He sees her again at the grocery store, but to his surprise, she's not alone. A teenaged boy, most likely only 13 or 14 tags alongside her, pulling candy and other things into their cart, while she scolds him to put them back.
"Rae." He says loudly, letting Billy disappear down the next aisle, still fighting on the phone. She turns and spots him.
"Hey Tim." She says softly.
"Who's he?" The boy demands, leaning on the cart and nearly tipping it over. Rae glares at him.
"Tim Riggins, who the hell are you?" Tim responds in kind. Rae gives him a furious look.
"Tim, this is my little brother Carden. Car, go get some soup." She orders. When he doesn't move, just keeps glaring at Tim, Rae kicks his shin. "Now!" He stomps off and she gives him a pissed look.
"He seems like a nice kid." He says, laughing. She grabs his collar, pulling him down to her level.
"Don't you ever fucking talk like that to my little brother or I swear to god I will end you. Next time don't even look at him. Understood?" She hisses. He looks down at her, unflinching. She lets him go and shakes her head in disgust.
She disappears and Tim follows Billy to the register. When he sees Tyra, he can hear Rae saying 'white trash' in his head, but that's mostly why he goes with Tyra, just trying to drown Rae's words out.
"Tim." She calls, in the halls. "Tim!" She yells, when he keeps walking. She chases after him and catches his arm. "Tim!" She insists, trying to pull him aside and failing miserably.
"What do you want, Maisie?" He spits, rounding on her. She recoils like she's been hit.
"I came to say sorry for what I said at the store the other day but- what happened to your eye?" Her tone switches instantly from accusing him to concern for him in the blink of an eye.
"Nothing," He mutters, trying to push past her, but she firmly stands in his way, unyielding.
"No, Tim, who hit you?" She demands, grabbing his chin and twisting it so she can see it better. He bats her arm away.
"Nobody so let it go." He orders her, not looking at her. She drops her hand but doesn't let him scoot by her.
"Well, I wanted to say sorry for what I said in the store. Carden has been having a shitty time fitting in here and I'm a bit protective of him." She explains quietly, still inspecting his eye.
"He's lucky to have a big sister like you." He says automatically, thinking of his own fight with him brother not that long ago.
"Yeah, tell him that. Let me go to the nurse so we can get ice on that." She coaxes, putting a hand on his arm.
"Why?" He asks, staring down at her. "It's not your problem so just forget about it, ok?" She removes her hand and stares up at him, eyes narrowed.
"Sorry for trying to make it mine by actually caring. Silly me." She says coolly, then folds her arms and walks away. He sighs and gingerly touches his eye, winching as he walks to class.
Tim sits in his truck for a long while, thinking long and hard about what has just happened- his own teammates attacking his truck as revenge for what he did to Jason. And he deserves it. Gingerly, he climbs out, sweeping aside broken glass. He's surveying the damage when another car parks on the side of the street. He stares into the darkness, expecting another teammate with a bat. Instead, Rae walks across the street and whistles.
"They must be pretty pissed at you." She says, walking around, admiring their handiwork. He stays silent, watching her. "I guess breaking up this towns golden couple is a pretty extreme offense."
"What do you want Rae?" He asks tiredly.
"I see five guys walking down the street with baseball bats and crowbars, you have a black eye from Jason, and rumors are flying about Lyla. I came to make sure you are still breathing." She says honestly, standing in front of him. "And now I'm offering you a ride to school tomorrow." She says softly. He just nods, kicking glass around in the driveway. "I'll be here 45 minutes before school starts." She informs him. His head snaps up.
"Why that early?" He demands, trying to remember the last time he made it to school on time, let alone early.
"I have to take Carden to the middle school. See you then!" She waves and is gone. Tim rubs his face, then goes to get a broom.
He stumbles outside when he hears her honking. He squints at the bright sunlight then slouches into the car and slides low in the seat.
"Seatbelt." She orders, not even putting the car in drive.
"Who are you, my mother?" He grumbles, pulling it on.
"She sure likes to act like one." Carden pipes up from the backseat.
"Then give me back that lunch I made you, smartass." She threatens. Carden wisely keeps his mouth shut. After a long silence, Tim decides to try to make amends with him.
"So you play football?" He asks, unsure of any other topic. Carden makes a noise of amusement.
"Yeah, I used to. But I don't really like it." He reveals. Tim twists around to give him a shocked face.
"What else is there to like?" He demands.
"Carden made the A pee-wee team when he was 11." Rae says proudly. Carden ducks his head, blushing at her praise. "Littlest kid playing on that team by at least three inches and thirty pounds. Youngest one in the whole district, playing against 13 year olds."
"Pee-wee what?" Tim asks, confused.
"Hockey." Carden says shortly. "But this place doesn't have hockey, so I'm never gonna be an A bantam. And even if I did, this place would probably call me the Cancer Kid and say I only got my spot out of pity." He spits. Rae shakes her head, looking at him sternly in the rear view mirror.
"Carden, I'm allowed to be bitter and hate this place. You can start over here and make friends. At least try today, please." She requests.
"Fat chance." He mutters, looking out the window. "I'm gonna move back up north with you when you go to college."
"And what are we gonna do about dad then, huh? Shoot him?" She points out. "He'll notice if you're gone." He snorts.
"Yeah, like he notices when you steal the .22 and sneak out of the house?" Carden asks sarcastically. Tim glances at Rae. Her mouth is tight and her hands are clenched on the steering wheel. There is silence in the car until she pulls up to the middle school.
"Have a good day. Don't swear at the teachers today. Make at least one friend. Don't forget your math homework is in the green folder." She reminds him, as he climbs out.
"Have a good day. Don't swear at the cheerleaders. Make one friend who isn't some beat up jock. Don't forget your English is in the pink folder." He sasses back, slamming the door.
"Watch your mouth! Be good!" She yells out the window as he walks into the school. She sighs and runs a hand through her hair.
"He must be a handful." Tim comments, watching as she leans forward, resting her forehead on the steering wheel.
"He's my little brother. I have to love him." She says tightly.
"Brothers don't have to love each other." He tells her, thoughts still on his own brother.
"Yeah, well, if I don't love him no one will." She says and he knows better than to keep trying to force it out of her. They ride the rest of the way to the high school in silence. They pull into the parking lot and he grabs her shoulder, halting her from getting out.
"Thanks for the ride." He says honestly. She smiles slightly and for the first time he gets the sense that there's someone under her hard shell that actually cares about people other than her brother.
"Anytime." She says softly then they both climb out and go their separate ways to classes.
Julie sits down next to her at lunch.
"You're coming with me to Gatling." She states. Rae eyes her, amused, taking another bite of her soggy salad.
"Why would I travel that far for a game I don't care about?" She asks, making a face and forcing it down.
"Because I'm not going alone to be interrogated by my parents about my date with Matt and having you there takes some of the pressure off of me." Julie explains dramatically, as if it should be obvious. She avoids the salad completely and starts munching on an apple.
"I can't leave Car home alone, you know my dad's not around to feed him or something." Rae protests.
"Even better. With the two of you, my parents will hardly remember I'm there." Julie says, delighted. "Besides, I need to talk to someone about that date who doesn't view the football team as either gods or the scum of the earth." She says in a hushed whisper. Rae chokes back a snort, nodding in agreement. "So you'll come?" She asks, pleadingly.
"I mean, I'll ask Car if he's ok with-" She starts, but Julie's squeal of happiness cuts her off. She hugs Rae tightly.
"My house, at 2. You can ride with me and my mom." She orders then begins eating. Other girls fill in the table, chattering. Rae shakes her head, wondering what she got herself into.
