On Wednesday morning Aaron showed up at practice. He didn’t say a word to anyone, not even Wymack or Nicky, but he was there. He was at the dorm on time for the ride to afternoon practice as well, so Nicky made Neil drive again. It didn’t help anything, since he and Aaron didn’t speak to one another in the backseat, but Nicky seemed to expect that cold shoulder. That afternoon was when the upperclassmen finally noticed who was driving Andrew’s car, and Matt was quick to ask about it.
‘Nicky needs more time with Aaron,’ Neil said.
‘When Andrew finds out you’ve stolen his car,’ Matt started, but left the rest of the threat unspoken.
‘Andrew knows,’ Neil said. ‘He left me his key.’
Matt stared at him, startled. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. When Neil frowned at him, Matt only shook his head. Neil let it go. That night he asked Matt to teach him how to fight. Matt looked surprised by the request but agreed, and they spent the rest of the evening figuring out when they could possibly meet up for lessons. Exy practices took up most of their free time and Neil had late night sessions with Kevin still. Luckily their schedules lined up twice a week between classes. Matt promised to get Neil a pair of gloves the next time he went out.
Thursday was almost an exact repeat of Wednesday, except when they went to the dining hall for dinner Katelyn joined them. Maybe Aaron warned Nicky ahead of time, because Nicky didn’t so much as blink when she showed up with a tray. Kevin’s reaction was a little more obvious, but he looked more calculating than disapproving. Katelyn seemed nervous at first, but she warmed up quickly and chatted almost nonstop through dinner. She was so enthusiastic about apparently everything in the world it was a little exhausting listening to her, but Aaron looked so alive in her presence Neil couldn’t hold it against her.
Friday was the game. It should have been an easy win, but Andrew’s absence and Neil’s new racquet tilted the odds a little in JD’s favor. The Foxes still won by a six-point margin, bumping their season record to eleven-two, and Katelyn was waiting for Aaron when he stepped off the court.
Maybe their embrace was what inspired Dan, because as soon as the Foxes were in the foyer she said, ‘We should celebrate.’
Nicky didn’t even hesitate. ‘Only if there’re drinks involved.’
The silence that followed was telling: Dan had said it, but she hadn’t honestly expected the cousins to take her up on it. Fortunately for everyone, Renee was quick to rally. ‘We’ve got a couple bottles in our room. I think most of them are half-empty, but there should be enough to go around.’
Aaron looked at Renee like she’d grown three heads. ‘We don’t socialize with you.’
‘You do tonight,’ Matt said. ‘Tell Katelyn to come.’
‘She’s probably going out with her friends tonight,’ Aaron said. ‘We’re not—’
‘The Vixens can come too,’ Dan said. When Allison shot her an incredulous look, Dan only shrugged. ‘What? I’ve been here for four years and I probably only know five of them by name. That’s kind of sad, considering they’ve stuck by us this whole time. I don’t know if we can fit the entire squad in our room, but…’
‘The basement study rooms are big enough,’ Renee suggested when Dan trailed off. ‘I doubt anyone will be down there on a Friday night, so we can make as much noise as we like. You’ll invite them, won’t you, Aaron?’
‘No,’ Aaron said, like he couldn’t believe they were still talking about it.
‘Okay, seriously,’ Matt said. ‘What do you have against us? Andrew I sort of understand. You, I can’t figure out. What have we ever done to you?’
‘Besides pay your bail,’ Nicky supplied helpfully. ‘Aaron, we’re going.’
Aaron opened his mouth, closed it again, and fixed Nicky with an annoyed look. ‘You’re explaining this to Andrew when he gets back.’
‘Oh, hell no,’ Nicky said, and jerked a thumb at Neil. ‘I’mma leave that one to him. Thanks for taking one for the team, Neil. You’re a real friend.’ Nicky grinned over at Neil, but his amusement didn’t last. He seemed confused by whatever he saw on Neil’s face and backpedaled with, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll send Renee along with you for backup. Last I checked Andrew only wins half their fights, so you might actually survive. Uh. Neil?’
He should just let it go, or at least leave it to think about later, but Neil couldn’t resist. ‘Are we?’ he asked, because hadn’t Betsy said it just a few days ago? He hadn’t understood it then and hadn’t even tried, too angry and upset over everything else that was happening. Tonight it almost meant something, though what, Neil didn’t know. Realizing Nicky couldn’t follow his twisting train of thought, Neil forced himself to say, ‘Friends?’
It was like that one word punched all the joy out of Nicky, but the look that crossed Nicky’s face next was too fast for Neil to decipher. Nicky’s smile was back a second later, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Neil might have apologized, except Nicky reached out and scrubbed a gloved hand through Neil’s hair.
‘You are going to be the absolute death of me,’ Nicky said. ‘Yeah, kid. We’re friends. You’re stuck with us, like it or not.’
‘If that’s been settled,’ Wymack said from the doorway, ‘get your asses to the showers. You’re dripping sweat all over my floor, you stink, and I have better things to do tonight than watch you powwow.’
‘Yes, Coach.’
The Foxes split up to the changing rooms, but Neil carried the conversation with him to the shower. He stood under the spray and stared at his upturned palms. He wondered what it meant; he wondered if it could mean anything to someone like him. He had Riko right in front of him, his father’s ghost behind him, and six months before Nathaniel laid ‘Neil Josten’ to rest for good. Having friends wouldn’t change anything.
But would it really hurt?
He didn’t know. There was only one way to find out.
–
Thanksgiving came and went. Matt went home to his mother, Dan went to see her stage sisters, and Allison went with Renee. The upperclassmen asked Neil only once if he was going home for the holidays. They didn’t ask why he was staying, and Neil didn’t waste time coming up with a lie. He spent the five-day weekend at Fox Tower with Nicky, Kevin, and Aaron. They spent half the time on the court and the other half lazing about the dorm room.
Thanksgiving was spent at Abby’s house. Wymack showed up, of course, and they spent the morning drinking coffee and watching the parade on TV. As soon as it was over it was time to get to work. Abby divvied chores up between all of her guests and put Wymack to work in the kitchen with her.
Dinner was ready mid-afternoon. When Nicky asked Neil what his favorite dish was, Neil could have lied and referenced any of the stereotypical foods he knew were associated with Thanksgiving. Instead he practiced a little bit of honesty and admitted he’d never celebrated Thanksgiving before. Holidays weren’t a priority in his family. Nicky, of course, reacted like it was the most tragic thing he’d ever heard.
Neil didn’t understand the appeal. When Nicky saw his unimpressed face, he said, ‘It’s not really about the food. It’s about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we chose. This one,’ Nicky emphasized, gesturing between them. ‘The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about.’
‘I’m trying to eat here,’ Wymack said.
‘Coach doesn’t have a sentimental bone in his body,’ Nicky told Neil. ‘I don’t know what Abby sees in him. He must be really good in—’
‘Another word and you’re on dish duty,’ Abby said, and Nicky wisely shut up.
In the end clean-up was a group effort, since they’d pretty much destroyed Abby’s kitchen in an attempt to make all the requisite dishes. Afterward they collapsed anywhere they fit in the den. Neil didn’t think he’d eat again for at least a month, but somehow the others had room for wine. Nicky, who’d never seen Neil willingly imbibe alcohol, was still optimistic enough to offer Neil his glass.
‘Even on a holiday?’ Nicky asked when Neil refused.
‘He’s underage,’ Abby said.
‘So are Aaron and Kevin, but you’re not stopping them,’ Nicky pointed out.
‘I’m not encouraging them, either,’ Abby said.
Kevin had watched the exchange where he was sitting against the entertainment center. When Nicky sighed and subsided, Kevin spoke up in French. ‘I will watch you. If you want to drink tonight,’ he added when Neil looked at him. ‘I won’t let you say something you’ll regret.’
‘You’ll be drunk inside an hour,’ Neil said. ‘Then who’ll stop me?’
Kevin gave him a cool look. ‘I would stop drinking.’
‘Rude,’ Nicky said, sitting up and looking between them. ‘What did you just say? I can’t understand you. That’s not fair.’
‘Think about that the next time you use German at my practices,’ Wymack said.
‘That’s different,’ Nicky complained. ‘I only see that look on Neil’s face when someone tries to do something nice for him, but we all know Kevin’s as bratty as they come. What did you say, Kevin, and do I need to defend Neil’s honor or what?’
Kevin didn’t waste his breath responding. Neil answered, but he meant the words more for Kevin than he did Nicky: ‘I’m fine. Thank you, though.’
Kevin accepted that with a shrug and went back to drinking. Nicky looked between them again, realized he wasn’t going to get an explanation, and subsided with a put-upon sigh. The room sank into comfortable silence. When they left Neil was almost too sleepy to drive, but he got them back to the dorm in one piece. Nicky tried to get Neil to stay with them, since they had an open bunk in their room and he didn’t want Neil alone on a holiday, but Neil went back to his room alone.
The suite felt too big with only him in it. He figured his perspective was skewed after spending all day with so many people. Luckily he was too tired to dwell on it. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
–
Monday heralded the last week of their Exy season. The Foxes returned from their holiday break refreshed and ready to end the year on a triumphant note. They brought an almost savage energy to practices and burned themselves out against each other. Neil expected them to split up afterward and spend the evenings in their separate groups. Somehow they all ended up at the dining hall at the same time. Neil didn’t know who orchestrated it. He didn’t really care, because even though Aaron balked at the sight of the upperclassmen he didn’t argue.
On Tuesday Katelyn tagged along, and on Wednesday they went downtown together as a large group: all eight remaining Foxes and four of the Vixens. There weren’t a lot of places in the area that could accommodate a group that size, but their favorite local restaurant offered six-person booths across the aisle from each other. The cheerleaders were willing to split up two and two, but the Foxes’ own seating arrangement was harder to figure out. The obvious solution was to follow the usual divide: upperclassmen in one booth and the cousins’ lot in another.
Instead Neil and Kevin ended up with Allison and Renee, and Matt and Dan sat across the aisle with Aaron and Nicky. It wouldn’t have been a problem, except somehow a cheerleader ended up between Kevin and Neil. Neil recognized Marissa from the night they played JD Campbell. He didn’t remember much else about her, except that she was Katelyn’s roommate, but judging by the brilliant smile on her face that was good enough for her.
Neil regretted talking to her almost immediately, because she hounded him the rest of dinner. Neil had grown up making small talk with a thousand strangers all over the world, but he was long out of practice. He spent all of his time with the Foxes now, and they’d outgrown those shallow conversations months ago. If Marissa would at least talk about Exy Neil could stomach it, but she bounced between every other possible topic in the world. Neil had taken the outside seat on the bench but he still felt trapped. Leaving the restaurant after dinner was such a relief it left Neil a little lightheaded.
The downtown shopping area was a long street branching off Perimeter Road near the Green. The Vixens had to cross the Green back to their on-campus dormitories, whereas the Foxes could follow the sidewalk down Perimeter toward Fox Tower. They stopped at the crosswalk to say their goodbyes and Katelyn made sure to give Aaron a kiss goodnight. Neil wasn’t interested in watching, but when he turned away he found Marissa in his path again.
‘I can give you my number,’ Marissa said.
Neil didn’t remember asking for it at any point that night. ‘What for?’
It wasn’t the response she was expecting, judging by the way her smile twitched. She was quick to rally, though, and she laid a hand on his arm. ‘I would like to get to know you better. I think we could have a lot of fun together, just the two of us. You’re very interesting, Neil.’
She wasn’t the first to say that, but Neil wondered if Andrew’s opinion of him would change when he was off his medication. Neil brushed that stray thought aside as irrelevant and unhelpful and focused on Marissa.
‘I wouldn’t call you,’ Neil said. ‘I socialize with the Foxes or not at all.’
She stared at him for an endless minute, then said with a nonchalance he didn’t believe at all, ‘If you change your mind, you know where to find me.’
She went to pry Katelyn off of Aaron, and the Vixens crossed the street to campus.
‘Harsh, Neil,’ Nicky said. ‘For someone who’s usually so quiet you can be a real jerk sometimes. There’s a way to let girls down gently, you know.’
‘Why?’ Neil asked, but Nicky only heaved a pitying sigh. Neil shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and looked at Dan. ‘Do girls need kid-glove treatment? I thought they were tougher than that.’
Dan’s grin was approving. ‘Most of us are. Some of us are like boys, though, and have delicate egos.’
‘Hey,’ Matt protested.
‘If Marissa isn’t in the running for Christmas banquet, may I step in?’ Renee asked. Nicky stared slack-jawed at her, but Renee didn’t acknowledge his shock. She answered Neil’s questioning look with a pretty smile and explained. ‘It seems my usual date is unavailable, but I’d prefer not to go alone. What do you think?’
Neil hadn’t planned on bringing anyone, but he said, ‘Okay.’
‘First you steal Andrew’s car, then you steal his girl…’ Matt slipped a gloved hand into Dan’s and looked at Neil. ‘Oh, and you’ve pretty much corrupted the rest of the monsters into hanging out with us outside of practice. Let me know if you need backup when you’ve got to explain all this to him.’
‘Thanks, but I can handle him,’ Neil said.
‘We noticed,’ Dan said dryly, and tugged Matt with her down the sidewalk.
The rest of the Foxes fell in around them. They walked fast to beat the chill but were still half-frozen by the time they made it back to their dorm. They went their separate ways once they reached the third floor. Neil still had a couple hours before he was supposed to meet Kevin for practice, so he settled at his desk with his textbooks. Matt grabbed a beer from their fridge and tackled his own schoolwork.
‘Can’t believe it’s almost over,’ Matt said after a couple minutes. ‘In some ways, I feel like this has been the longest semester ever, but at the same time, I don’t know where the fall went. It’s almost December, you know?’
‘Yeah,’ Neil said, drawing circles over his outline. Friday was the first day of December and the last game of their fall season. The Foxes went to morning practices only next week, since Wymack wanted them to spend their afternoons studying. Neil and Kevin hadn’t talked about it, but Neil assumed they’d still have their night practices.
‘Shit, it’s almost Christmas,’ Matt said, sounding almost wondering. ‘I still don’t know what I’m getting Dan. But hey, speaking of Christmas, you figure out what you’re doing for it yet?’ Matt’s chair creaked as Matt turned to look at him. ‘Are you going home or tagging along with the monsters?’
‘I haven’t decided,’ Neil said. ‘Tag along with them where?’
‘If I remember right, last year Erik flew in from Germany and they partied it up in Columbia,’ Matt said. ‘That was before Kevin was here to chain them to the court, and before… well, before all this happened. I’m assuming they’re not going to want to see Columbia again anytime soon. Maybe I’m wrong. You’d know better than I do.’
‘I don’t know,’ Neil said. ‘They haven’t mentioned it.’
‘Just don’t spend it here, okay?’ Matt asked. ‘If you don’t have anywhere to go I’ll drag you home with me. Mom’s been wanting to meet the monsters, anyway, and her house is big enough to fit all of you. Just let me know.’
Neil needed a moment to process that. ‘Thanks. I’ll pass it along.’
Matt nodded and went back to work. Neil turned back to his own assignment, but his thoughts had derailed too far for him to call them back. Instead he drew fox paws down the border of his paper until Kevin came for him.
Neil thought about Matt’s offer the entire ride to the stadium, but he didn’t bring it up. Kevin wasn’t the right person to start with, though Neil figured he’d agree if there was a court close enough. Nicky would be the easiest person to convince, maybe. Neil could only imagine how Aaron would react, but since none of them had family it might be worth a shot. Neil was a little leery of meeting Matt’s mother, but after Thanksgiving he was curious to see how normal people spent holidays.
As normal as the Foxes could be, rather.
‘Focus,’ Kevin said impatiently, so Neil pushed it all aside for later.
–
The southeastern district Christmas banquet was held at Breckenridge that year. Luckily it was scheduled late enough at night the Foxes could sleep off the previous night’s end-of-semester party, but it still meant seven hours on the bus. With the season two weeks behind them and exams finally out of the way, Neil had nothing to think about except Riko and Andrew. Andrew had been gone for five weeks now, and none of them had heard from him. Not even Betsy knew how he was doing, since she’d relinquished him to Easthaven’s care. Neil tried not to dwell on it, but that was an impossible task, and he knew the Foxes were going to hear about it tonight. Riko, no doubt, would have something awful to say.
The Foxes were among the last to show up at Breckenridge’s court. Kevin had slept most of the drive, since he’d had as much liquor as he did coffee that morning, but he woke up half an hour out from campus. He was silent as the grave for the remainder of the drive, but Neil looked back at him when they pulled up to the Jackals’ stadium. Kevin was staring out his window at the other buses, and his violent flinch said he’d spotted the Ravens’ ride.
Wymack shooed his Foxes and their dates off the bus and locked it behind them. When he turned around again he snapped his fingers at Kevin to get his attention. ‘Look at me.’
Kevin dragged his blank stare to Wymack, and Wymack gestured between Neil and Matt. ‘You see these two? If I look your way tonight and you’re not within five feet of at least one of them, I won’t let you play a single damn game this spring. Get me? They’re your shields. Use them. Use me, if you have to. Now give me a ‘yes, Coach’.’
‘Mm,’ Kevin managed.
‘Don’t worry,’ Matt said. ‘He can’t do anything with so many witnesses.’
‘He got to Neil at the last banquet,’ Allison said.
Kevin looked at Neil. Neil met his stare without hesitation and didn’t let his nerves show on his face. They gathered their clothes from the undercarriage and followed a security guard inside. Neil changed in one of the bathroom stalls and considered his reflection afterward. The others were out of sight in the main room, so Neil leaned close to the mirror. He slid one contact out of the way for a moment, needing to see the chilly blue of his real eyes, and took strength in that.
He’d told Andrew he would stand with Kevin no matter what. He didn’t intend to break that promise. ‘Neil’ might be an easily-spooked runaway, and ‘Nathaniel’ was a hunted young man, but ‘Abram’ was the one shielded from and untouched by his father’s bloody business. Neil would pull on every murder he’d seen and every endless, desperate night, and he’d face Riko unflinching. It was the least he could do. It was all he could do.
The court was decorated for Christmas. Poinsettia followed the walls all the way around, and a massive tree stood in one corner. Neil assumed it was fake, because there was no way they could have gotten a tree that size through the door unless they’d brought it in pieces. Heavy blankets under the stand ensured it wouldn’t scratch up the court floor, and small presents were piled under it. Neil wondered for a moment if they were fake as well or if they were the Jackals’ gifts to each other, temporarily loaned out for decoration.
Whoever organized the seating chart was smart enough to keep the Foxes and Ravens away from each other this time. The Foxes sat down opposite the Wilkes-Meyers Hornets, and Neil ended up between Renee and Kevin. The Foxes and Hornets hadn’t seen each other since late September. Neil half-expected aggression, since the Foxes had won that match, but with the season over the Hornets were laid-back and rowdy.
After all of the teams had arrived, Tetsuji Moriyama tapped on a cordless microphone to call them to attention. Someone cut the cheery Christmas music off and Tetsuji surveyed the collected teams with a stony expression.
‘The season rankings have been decided,’ he said without preamble or inflection. It was old news by now—sportscasters and coaches had been adding up points all season—but everyone perked up to listen. ‘The following four teams have qualified to represent the southeastern district in spring championship games. I will list them in order of ranking, first to fourth. Edgar Allan, Palmetto State, Breckenridge, Belmonte.’
He passed the microphone off to a more personable coach who offered enthusiastic congratulations and seasonal wishes. One of the Hornets didn’t wait for him to be finished but leaned across the table and gestured at Kevin and Neil.
‘How the hell did two of you beat Breckenridge?’
‘It wasn’t just two of us,’ Neil said.
The look she gave him said she wasn’t impressed by that modesty. Neil shrugged and let it slide. He understood her skepticism, but he stood by his words.
Because Palmetto State and Breckenridge ended the season with the same twelve-two record, the ERC used their goals ratio as a tiebreaker. It was the same method they used in semifinals, which was why spring semis were considered a wild card round. The Foxes’ points earned-lost ratio was simply better than the Jackals’ was.
A large part of that could be accredited to their defense line, from their unyielding goalkeepers to their aggressive backliners, but the ratio also relied heavily on the strikers’ performance. Somehow Neil and Kevin scored enough this season to one-up the Jackals. Neil didn’t know how they’d done it but he didn’t care. The Jackals came to Palmetto State in August with every intention of hurting both Seth and Kevin. Neil had loathed them ever since.
Placing second meant they didn’t have to face the Jackals again, fortunately. Up until the semifinals, spring games ran in even and odd brackets. The odd-ranked teams would play on Friday nights, and the evens would play on Saturdays.
Nicky spoke up right on cue. ‘Thank god we’re not playing the odds again. We might actually have a chance this year.’
‘We’ll make it,’ Dan said. ‘We have to. We owe the Ravens a rematch.’
The Hornets exchanged pitying looks but didn’t comment. Caterers piled the tables high with food and the teams dug in. Dinner conversation was loud and excited. Kevin joined in if the conversation veered toward Exy, stayed out of it when it didn’t, and kept sending furtive looks at the Ravens’ table. Neil didn’t speak unless spoken to and kept most of his attention on Kevin. He was halfway through dinner before he realized he had yet to speak to Renee.
‘Sorry,’ he said.
Renee sent him a curious look. ‘Why?’
‘I’m not trying to ignore you.’
‘It’s all right if you do,’ Renee said. ‘Kevin needs you more than I do.’
Neil nodded gratitude for her understanding. Renee smiled and struck up a conversation with the Hornets across from them. Neil finally let himself look across the room at the Ravens, the first time he’d sought them out since they first stepped onto the court. The Ravens were up to their usual tricks, it seemed: all of them had come single and in matching black outfits. The women wore identical garnet necklaces and the men wore blood-red ties. That was as festive as the Ravens got, Neil guessed.
Dinner gave way to games so they could digest, and then every table but one was carted off the court. The caterers returned laden with punch bowls and plastic cups. Pounding music replaced Christmas carols and the court became a dance floor. The teams broke apart to party. For most of them the season was over, and they obviously wanted to go out with a bang.
Aaron and Katelyn were the first to disappear into the crowd. Nicky hesitated, but he’d brought a date and wouldn’t really be much good if Riko stirred up trouble, so Neil waved off his concern. When Nicky left, so did Allison, and Allison dragged Renee with her. Matt and Dan were the last to leave and they stuck to the outskirts of the crowd where they could keep an eye on Kevin and Neil. Neil was amused by their protective streak and wondered if they’d do the same if Andrew was still here. Somehow he doubted it.
Wymack didn’t swing by this time to make them socialize, so Neil and Kevin kept away from the crowd. Kevin was in no mood to celebrate and Neil didn’t want to be surrounded by so many people. He wouldn’t see Riko coming and it’d be too easy to lose sight of Kevin. Instead they guarded the drinks table and nursed their punch.
It took half an hour before Riko caught up to them, but he came like they both knew he would. Jean wasn’t far behind him. Kevin froze with his cup at his lips when he spotted the pair. Neil stepped forward to put himself between Riko and Kevin. Riko smiled at that bravado, but it wasn’t a happy expression. It was more the look of a psychotic child who’d found a small animal to torture: one-quarter pleased and three-quarters hungry.
‘Your lack of survival instincts is supremely distressing,’ Riko said. ‘Take that look off your face before I carve it off.’
Neil hadn’t realized he was smiling too, a cruel look he’d inherited from his father. Neil lowered his cup so Riko could get a better look at it. ‘I would love to see you try. You think I’m afraid of your knife? I’m the Butcher’s son.’
‘That’s three strikes.’ Riko dragged a finger across his throat and rolled his head against his gesture. ‘I am disappointed in you, Kevin. You promised the master you would take care of this. Obviously you have not, and I am very curious as to why.’
‘He tried,’ Neil said. ‘It didn’t take.’
Riko pressed a thumb to Neil’s cheekbone, in the same spot where the three had their numbered tattoos. ‘Do us all a favor and do not speak again. Your insolence has already cost you two teammates. You cannot even imagine what is coming next.’
Hearing Riko confirm he’d orchestrated Seth’s death made Neil sick with anger. Andrew and Kevin had said it, but Wymack had written it off as paranoia. Neil hadn’t believed Andrew because he hadn’t wanted to, but that what-if had followed him all semester.
Neil held up his free hand and showed Riko his steady fingers. ‘I’m shaking with fear.’
‘You should be,’ Riko said. ‘You think you can defy me because I am not your father, but you are forgetting one very important fact: I am the family your father was afraid of. And yes, Nathaniel, he was very afraid.’
Neil lowered his hand and leaned close. ‘Not of you,’ he said, with fierce emphasis. ‘You’re not part of that family, remember? You’re the cast-off.’
He hoped it would hit, but he didn’t realize how deep it would cut. He’d never seen that look on Riko’s face but he knew he’d signed his death warrant.
‘Jean,’ Riko said without looking away from Neil, ‘take Kevin and leave us.’
‘Go see Matt,’ Neil said when Kevin hesitated.
‘Now,’ Riko insisted.
Jean gave Riko a wide berth and seized Kevin’s arm. Neil watched Jean drag Kevin away as fast as they could go without attracting too much attention. Dan and Matt noticed, of course, and moved to intercept them. Jean went still at their approach but held onto Kevin like his life depended on it. Matt started for Neil and Riko, but Kevin clapped a hand to his shoulder to stop him. When Matt roughly shrugged him off, Neil waved at Matt to keep back. The look on Matt’s face said he didn’t approve of this plan at all, but he kept his distance.
Neil dragged his attention back to Riko’s face. ‘I think I hit a nerve.’
Riko moved like lightning, smacking the cup from Neil’s hand and catching hold of his wrist. He gave a brutal twist that sent knives up Neil’s arm. Neil choked on a pained curse and grabbed Riko’s arm to stop him. He couldn’t pry Riko’s hand off but if Riko turned his wrist another half-inch he’d break something. Every time Neil blinked he saw the white scars on Kevin’s hands. It was all he could do to breathe around the panic beating at his lungs. He fought to keep his face calm and forced himself to meet Riko’s eyes again.
‘You wouldn’t,’ Neil said. ‘Not in front of all these people.’
‘I do not care if they see,’ Riko said. ‘A dog who bites his master’s hand deserves to be slaughtered. The location and audience are inconsequential.’
‘I am not a dog. I’m a Fox.’
‘You are nothing but what I tell you to be.’
‘We talked about your delusions.’
‘I warned you to learn your place.’
‘Let go of me, King.’
‘I am King,’ Riko agreed, ‘and you are going to spend Christmas at my castle. You’re coming to Evermore for winter break. Don’t,’ Riko said when Neil opened his mouth to argue, ‘push me again. I am the only thing keeping you alive.’
‘No, you’re not,’ Neil said.
Riko stared at him for an endless minute, then smiled. Neil’s stomach dropped at the sight of it; he knew what was coming before Riko opened his mouth but he refused to believe it. ‘You must be referring to that goalkeeper. You know which one I mean, I’m sure? The miniature one with the disgusting attitude who thinks he can take my things. That reminds me, I haven’t seen him lately.’
Riko looked over his shoulder as if expecting Andrew to materialize from thin air. He let go of Neil but Neil couldn’t breathe, much less move to put space between them. Two teammates, Riko had said. Neil’s insolence had cost him two teammates, but Seth was only one.
Riko turned back on Neil and wagged a finger as if just remembering. ‘Ah, but that’s right. I heard they carted him away. Something about his brother fucking him brainless, yes? How scandalous. How traumatizing.’
‘Don’t,’ Neil said.
Riko ignored him. ‘Drake was an interesting man, wasn’t he? I should thank the police for leading me straight to him. I might not have discovered him otherwise. Did you know, Nathaniel? Oakland lawyers are some of the cheapest to buy off. It only took three phone calls to arrange the whole thing.’
‘You set Andrew up.’
‘That isn’t even the best part.’ Riko smiled when Neil shook his head and continued. ‘Did you know I’ve bought one of the doctors at Easthaven, too? Unless you want these little therapy sessions of his to turn into therapeutic reenactments, you will be on a plane to West Virginia tomorrow morning. Jean will give your ticket to Kevin. Do you understand me?’
Neil didn’t have words, so he answered with his fist. He didn’t have a lot of room to swing but he made do and caught Riko right in his vulgar mouth. It knocked Riko back a step, giving Neil a little more space, and Neil caught him in the eye next. He lunged away from the table and slammed into Riko, but Riko was already moving to meet him. Neil crashed into the table so hard he sent it skidding out from behind him, and he and Riko both hit the floor. Neil jabbed and struck at any part of Riko he could find, only distantly aware of Riko’s own vicious blows. Someone was yelling about a fight, or maybe that was his blood roaring in his ears.
Suddenly there were hands on him that weren’t Riko’s, and the two were being yanked apart. Neil held on as fiercely as he could; so did Riko. Riko pulled Neil close one last time before the crowd ripped them away from one another, long enough for him to say, ‘You just cost him something he didn’t want to lose.’
Then there were too many bodies between them. Neil recognized some of them: Matt first, then Jean, then a couple athletes whose faces he’d only seen through helmet visors. Neil’s brain put names to faces where it could and summarily dismissed all of them as unimportant. None of them were Riko. He fought the crowd as best he could, trying to break through and get his hands on Riko again.
Somehow he made it close enough again to grab Riko’s sleeve. ‘You even fucking think about touching him—’
Wymack came out of nowhere and hauled Neil off Riko like he weighed nothing at all. The space between them filled with coaches, and the excited hubbub died out almost instantaneously. For a moment the only sound was Neil’s ragged breathing as he stared around Wymack’s body at Riko. The entire room was shaking, or maybe that was Neil trembling hard enough to bring the whole court down on top of them.
‘What the hell is going on here?’ Breckenridge’s coach demanded. ‘This is a Christmas banquet. If you missed the memo, that’s Christmas, as in make merry and goodwill to man. I want a goddamned explanation for this.’
Neither Neil or Riko answered; they were too busy staring each other down. Jean had found his place behind Riko again and the tense look on his face was wary disapproval. Neil wanted a gun. He’d settle for Andrew’s knives, but those were hidden under his pillow at Palmetto State. He dug his fingers into Wymack’s arm hard enough he’d leave bruises for sure and smiled so hard it hurt.
‘Yes,’ he said, because what else could he say? ‘I understand.’
‘Apology accepted,’ Riko said.
The coaches waited. When nothing else was forthcoming, one of them swept the crowd with a mean look. ‘The next person to start a fight here is getting written up and will sit out of the next five scheduled games, spring or fall. Do I make myself clear?’ There was a chorused assent, and the coach flicked an annoyed look between Neil and Riko. ‘You two stay away from each other the rest of the night. Wymack, get him off the court until he’s feeling civil.’
‘Neil wasn’t fighting with himself,’ Wymack said, with steel in his voice. ‘If Coach Moriyama wants the Away side, I’ll take the Home.’
‘Of course,’ Moriyama said, looking unmoved by the chaos. ‘Riko?’
They set off in one direction, so Wymack practically carried Neil the other. Neil knew Abby and the Foxes were following them off the court but he couldn’t take his eyes off Riko to look at any of them. He lost sight of Riko when Wymack shoved him through the court door, but it wasn’t until Wymack bodily planted him on one of the Home benches that Neil could look up at him. Wymack waved Katelyn and Nicky’s date Thomas back onto the court with an impatient jerk of his hand, then rounded on Neil again.
‘What the hell was that?’
‘Coach?’
‘Don’t you dare ‘Coach?’ me, you malfunctioning retard.’
‘No, but really,’ Nicky said, looking wide-eyed at Neil. ‘What happened?’
‘Neil hit Riko,’ Matt said. ‘It was beautiful.’
‘What?’ Nicky squawked. ‘Not fair! I missed it! Go do it again. Or not,’ he added quickly when Wymack leveled a death glare at him. ‘You can’t blame a guy for dreaming, right, Coach?’
‘Shut up.’ Wymack returned his glower to Neil. ‘I’m waiting.’
Neil felt his wrist and winced at the lingering pain. Abby slipped past Dan to get to him and sat at Neil’s side. Neil let her take his hand and looked past Wymack at the court. ‘Riko bought off the prosecution.’ The words came slowly; they were so awful he thought he’d be violently ill just hearing them aloud again. ‘That’s why Drake risked coming all the way here to see Andrew. Riko would get the charges dismissed if Drake would—’ He gritted his teeth and shook his head, unable to finish.
He didn’t have to say anything else. The music was still going, blasting through the speakers, but the silence between the Foxes was absolute.
Aaron was the first to get his voice back. ‘You’re lying.’
Neil sucked in a shaky breath and looked at Kevin. In French he asked, ‘Did you get it? My ticket?’ Kevin stared at him and through him, too stunned to understand or respond. ‘Kevin, look at me.’
‘I’m going to kill him,’ Nicky said.
‘No,’ Neil said, with a ferocity that had even Matt eyeing him warily. ‘We’ve got to break him first. If Exy is the only thing he cares about we’re going to take it away from him. First we destroy his reputation, then we destroy him. I don’t want us to lose a single game this spring. Can we do that?’
‘Not a single damn game,’ Dan said in a hard voice.
Neil looked around at them, at the cold rage on their faces, and focused on Kevin. He tried again in French with an insistent, ‘Do you have my ticket?’
‘You’re not going,’ Kevin said. ‘Do you know what he’ll do to you?’
‘Do you know what he’ll do to Andrew if I don’t go?’ Neil said. ‘I don’t have a choice. I have to go. You have to trust me.’
‘He will break you.’
‘He wishes he knew how,’ Neil said. ‘Trust me. I promise I’ll come back, and when I do I’ll bring Andrew back with me. It’s going to be fine. So do you have my ticket or don’t you?’
Kevin pressed his lips into a hard, white line and looked away. ‘I have it.’
When the strikers fell quiet, Dan looked at Wymack. ‘Let’s go home, Coach.’
The banquet was hours from being over, but it was too dangerous to stay any longer. The next time one of them saw Riko they’d try to break his neck. Wymack trusted Renee’s self-control the most, so he sent her in search of the missing dates. As soon as Renee returned with Katelyn and Thomas the Foxes high-tailed it to the bus. They slowed to grab their bags from the locker room but not long enough to change. Wymack had them on the road in minutes.
The ride back to Palmetto was silent. They made it back in the dead of night, but despite the hour none of the Foxes could sleep. Wymack dropped the dates off first, then took his team to Fox Tower. They rode the elevator up together. Kevin passed Neil a folded slip of paper as they stepped into the hallway. Neil didn’t have to open it to know it was the confirmation for his flight.
Matt tried to bring Neil to the girls’ room so they could finally talk about what happened, but Neil went next door. He kicked his shoes off to one side and pushed the window open. He tried to light a cigarette but his hands were shaking too badly. He ended up crawling into bed fully dressed. He checked the departure time so he’d know how early to set his alarm, then shoved the paper under his pillow with Andrew’s bands. He pulled his blankets over his head to block out the room and willed himself to stop thinking.
When he finally slept, he dreamed of death and blood.
