Protective Beast

I reminded him that the school has a zero-tolerance stance on bullying. He reminded me that he doesn’t give a shit.

People are all gung-ho on anti-bullying, but when it’s time to put in the work, there are crickets. No one really cares.

I sigh as I step off the city bus and start walking down my cousin’s street.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen Collin. My mother and my aunt had a falling out, so we don’t have family dinners together anymore.

I always liked Collin. He was at Jacksland High a few years before I was and he was the king of the school. Star quarterback, good-looking, all-round nice guy. The kind of super nice all-American quarterback archetype that you see in movies and shake your head, saying ‘that guy doesn’t exist.’ That was Collin. He did exist in our town. He was nice to all of the students, not just the popular kids like the jerks who are on the team now. It was rumored that even the teachers had crushes on him.

He’s still a legend around the halls, even today. He brought the school to the three championship games in the school’s history and he won them all.

Everyone was sure he was going to make it to the NFL. Him and his best friend Elijah, who played outside linebacker. They were both destined for the draft.

Elijah Stoll. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. I get shivers just from remembering the way Elijah used to plow into guys and send them flying onto their backs. His nickname was Beast and every game, he let the opposing team know why.

College scouts were always in the stands at their games and their amazing future was set. Until the car crash. Everything changed after that.

Is this the street? Applebrook?

I’m hoping that Collin can pick me up from school once a week to help me out. I don’t need a ride. I just need to be seen with him.

Just being seen with Collin Sullivan will chill the football players out a bit. I think they’ll leave me alone and move on to the next victim.

I pull out my phone and look at the address just to make sure it’s the right house. I haven’t been here yet. I don’t even know what he’s been up to the past few years. Shit, he could be married with kids for all I know.

I start to get really nervous as I see the house up ahead. What if he doesn’t remember me? What if he kicks me off his property?

Stop. This is Collin we’re talking about. He was always such a sweetheart.

He’s going to give me a big hug, pull me into his house, and sneak me some Orange Crush just like he used to do when we were kids.

His house looks pretty normal and it’s on a nice street. The neighborhood kids are playing hockey on the pavement up ahead, the lawns are all well-manicured, and there are colorful flowers planted in all of the gardens. It’s the kind of street I’d like to live on someday.

I take a deep breath and walk up his driveway, wondering if this is a bad idea.

Bad idea or not, I’m not backing out. It took me forty minutes and three city buses to get here.

I walk up the steps and suck in a sharp breath before knocking on the door.

My stomach is churning when I hear big heavy footsteps inside approaching.

The door swings open and… holy shit.

It’s not my cousin Collin.

Not at all.

It’s Elijah Stoll.

He’s huge.

He’s shirtless.

He’s gorgeous.

Those light brown eyes are staring down at me and I’m frozen to the spot as I stare back.

His enormous body practically takes up the entire doorframe. He’s even bigger than I remembered. A massive chest, thick muscular arms, legs like freaking tree trunks. But it’s his eyes that really get me. They draw me in and won’t let go.

My feet are cemented to the porch as I stand here quivering in front of the boy who was my first love, my first crush, my first obsession.

I used to go to the games to watch my cousin Collin play, but Elijah was always the one I was watching. My eyes never left him as he prowled along the sidelines like a lion while my cousin played on the offense.

When the defense ran on the field, I could feel my heart beating like a hummingbird just like it’s doing right now. Elijah dominated. He got more sacks in his senior year than any other high school football player in the history of the United States. He really was a beast.