Fall for You: Boys of Alabama

“Daddy, oh my gosh you did it. You did it! You really did it!” She’s jumping up and down in front of me and following behind her are Zane and ma and Steve.

“Congrats baby,” mom says, pressing a kiss to my cheek and grabbing Aria’s hand so she doesn’t get trampled.

“Way to go, dad!” Zane reaches out for a fist bump and I oblige, ruffling his hair when I’m finished but I’m still eyeballing Steve holding my mother's hand. Lex elbows me in the ribs.

“Be nice,” she says, only quiet enough for me to hear her as she laces her fingers with mine and I narrow my eyes at her. But before I can say anything, Lex and I are both drenched with ice cold water and the team is surrounding us. The announcers are making their way through the crowd with the championship trophy. I’ve got the girl, the best family, and this big win. Life is good.

Lex

I turn around and flick the latch on the door behind me, hanging my purse on the hook on the wall. What an incredible weekend. Bringing home that state championship trophy is such an amazing accomplishment for Ford and his team. And my girls were great out on that field, cheering them on and nailing their halftime routine. This was literally a once in a lifetime experience for all of us and I loved every second of it.

Between the game and the hotel with Crawford, it was hands down the best weekend of my life, but I’m also exhausted. I have some grading to do but that can wait until I get a glass of wine and take a hot bath. I meander through the dining room, flicking through the mail that was laying on the table. Bill collectors and junk mail.

I toss it all on the counter and make my way to the fridge, snagging the last bottle of Rosé off the shelf. Gonna have to grab some more at the store. I use the corkscrew to work the top free, and spin to grab a glass from the shelf above the sink, stretching on my tippy toes to reach it. Just as I’m coming back down, I feel a pinch in my neck, the glass slips from my hand, and my whole world goes dark.

???

My head feels fuzzy, like I’m swimming under water and trying to break the surface. Everything is foggy. I’m struggling to remember where I’m at. What was I doing?

It all starts coming back in small bursts. Ford smiling at me from the passenger seat of his truck. Us,

checking in at the hotel. Drinks at the bar. The night we spent together. The State Championship game.

I crack my eyes open and my surroundings start to come into view. I’m laying on my kitchen floor. I lift my hand and press it to my forehead, feeling something sticky and wet. I grimace when I see the blood on the heel of my palm, remembering the glass I was holding. God, how long was I out?

Pushing up to my elbows, I see her.

“Sophie? Wha..” I cut myself off when she spins around. It’s Sophie, but she looks different. She looks frazzled, her eyes sinister. She’s sneering at me.

“Shut. The. Fuck. UP!” She screeches the last word, roughly running her hands through her hair and tugging on the ends. “This is all your fucking fault, you couldn’t just keep your legs closed. You had to take something that wasn’t yours! He is MINE.”

“Who’s yours, Sophie?” I start to push to standing and she advances towards me, pulling a knife out of the butcher block on the counter and waving it at me. I freeze on the floor, holding my hands out in front of me to show her I’m not trying to do anything.

“Stop moving!” She shouts, banging her fist on the kitchen counter. “Ford. Ford is MINE and you came to town with your short shorts and your helpless little poor me act and you stole him right out from under me! I watched you two Saturday night in the hotel room. Watched you taking what’s mine. We were going to be together after graduation. All the time we’ve been spending together,” she’s eerily calm, running the knife back and forth across the counter in a criss cross pattern, “he’s been falling in love with me the last four years, I know he has. We’re just waiting until he’s not my teacher anymore. But then you had to come along and ruin it. Ruin everything. I’ve gotta take care of it. Ford would want me to.”

She stops talking and makes eye contact with me. My mind is going a mile a minute. I knew it felt like someone had been watching us last night, my skin had felt prickly after we made love and Ford had assured me it was just my imagination, that I was paranoid one of the students was going to knock on our door and catch us somehow.

“I.. I’m so sorry, Sophie,” I choke out, my hands shaking, “I didn’t know about the two of you. I had no idea. Does Ford know that you feel this way?” I can feel the bile rising in the back of my throat but knowing deep down that he would never .. with a student. Crawford James is a good man, an honest man.

She huffs out a humorless laugh. “I haven’t had a chance to show him how I feel because of you! You’re always around. Going over there after the kids are in bed, fucking him in OUR bed. Disgusting.” She starts to pace the tiled floor. I’ve been scooting back a little while she’s ranting. We are close to the back door and if I can get up and get it open, I can sprint to Ford's house. She turns her back, giving me the opening I need.

Scrambling up, I ignore the glass in my hands and lunge for the locks on the door, flipping the deadbolt just as I’m yanked backwards by my hair. She slams me onto the kitchen table and I cry out. She lunges for me and I flip out of the way, landing roughly on my knees on the floor. I ignore the glass cutting in through the rips in my jeans, scrambling as fast as I can towards the living room.

“You bitch!” She screeches, going after me again, grabbing me by the ankle and flipping me to my back. I kick her in the face and she cries out, blood gushing from her nose.

“You fucking cunt! I think you broke my nose!” I scoff, like I give a fuck. While she’s stunned, I shove to my feet and make a break for the door. I fling it open, and sprint across the driveway to Ford’s house.

I try the handle, but the door is locked. I start beating on the wooden door repeatedly with my fists. He has to be here.

“Ford! FORD!” I start screaming while pounding on the door, glancing over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't behind me. It swings open and he pulls me in, surprise written all over his face.

“What the fuck, Lex? Jesus Christ, baby, what happened?” I shove him back and slam the door shut behind me, flipping the lock and panting.

“Soph.. Sophie.” I’m breathing heavy, my heart racing, adrenaline still pumping through me. “I was in the kit.. kitchen. And wine.. and I felt something in my neck. And I wo..wo..woke up. And she was there..” I know I’m not making any fucking sense, but I’m scared out of my mind.

“Sophie? Sophie DeMarco did this to you?” Ford looks confused as if he can’t believe it.

“Yes Ford, Sophie DeMarco, your babysitter who is in LOVE WITH YOU!” I screech out, letting my head fall back against the door. “Call 9-1-1. Please.” I plead with him, my hands shaking.