticks out his hand, I kind of look at it, but then he clears his throat and I take it to shake it. "Hello, sir."

"You had a great game tonight, and I wanted to let you know that I've been watching you for a couple of weeks. You have sparked my interest. I hope that you can look further into our instiution and maybe agree to sign with us?"

"I'll have to see, sir. Is there anyway I can contact you if my answer is yes?" He digs through his pocket and hands me his business card. I look down at it. "I'll look right into it. Thank you, sir."

"I hope you agree to sign with us. It was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good night, Miss." We shake hands again and he walks off.

I spot Trayton across the gym, talking to Clay. I push my gym bag strap up further on my arm and run over to Trayton, jumping onto his back. He stumbles a bit under my sudden weight. "Hey there," he says, glancing at me over his shoulder.

"Hey," I say, adjusting myself so my legs wrap around his waist.

"Good game tonight, Jaz," Clay says. "Do you know if Sarah has left or not?"

I shake my head. "When I left the locker room, she still hadn't changed. I can go check if you want me to."

"It's fine. Thanks though. I can wait. See you guys tomorrow." He waves as he walks away.

"See you," Trayton and I both say. "Jinx!" We both yell and laugh.

"Are you just going to hang up there, or are you going to get down so I can see your face?" Trayton asks.

I put my head down on his back. "Carry me outside, I'm tired."

He chuckles. "Alright, Miss Lazy. But don't you want to wait for Kently? You don't want to lose her, do you?"

"She'll find me. I want to talk to you." He doesn't say anything more and walks out of the gym. We get stopped a few times so people cancongratulate me. Finally we're outside by my car and I drop down from Trayton's back. "So guess who's been getting scouted?"

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say you?" I nod. He picks me up for a hug and spins me around. "Jaz, I'm so proud of you. Where at?"

"Spring Hill," I say. I can see his face fall a little bit. "What? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nothing," he says, shaking his head. "I was just kind of hoping we could go to the same college. And there's no way I'm going to get in there. I'm not smart or talented like you."

I frown. "You're smart and talented. You still have time to get recruited for football or basketball." We're both silent for a moment, before I speak up. "Is there something you aren't telling me Trayton?"

He shakes his head. "No," he whispers. I shoot him a look, knowing there's something. "Look Jaz, Jacksonville State has shown interest. I just haven't told you, because I didn't want it to affect your decision. Don't be mad. And I'm not sure if I want to go. I mean, it's great that Spring Hill's looking into you. You should do it. I'll just go there."

"No, Trayton. You're not giving a chance of a lifetime up. Go for it," I say, turning away. Mobile was four hours away from Jacksonville, I'm not sure if I could handle it.

Trayton wraps his arms around me and tugs me close to him. "I still have basektball, maybe I can get on at Spring HIll."

"I don't want you to miss this chance, Trayton. It's not fair. Jacksonville is a great college. You could hit it big."

"Probably not. Jacksonville is bigger than Spring Hill, not much, but still. I'll probably spend my time on the bench. They said I don't have to decide until after basketball. We can see. I don't want to leave you Jaz, I love you too much."

"I don't want to leave you either," I say as we meet for a kiss. "I love you Trayton, and I want the best for you."

"And the best for me is to be with you."

We had been so into our conversation, we didn't even hear someone behind us. We both look up when we hear someone clear their throat - it was only Kently. "You two lover birds are making me sick, can we go home Jaz?"

I nod and give Trayton another kiss. "See you tomorrow."

We were almost home when Kently spoke up. "I heard your conversation. Congrats sis."

"Thanks Kently, but nothing's official yet."

"I know. And don't blow your chance of a life time either. If Trayton decides to go to Jacksonville, don't apply there because of him. He is a guy."

I look over at her. "I know, sis. He's not going to affect my decision," I say.