I watched from the sideline as Roosevelt High scored another touchdown on us. It was 21 to 6 in the second half and the crowd was groaning. Apparently, the loss of Collin had impacted more than just me. Our boys were acting as if they’d never won a game before.
The Rock Valley Biz Instagram account was going nuts with rumors about Collin and why he’d dropped out of school. Some said he’d run away to Mexico. Some said he’d died and the school was covering it up. All the stories were as crazy as the next and all just as wrong. It didn’t matter why. The truth was that our school was hurting.
“Come on,” I growled as the second string QB was sacked for the third time.
I’d had enough. It was one thing to stand here cheering when Collin was playing and my mom was watching in the stands, but Collin was gone. Mom was out of town for a work event. Even my dad had better things to do tonight. There was no reason to be killing myself in this suit. With a short wave at the rest of the squad, I marched off toward the back of the bleachers, tearing the mascot head off as soon as I was out of sight from the crowds.
I was just about to sit down and tear into a bottle of water, when I saw Savannah marching angrily in my direction. It was a cold night, so the whole team had paired their short pleated skirts with heavy white flannel leggings. Still, despite the chilly breeze, Savannah had insisted on leaving the belly buttons bare. I could only imagine how frost bite felt on a belly button ring.
“Audrey! You get back here this instant. The game isn’t over yet,” she growled.
I sighed and turned away. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her tonight. This whole week, I felt like I’d been wading through an emotional haze. I didn’t have enough energy to deal with her. Not today.
“Audrey? Are you listening to me?” She stopped right in front of me and tapped her brilliant white tennis shoe expectantly. “You can’t ignore me. I’m the captain.”
“Yeah, and after we graduate you’ll be nothing,” I said under my breath.
“What was that?” She placed her hands on her narrow hips and scowled. “Do I need to remind you that with one snap of my fingers, you could be off this team? One snap. That’s all it takes. Don’t push me.”
I wasn’t sure if it was just a combination of my emotional state that night or the fact that Savannah had been hounding on me for years, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I jumped to my feet and shoved the mascot head into her hands so hard it made her stumble backwards.
“Here. Take it. I don’t want it.”
Fury burned in her brown eyes. She threw the head back at me, hitting me hard in the gut. “No, way. You committed to this team. The centennial performance is next week and you need to be there for our performance. Principal Styles is counting on it.”
Savannah had been ragging on us for weeks about performing at the centennial performance, as if we were cheering at the Super Bowl. Frankly, I’d had enough with the entire centennial performance. It was all starting to sound ridiculous to me.
“Well, I didn’t commit to being abused by you,” I yelled, throwing the mascot head to the ground. “You know, all I wanted was to be on your stupid little squad so my mom would be happy after the divorce. But you had to make that impossible, didn’t you? You had to torture me, humiliate me. For what? To prove you’re better than me?”
Savannah’s eyes snapped with anger and she gave me a smirk. “I don’t have to prove anything. I am better than you.”
I looked up at the bottom of the stands, tears smarting in my eyes. “Dang it, Savannah. I don’t want to fight with you all the time. Can you just leave me alone? I’m not here to make your life miserable.”
“Well that’s too bad, because you already do.”
She sniffed, drawing my gaze back to her face. I was surprised to see her eyes redden, as if she were holding back angry tears. The sight didn’t create any sympathy for her. I’d had enough of this back and forth. If she was going to hate me so much, I wanted a reason. A reason why my cousin had chosen to become my worst enemy.
“Tell me why, Savannah.” I took a step toward her, looking straight into her eyes. It was like staring down a dangerous viper. “Why do you hate me?”
She glanced away, her cheeks turning pink. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“Is it something that happened at Grandma Ivy’s? Why did everything change between us when she died?”
Her jaw hardened and she crossed her arms.
“Why?” I pressed. She wasn’t getting away from this conversation. We needed to clear the air between us. “At least give me something.”
“Because she loved you more than she loved me,” Savannah shouted, her face turning red and the blue vessels in her forehead bulging.
I took an involuntary step back, slightly frightened of her reaction. I hadn’t expected my pushing to work. If anything, I figured she’d slap me across the face with her pom poms. But this was unexpected. And totally false.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice low. “Grandma Ivy loved us both.”
“No, she clearly loved you more.” Her lower lip trembled and she took a shuddering breath. “When she got sick, I asked her for one thing. Only one thing. It was a strand of pearls from her jewelry box. She used to wear them out to her ladies evenings. My mom wore them on her wedding day. I remember how they used to shine. I loved those things. Grandma Ivy would let me wear them once in a while. They made me feel like a princess. It was the only thing I wanted to remember her by.”
My jaw fell open at Savannah’s confession. I’d never known she was so fond of Grandma Ivy’s pearls. To me, they’d just been a memento of the grandparent I’d loved and lost. Nothing more.
“I wanted those pearls and she told me I could have them,” Savannah continued, her voice tightening, “but in the end, she gave them to you. That was how I knew she loved you more.”