|
�Road To Nowhere� Chapter 5: Silent Words Matt got in his pickup and drove to his house to pick up his football equipment before practice. They were having practice before the game because they all knew that if they didn�t try, Centennial would just roll over them. He picked up his cleats off the floor of his closet and threw them in his duffel bag. Before he shut the door he noticed something on the ground. He bent down and picked it up. It was the gold bracelet Mike had given Courtney. She had told Matt to destroy it when Mike had gone away, never wanting the reminder of him. Matt hadn�t had the heart to destroy the bracelet. It was Mike that he wanted to destroy. Shaking the thoughts from his head he ran out of the house. Back at practice Matt worked his butt off. During a break he noticed Dan sitting in the bleachers. Matt walked over to him. �Hey Dan. What are you doing here?� Matt asked. �Courtney told me to ask you what�s going on with her. She won�t talk about it,� Dan replied. �I don�t blame her,� Matt said. �What�s that supposed to mean?� Dan asked getting up and getting angry. �Dan. You�re the new guy. You haven�t been here 48 hours and already you�re asking Courtney personal questions that she doesn�t want to answer. Think about it,� Matt walked back to practice. Dan got up and left. He didn�t need this. So what if he was the new guy? It wasn�t like he had asked to get kicked out of his old school. It had just kind of happened. But he wasn�t going to think about it now. He had to change Courtney�s mind out him. And he had a plan. * * * * �Come on girls! Your basket tosses suck!� Courtney yelled at the squad. �One more time!� The girls had gone through this routine ten times already and every time someone had messed something up. Courtney wasn�t happy unless it was perfect. �Okay Kelly, that was good! Diane your back flips aren�t straight, you�re going to run into someone! Hold her, hold her, okay basket toss! Okay! Take a break!� Courtney sat down on the bleachers. The door opened and someone walked around the gym floor and into Courtney�s line of vision. �Hey Courtney!� Dan said cheerfully. �Oh, hi Dan,� Courtney said taking a drink from her water bottle. �Can we talk?� he asked her. �What about?� she replied motioning for him to sit beside her. �About your dream this morning,� Dan said sympathetic. �Okay, okay,� Courtney said giving in. �I dreamed that Mike was chasing me and he wouldn�t let me get away.� �Who�s Mike?� Dan asked not wanting to reopen old wounds. �An ex-boyfriend. A very ex-boyfriend,� Courtney said ending the conversation about Mike. �So Dan. Are you coming to the game tonight?� �Why not?� Dan said confirming his appearance. �One problem. I don�t have a ride.� �You don�t have a car?� Courtney asked. Dan looked away from Courtney. She wouldn�t understand. He wasn�t like her. He didn�t have the whole world at his feet. �No.� �Oh, that�s okay. Just ask Matt. I�m sure he�ll let you tag along,� Courtney said sensing there was more to Dan�s simple no. �Okay. I�ll see you later,� Dan said as he left the gym the way he had entered. * * * * Dan found Matt after practice and asked him to give him a ride. Matt agreed. �So, did you talk to Courtney?� Matt asked wiping the sweat off his forehead. �Yeah she told me about her dream,� Dan said. �Really,� Matt stopped in front of the locker room doors. �Okay, wait for me and I�ll take you home.� Dan waited for Matt to change. They drove to Dan�s neighborhood and Matt dropped him off in front of his house. �Thanks man,� Dan said. �See ya at six,� Matt said as he drove down the street. Dan waited until Matt�s truck was out of sight then walked the three blocks down to his real house in the not so nice neighborhood. �Good thing Matt didn�t ask about the house,� Dan thought to himself as he walked. * * * *
|