Behind me someone helped Karyn up. She coughed dramatically, trying to catch her breath.
"Wuss," I said under my breath.
"What's your problem?" Maddy shouted, bumping my chest. Coach Lisick jogged across the field.
"Maybe you're my problem!" I raged, getting up in Maddy's face.
"Hey! Back off, you two!" Noelle demanded.
She stepped in between me and Maddy and held up her hands. I glared triumphantly at Maddy. Everyone on this field knew whose side Noelle was going to take. I even saw a few of them roll their eyes.
Noelle took a deep breath and looked at me. "Reed, hit the showers. You're done for the day."
My face prickled. Maddy smirked. I think she even grunted.
"What? Noelle!"
"She's right, Brennan," Coach Lisick said. "Go cool off."
"Coach, I'm fine," I argued.
"No, you're not," she told me flatly. "That was your third questionable hit of the day. If this were a game, you would have been red-carded twenty minutes ago. Now I need you to get your ass to the showers before you injure someone. I do have to field a team this weekend, you know."
Someone laughed. Everyone else stared me down or avoided
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eye contact completely. Like I was supposed to feel chagrined or sorry.
They had no clue. All I really felt was betrayed. I glared at Noelle as fiercely as humanly possible as I shoved by her and headed for the bleachers. Where the hell did she get off, taking Maddy and Karyn's side? I thought the Billings Girls were supposed to have one another's backs. No matter what.
"Reed!"
She was jogging to catch up with me. I kept walking.
"Reed!"
Her fingers closed around my arm. I yanked it away so quickly her fingernails scraped me through my long-sleeved undershirt.
"What's your problem?"
I whirled on her. "I'm really sorry you didn't get first honors like always, Noelle, but you don't have to take it out on me."
Noelle looked as if she'd just been slapped. For a moment. In the next moment her eyes smoldered with barely suppressed rage. "Don't talk about things you don't understand, glass-licker," she said. That was the first time she'd used my derogatory nickname in weeks. "I'm going to give you a pass on that one because you're clearly out of your mind right now."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Thanks for the support out there."
She stared at me. "We have our last game coming up," she said. "Coach is right. You were going to hurt someone."
"Like you care," I scoffed, and kept walking.
I wasn't making sense. I knew I wasn't. But I was pissed off.
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And if she wasn't going to give me something to kick or hit, I didn't want to be there anymore. But Noelle didn't give up that easily. She jogged in front of me, forcing me to stop. Her dark eyes searched mine.
"Reed, if this is about Thomas--"