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"Um, are we seeing this man on the side of the road?” a voice said, and Neil looked up from his position in the gutter. He hadn’t realized he sat down, but then, he didn’t have much energy to realize much about his actions, not after the beating he had taken from some of his father’s men a few nights ago. He had ran and ran after they beat him near to death, and he may have had a concussion or may have not, but he was too afraid to fall asleep in case he never woke up again, so he didn’t stop moving for three days and he didn’t know where he was anymore. His wounds had stopped bleeding days ago, but they burned when he moved and he probably should have given himself stitches. Neil wished he still had his mother to help him in times such as these.
He was so tired.
“Leave him alone, Nicky—Jesus, are you serious?” an angry voice replied.
The first boy, Nicky, took a cautious step toward Neil, and Neil watched his approach. He knew he should be running, but his legs were shaking, and he didn’t have any feeling in his legs anymore to know why they were shaking. Neil couldn’t stand up.
“Hey,” Nicky entreated. “Are you okay?”
Neil considered Nicky. He seemed nice, with genuine concern in his tone and actions, but Neil couldn’t afford to trust a stranger. Neil spit whatever was building up in his mouth at Nicky and watched as Nicky backed away from the glob of blood now at his feet. And, wow, was that his tooth?
“Oops,” Neil said, and his voice was thick with disuse and dehydration. “Sorry,” he said as he tongued his teeth to find out which one he’d lost.
“Um, wow, okay, it’s fine. Are you okay? Really,” Nicky tried again, but he didn’t take a step closer and didn’t seem as concerned anymore.
“I’m fine,” Neil said, looking back up at his audience. There were three of them, and the two who weren’t Nicky were twins. Neil wasn’t sure which one was the one who wanted to leave; they both had the same dull expression on their face, though one had a more pronounced scowl.
It was dark, so it took Neil a moment to recognize facial features, to see past the haze of his concussion and throbbing pain in his entire body, that he was being inspected by not just any twins, but the Minyard twins. Like, Minyard-of-the-Palmetto-State-Foxes twins.
“Shit,” he whispered, and his frantic gaze slid to who he suspected must be Andrew, as Andrew was known for his apathy and silence—though Neil thought he had an article in his binder about Andrew’s manic behavior while on his drugs. Andrew certainly didn’t seem manic now. “Palmetto?” he asked, because he was scared, because he needed to use their truth as a salve to help him stand up so he could run before Kevin found him.
Because Kevin didn’t go anywhere alone, and Andrew never left Kevin’s side. Why wasn’t he here now?
Andrew met Neil’s gaze with a disinterested air, though there was a strange intensity that Neil couldn’t explain. Why was Andrew looking at him like that?
Nicky, startled, nodded. “Um, yeah, we go to Palmetto? Do you?”
Neil tried to stand up but his legs were still shaking and he still couldn’t feel them. He huffed in frustration, wondering if now was the perfect time to just lie down and die. It sucked that it would be in the gutter with the worst exy team in the nation to witness his downfall, but at least it would be over and at least Kevin wouldn’t see him to speak his name before he died.
Neil closed his eyes, and the trio began to converse in German, which Neil registered with a jolt, but he didn’t open his eyes.
“What the fuck?” one of the twins said, the angry one, the one Neil suspected must be Aaron.
“I don’t know. And what’s up with his eyes? Does he have that thing, you know? The one that cats have sometimes, um…”
“Heterochromia,” Aaron supplied in a bitter tone, like he didn’t want to answer Nicky’s question but couldn’t stand not correcting him.
“Yeah, that! With the blue and the brown eye—”
Neil’s eyes snapped open and he reached up to them. “Oh fuck,” he said—in German, because he was too weak to pretend he didn’t know what they were saying and too weak to realize he shouldn’t have given himself away. Why hadn’t he noticed that one of his contacts fell out? Neil felt sick. Why hadn’t he died yet? His mother would be so ashamed at all he was revealing of himself.
Neil focused until he could finally notice which eye had the contact still, and then he took a dirty, scabbed finger and removed the lens. In for a penny, Neil thought, and then threw that at Nicky’s feet, too.
“Uhhh?” Nicky said. “What is actually happening right now.” He took another step closer to Neil, but before he could get any farther, Andrew suddenly decided to be a part of this altercation. He moved to stand in front of Nicky, blocking his path to Neil. He stared down at Neil impassively, and Neil stared right back.
Neil wasn’t sure how Andrew could be so intimidating when he was so short, but Neil’s survival instincts had all but vanished, and he didn’t care about much anymore. “Problem?” he rasped, but none of the boys said anything.
“I know you,” Andrew said.
“Andrew, what the fuck—” Aaron started, but his twin ignored him.
“You were supposed to be that stray we would pick up from Millport.” He paused, as if waiting for Neil to say something, but Neil could care less. He remained silent. Andrew continued, “Imagine Kevin’s disappointment when you didn’t show up for your last game.”
“Imagine,” Neil echoed, remembering his second to last game when he eavesdropped a phone conversation his coach was having with the Fox’s coach, something about wanting to recruit Neil. Neil had left that night.
Andrew’s head cocked. “Interesting that you seem to know.”
Neil hummed in response. “Where’s Kevin?” he asked, because he didn’t care anymore and he needed to know.
“Here,” a voice answered from not so far away, and Nicky and Aaron both turned to the approaching figure. Neil, despite his spike of fear at the sound of a voice that dredged up such horrible memories, did not look away from Andrew. Andrew did not look away from Neil.
“If you’re here for a second chance, I’m not giving one.”
Neil turned to glare at Kevin. “I’m not here for anything.”
“Looks to me like you could be here for medical attention—” Nicky started.
“Nicky, shut up. Can we go?” Aaron started walking away without waiting for anyone to follow. Nicky seemed torn, unsure who to follow and still casting concerned glances at Neil. Kevin and Andrew continued to stare at Neil. Neil continued to pray for death.
“I mean, c’mon, man, look at yourself.” Nicky squinted. “Like, are you bleeding currently? You look like you got stabbed.”
Neil looked down at the blossom of red over his ribs. While sitting, his shirt bunched up enough that the giant hole revealing the scars on his body didn’t show, but Neil still hugged his middle anyways.
“I did,” Neil replied.
Kevin, exasperated and done with this conversation, sighed and muttered under his breath. Neil didn’t catch all his words, but he knew that tone was disappointed and, hey, wasn’t Neil supposed to be dead by now? His eyes flashed, and he turned to glare harshly at Kevin. He hadn’t said his name yet. Maybe he couldn’t recognize Neil through the bruises on his face and the dark of the night.
“Look, I don’t know why you wanted to recruit a nobody like me, but seems it worked out in your favor, right? Your team doesn’t become more of an embarrassment and I don’t have to work with someone as hopeless as you.”
A shocked silence, Nicky gaping, Kevin seething. “I can see why they stabbed you,” Andrew commented.
“I can’t see why you’re still here. Go away.”
Kevin started to follow after Aaron, but on his way by he made sure his foot came into harsh contact with Neil’s body.
Neil, still desperately annoyed that he hadn’t died yet, hissed in furious French. “I hope the Ravens kick your ass.”
Another beat of stunned silence. Kevin’s rage intensified. Nicky’s mouth had not stopped gaping for the past 2 minutes. Andrew had not moved.
“What in the actual hell, Kevin—” Nicky started.
“Why are you all still here.” Oh, wonderful, Aaron came back.
Neil groaned inwardly, dropping his head.
“Stop picking fights if you want us to leave,” Andrew said, as if he could hear Neil’s internal suffering.
“You approached me.”
“Nicky has a bleeding heart.”
“Perhaps you should take a leaf and leave me alone.”
“Perhaps I should.” Andrew didn’t move.
“Kevin, I think you should call coach,” Nicky said.
“I don’t need him on the team anymore.”
“He’s bleeding.”
“The bleeding stopped days ago. I’m fine.”
“Dude, you spat blood at me, like, two seconds ago.”
“Maybe I was just holding that in my mouth.”
“For a few days? Ew.”
“Can we fucking go? Andrew, seriously.”
“And how did you know Kevin can speak French?” Nicky went on. Neil wondered if any of them knew they were talking to each other or if all of their conversations were just one giant group collaboration where no one listened to anyone.
“Lucky guess,” Neil answered. He did not look at Kevin again.
“Kevin, call coach,” Andrew said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him, another shocked silence descending upon the group.
“Andrew—” the three boys started protesting in various degrees of outrage.
“I’d rather die in the streets,” Neil spat. Andrew didn’t respond. Incensed, Neil continued, “Aren’t you supposed to be drugged?”
Andrew didn’t flinch. “Am I?”
“I’m not going with you.”
“Doesn’t seem you have much of a choice.”
Another article in his binder flashed through his mind. “I thought you were supposed to stab people you didn’t like.”
“Okay, why do you know so much about us, seriously, it’s getting creepy—”
“Nicky, god, why did you have to talk to him? We could be home by now.”
Neil dropped his head again, breathing around a tight chest. Should be home by now, should be home by now, should be dead.
Finally the group fell silent. Finally Neil thought they had left, though he hadn’t heard their footsteps and didn’t think he’d be that lucky.
Eventually, Andrew spoke again. “Coach? Yes, yes, nothing’s wrong. Listen, we’ve got something for you. Make sure your door’s unlocked. Or don’t. We’ll see you in a few hours.”
“I’m not going,” Neil said again once Andrew hung up.
“Andrew, I don’t want—” Kevin started, but Andrew cut him off.
“I can stab you, if you want.”
Neil wasn’t sure who he was talking to. He sighed. Maybe he wouldn’t get a quick death tonight. Maybe his quick death would come at the hand of the Foxes, at the hands of Kevin or Andrew.
Neil hoped it would be Andrew as he looked up and took the hand offered to him.