Fallen Fourth Down (Fallen Crest #4) (23 page)

I could see the front runners. They were going hard, but this meet meant everything to some of us. It meant my future.

“Don’t hold back, Strattan.” My coach had pulled me aside when everyone left the bus earlier.

I’d been confused. “What are you talking about?”

Eric Hayes got off the bus, followed by two more guys. They all glanced at us as they went, but Coach waited until they were out of hearing distance. He lowered his voice, “I know you, Strattan. You hold back automatically. Don’t. Not here. You go as hard as you can. Most girls might lose their momentum in the second half, some don’t. Some go faster the last half, but you go strong the whole time. I know you run on your own still.”

“Only sometimes.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve known. This is your run. Run today as if you’ll never run again. You got it? You can take state. You could even go to nationals. Run your ass off. That’s all I’m telling you.” He pointed to my head. “Turn that off and just go.”

“Okay.” I could do this. “I will, Coach.”

“Good.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Do what you need to do. I’ll see you at the finish line.”

With that said, I set my internal speedometer to full force. Once I did this, I knew this was how I would go the whole way. I didn’t pay attention to who I was passing. I didn’t look to the sides as people were lining up ahead, trying to keep up with me. It wasn’t long until I realized I was alone. Either I was in first or the girls who
were
in first were too far ahead of me.

I wasn’t running against them. I was running against myself.

The first marker was set up. I soared past it. The second had a small group of people. My eyes were focused, but I caught movement from the corner of my eye. They were waving their arms. I heard the yelling, but it was muffled. I rounded for the third. This time, a larger group was there. Someone was running to get there, to be there when I went past it.

“Sam!”

That was Logan. A small tear came to me, but it flew off my cheek. I kept going.

The fourth marker had more people.

The fifth doubled in size.

The sixth and seventh were the same. As I flew past, I realized they were there for me. I heard my name clear as day, but it didn’t slow me down. I didn’t let it distract me.

I remembered Mason’s last text as I cleared a hill and started down it:
Run your ass off. Run to me. All roads, Sam. I’ll be there.

I had one more marker. A referee was supposed to be at each one of them, but I didn’t remember seeing him. I wasn’t seeing anyone. The finish line wasn’t far and I wasn’t tired yet. My legs stretched wider. I envisioned everything in my mind. My heels dug into the ground. My muscles bunched, pulling me forward with my momentum, and my toes went next. I pushed off from them, sending myself forward into another sprint. Over and over again. I could go faster. I saw the end and the large crowd that had formed, waiting on me.

I soared over it and my head went back. My chest was gasping. That had been the fastest run of my life. I wanted to keep going, but I forced myself to stop. As I did, people ran at me.

“Sam!”

That was Logan. I turned to him, a wide smile on my face, and saw Mason instead. He was standing in the middle of the crowd, a proud look on his face. I registered that he was wearing Cain U athletic clothes, a warm-up jacket and pants. They hugged his form, accentuating his muscular build and lean waist. His pants rode low on his hips. He looked good enough to jump. I met his gaze. I couldn’t look away. His eyes were lit up with love.

I didn’t think. I leapt for him. My legs wrapped around his waist, and I clung to him as my arms went around his neck. I didn’t think he would be there and he was. I wasn’t going to question it. I was just going to revel in it.

“Okay. Where’s the sharing means you’re caring?” Logan held his arms out. “I’m right here. I care too.”

Mason started to let me go, but I clung tighter to him, pressing my face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me once more, and his hand splayed out over my back as he rocked me back and forth. For a moment, just one more moment, it was only him and me. I breathed him in, remembering what it had felt like as he pressed me down on the bed. With him inside me, holding me, kissing me.

He was home.

“Logan.” He cleared his throat. “Standing right here. The two love-tweeties can get alone time later. Still wanting to share some caring here.”

Laughing, I lifted my head.

Logan patted his chest and spread his arms wider. “Sam, you just kicked major record ass today. I’m still willing to be your bitch, but I want a hug.”

Before I could unwind my legs from Mason’s waist, I was transferred from him to Logan. “Oh!” My legs dropped to the ground and Logan lifted me back up. His arms were tight around my back as he whirled me in a circle. When he set me back down, he leaned back and grinned down at me. A stupid happy look was on his face and he shook his head. “I’m so fucking proud of you. You have no idea.”

“We all are.” Malinda was next. She pulled me in for a hug. Then David. Heather. Mark was last, and it was an awkward hug. There was no body contact. His arms lifted up and around me, then he patted me on the back and moved away as soon as it was done. From a safe distance, he nodded. “You did really good.”

I laughed. I had to. “They’re not going to hurt you for hugging me.” I pointed to Mason and Logan, and realized Logan was gone. “Logan?”

Mason was looking past my shoulder, and I turned to follow his gaze. He was greeting Kris, who looked ready to fall down. Her hair was soaked with sweat. After he hugged and kissed her, he handed her a water bottle.

“Uh.” Mason stepped forward. He sent an apologetic smile to Malinda and David, his gaze sweeping over everyone as he touched my elbow. Applying pressure, he guided me away from the group again. “I have to head back right away.”

“That’s right. You play today, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I do. It was nice seeing everyone.”

Malinda held her arms out and shook her head. “Oh no, you big muscular football hottie. Get that tight ass over here. I am the mama bear and I want a hug. I don’t get to see you that much anymore.” Instead of waiting for Mason, she lifted his arms and wrapped hers around him. They were standing close so I heard her whisper, “David’s relieved you’re not going to be around for Christmas break, you know with the slumber parties, but not me.” She moved back, brushed a tear away, and cupped the side of his face. “You’re just so handsome. I miss you, and I know Sam does too. Everyday.”

Mason’s gaze met mine. I let him see the truth in her words. Having him there made everything right.

Seeing the look, Malinda made a crooning sound. Her other hand lifted to cup the side of my face. She was holding us in the palm of her hands, looking back and forth between us. “You two will go the distance. I just know it. Neither of you need to worry. True love always survives. It’s supposed to.” She patted us both on the cheek and groaned. “I just love you both so much, and on that note, I will step back. You two love-tweeties, as Logan called you, need some time alone. It was so nice seeing you again, Mason. I’ll invest in a teleporting machine. I think everyone would be happier with that invention.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that would be nice.”

“Okay.” She turned, waving as she did. “Love you and drive safe.”

“Malinda,” David called, “leave them be.”

“Mom,” Mark groaned.

I glanced to Heather who was waiting beside Mark. She gave me a two finger salute. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but assumed it wasn’t bad as she watched Logan and Kris. A small smirk was starting to form on her face when I looked back to Mason.

He was waiting for me. He sighed and pulled me close for another hug. He had to go. That’s what he was saying. When his chest tightened and he lifted his head, I knew he was going to say something. I shook my head. No talking. Not now. Just us. That’s all I wanted.

But when he pulled back and dropped a soft kiss to my lips, it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. As he headed for his car, the feeling of victory dimmed a little bit.

“Sam!”

I turned and hugged the rest of my teammates as they came over the finish line.

MASON

I was heading for the locker room when a guy passed me. A second later, I heard, “Kade?”

Turning around, I asked, “Yeah?”

He was wearing a Cain U athletic jacket, so he was on staff. I glanced to the clipboard in his hands, but couldn’t place him. He was my height, over six feet, with a trim build and tan complexion. A whistle hung from around his neck. He was probably in his forties, his dark hair was combed to the side with grey on the sides. He pointed at me, a phone cupped into his palm. “Mason Kade. Wide receiver on the football team.”

“Yes, sir.”

He patted his chest, still holding his phone. “I’m Douglas Montgomery. I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine. He’s at the state cross country meet, and he mentioned that he could’ve sworn he just saw you there.”

“Yes, sir. I was there.”

“That’s an hour away.”

I nodded. I was aware because I was late getting into my uniform. The buzz from the stadium was loud and parking had been a nightmare. It was the first game of playoffs. Everyone was ramped up more than normal and this guy, whoever he was, was going to make me even more late. “Yes, sir. My girlfriend ran today. I wanted to be there for her.”

“Your girlfriend?” He eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to the side. His hand lifted, rubbing his chin. “You’re from Fallen Crest, right? My buddy was going to watch a girl from there. Which one was your girlfriend?”

Hearing his question, I was filled with pride. I tried to hold back a smile, but I couldn’t. I said, “The one that won.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir.”

“WHERE THE FUCK IS KADE?!”

Hearing my coach, I gestured behind me. “I need to go or I won’t be seeing any playing time. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” A keen look came over him and he held his hand out. “It was nice meeting you.” After shaking hands, he patted me on the shoulder. “You’re going to go far. I can tell. Maybe your girl too. How about that, huh?”

“KADE HAS THIRTY SECONDS TO GET HIS BEE-HIND IN THIS LOCKER ROOM—”

“I’m sorry, but I really have to go.” And with that abrupt statement, I sprinted and crashed through the locker room door. Once inside, I ducked my head down and ran through the team. They had already formed a circle in the middle of the room, all in uniform, all raring to go. Even though I just got there, I felt the nervous excitement from the guys. “I’m here. I’m here. Sorry, Coach.”

“Get your gear on, and you will be giving me a damned good excuse why you’re late.”

I nodded. He meant after the game. He had already taken his spot in the middle of the room with his coach’s jacket on and his whistle in hand. He never used it, but he liked to swing it around for his speeches. I caught the look in his eyes. He was primed and ready to go.

As I dropped my bag and started changing, Drew patted me on the back. He leaned in close and whispered, “Did she win?”

I nodded, not saying a word. Coach was still watching me. Matteo started to lean in close, from the other side, but Coach pointed at him. “Swallow your words, Robards.”

Matteo scooted away. “Swallowing, Coach.”

“This is team time.” As he said those last two words, he pointed at the floor. His hand moved up and down in an abrupt motion. “Team. Time. Not social time. Not time to ask how his girlfriend did. Team. Time. My time. Mine.”

He swept his gaze around the room, waiting, watching. That one gesture changed the feel of the room. There’d been nerves, some jokes, but as our coach lifted his chin, everything settled in the room. As he started his speech, I finished getting my uniform on and slowly sat down between Drew and Matteo.

“Gentlemen,” he looked at each person, holding their gazes for a beat before moving onto the next person, “this is the first game of the playoffs. This is the game that when we go out there, we either win or we lose. If we win, we keep going. You keep doing your jobs. If you lose, we’re done for the season.” He shook his head, taking off his hat. As he did, he rubbed a hand over his hair before putting the hat back into place. “For the veteran players, you know how I get during playoffs. I don’t believe this is the last game. It’s the next game. It’s the next win. We keep going. We always keep going. Sometimes we go all the way and sometimes we don’t. That’s fine. You can go home, rest, and enjoy the off season. You’ve had a good season so far, but the playoffs…” His voice was soft, but everyone could hear him. Everyone was so still. “The playoffs is where we make our season great. That’s my job. My job is to keep you going, to remind you how great we can be as a team, that there’s a reason our stadium fills up every game.” He pointed out the door. “Do you hear that?” He paused and the buzz from the crowd filtered into the room. “That’s our fans. Those are your fans. We love them. We’re grateful to them, but we’re not here for them. You’re here for you. We aren’t playing against the other team. We’re playing against ourselves. Each game, to do better. Be better. Each game, play as if we’re six down, thirty yards to go, and we’re at fourth down. It’s the next play that’ll make or break the game for you. Fourth down. That’s our mindset. Every play, we go hard. Every play, you strive to be perfect. Every play is fourth down. You got that?”

No one said a word. No one looked around. We were all focused on him.

“How are we playing?” he asked us.

As one, we answered, “Fourth Down?”

“How?” he raised his voice.

“Fourth Down!”

“HOW?” He cupped the backs of his ears. “I WANT TO FUCKING HEAR YOU!”

The other coaches waved their arms in the air. “Stand up!”

“Get to your feet!”

We stood. The ones who were kneeling clambered up and as we did, Coach jumped up on a chair. He yelled, his hands around his mouth, “HOW ARE WE PLAYING?”

“FOURTH DOWN!”

“HOW?”

“FOURTH DOWN!”

“I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT ONE MORE TIME!” He jumped off the chair and the assistant coaches started clapping their hands. They started to chant, “Fourth Down. Fourth Down. Fourth Down.”

Matteo was intense. He was waiting next to me, cheering with the group, but he was watching our coach. When he nodded at Matteo, it started. Matteo jumped into the middle of the circle and started bobbing up and down. They were still chanting Fourth down, but it was going to change. Any second. The adrenalin was coursing through me. In this moment, we were one. We were going out there. We were going to conquer, and Coach was right. It was us against ourselves. To be better. To be the best. To be perfect. Every single word he said resonated through me. It resonated through all of us. We were proud to be at Cain U. We were going to keep being proud. Matteo tipped his head back and let out a battle cry.

Everyone started banging their helmets against the lockers. Those in the middle stomped their feet and Matteo started the next chant.

“Cain U. Cain U. Cain U.”

We kept going, kept banging our helmets, but there was another section. Drew would lead us out and we would keep chanting as we ran out of the locker room and onto the field. We were just waiting. It would be any moment. The longer he waited, the higher our adrenalin grew.

He stepped forward. He was the signal. Everyone turned. We fell in line, single file, and started from the locker room. He led us out, taking over as the leader for the chant. Matteo fell in line behind me. We stopped banging our helmets. Instead, they were held at the waist by both hands. Our heads went down and our shoulders hunched forward. It was a sign of respect to those who followed Cain U’s traditions. We entered the stadium like this every time, like gladiators going out to fight. As we jogged out like that, each assistant patted us on the shoulder, giving us their approval.

We ran down the hallway, our feet a constant clattering sound against the floor, echoing around us. We could hear the crowd in the stadium. Music, cheering, announcements. We kept chanting the whole time. It was this moment that I savored the most, when the crowd heard us coming. As they did, the volume dipped for one second. There was a slight pause and a cheer erupted. They started cheering with us and it would spread through the entire stadium.

Cain U.

Cain U.

Cain U.

Drew paused at the threshold. He held his helmet up and started ahead. We didn’t jog. We ran out. The crowd stood and waited with their hands lifted. Drew waited on the field, and still in single file, we ran around him to form a circle. His helmet was still in the air. Then he brought it down and we finished the chant. Everyone did.

“Cain U, conquers you!”

After that, it was time to play football.

*

SAMANTHA

The state meet was a two hour drive from Fallen Crest. With most away meets, we traveled together on a bus and were allowed to get a ride home with family afterwards. But since this was the last meet, Coach wanted everyone to travel back together on the bus. We were a team on the way there. He wanted us to keep that unity on the way home, at least for this last time. After showering and changing, everyone agreed to a celebratory pizza stop.

I was in the back of the bus with my headphones on as we headed to the pizza place. Logan had texted earlier. He was going to meet us there, but I knew Malinda, David, and Mark had gone home. Mark needed to get back for some reason, but Malinda made sure that it was okay with me if they skipped the pizza stop. I was fine with it. I had to admit that I was still glowing from the win, the medal that was hanging around my neck, and the talk a Cain U scout had with me. He wanted to talk later in the month about a scholarship. When he found out that I ran track too, the talk was scheduled for the next week. All of those things, plus seeing Mason there and knowing Logan was waiting to eat with us, I was on cloud nine.

“Kris! Woman! My god.”

Hearing that shriek, I lifted my gaze. Kris was three seats up and bent over, whispering to one her friends. Judging from the wide eyes, sly smile, and red face on both of them, I wondered what they were talking about, but I saw the giddiness on Kris’ face. She seemed happy. In fact, the entire team was in a good mood. A few runners hadn’t placed, but as a whole, the entire team got medals.

“Shut up,” Kris laughed, hitting her friend on the arm. “Shh.” Before bending back down, she shot me a look. Our gazes collided and the laughter stopped abruptly. Guilt flashed in her eyes, then she looked away and jerked her head down again.

I hadn’t asked Logan about their relationship. They were still having problems, which magnified after it came out that he didn’t love her, but Logan had been spending a lot of his time with her. Or, at least, I had assumed. He wasn’t home and he wasn’t at my house. I couldn’t stop myself. I was happy. I wanted to make sure Logan was happy too, so I took my phone out and sent him a text.

What’s going on with you and Kris?

There was a slight pause, and my phone buzzed back.
Still screwing. Why?

Snorting, I rolled my eyes.
Are you guys still good?

You never ask. Why now?

I’m worried.

Why? Something I should know?

Why are you not answering the question?

Why don’t you tell me when you and Mason have problems?

I groaned, but he was right.
Sorry. Just concerned.

I’m at the pizza place. We can talk later.

I frowned.
Okay…

There was another long pause. I wasn’t sure how to take his last text. If they’d been better, he would’ve said they were humping like rabbits. He didn’t say that. My phone buzzed once again.
Let’s just talk later. You sure you have to ride home on that bus?

Coach said I did.

What if you missed the bus after eating?

That never happens.

I’ll pay someone to say you’re there.

Laughing, I shrugged.
Sounds fine with me.

Awesome. Okay. I just ordered pizza for you guys. Tell the coach. You guys have a private room in the basement.

Thanks. I will.
I put my phone away just as the bus pulled into the parking lot. As soon as everyone had gotten off, I relayed Logan’s message to the coach, who nodded and asked, “Did he already pay—never mind. I’m going in there to pay before that kid does. Don’t have these problems with normal kids.”

I didn’t know what he meant by that. When I went inside, the front lobby was full. Everyone was waiting around so I slipped to the side and headed for the bathroom. When I was in there, the door opened again and Kris’ friend from the bus was giggling. She shrieked, “He’s here, Kris! What are you going to do?”

The sink was turned on, but I heard Kris respond, “So is Logan. It’s awkward.”

I’d been about to flush, but I caught myself. Pulling my hand away, I held still. I was in the back stall so they couldn’t see my feet unless they looked.

“Wait.” Kris abruptly turned the water off. “Are we alone?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Her friend yawned. “No one else came in here. We’re good. So,” her voice rose from excitement, “what are you going to do?”