The Titans went on to having a perfect season, but they did it without Sky. He refused to take any drug tests, and was not allowed back on the team.
The story was that Sky had a pulled hamstring. His teammates never knew any different.
He slipped further and further away from us. He hated Uncle Bill; he hated me; he hated Summer. He tolerated Sheryl. We didn't know what to do about his problem. He came home wasted and fried on a regular basis. January 20 frightened us; Sky's eighteenth birthday. We knew he would not stick around when he was legally an adult, and who knows what was going to happen to him when he went out on his own.
Light snow fluttered through the air as Alan and I walked through town Thanksgiving weekend. Our hands intertwined, and he looked exceptionally adorable with snowflakes in his hair and on his eyelashes.
"I am so cold," Alan grumbled.
"Me too," I agreed, shivering.
"At least you get to wear gloves."
"You should have brought some if you knew you were just going to complain."
"Where are we even going?" he asked.
"We're just walking!"
"Fine. Whatever floats your boat floats mine," he said, surrendering. I think he knew that I didn't like being at home much. I had trusted him enough to confide in him about Sky, and he understood.
As we passed under an awning, a huge pile of snow fell on him, and I laughed hysterically. Then I proceeded to snort, which caused more laughter.
Shaking his head to get rid of the snow in his hair, he snapped, "It's not very amusing, Lyric!"
"Oh, but I am amused," I cackled.
"I'm freezing and I have a snow bank on my head--stop laughing!" He poked me. "I said stop that!" He bent down and scooped up a heap of snow, throwing it at me.
"Heeey," I muttered. "You threw snow at me."
"Very observant, Captain Nemo."
Laughing, confused, I looked at him oddly. "What?"
"I don't know. But you're mean and I don't like you." He rolled some snow into a perfect snowball and flung it at me with great force.
"Ow! You stupid monkey!" I yelled, rubbing my shoulder. I began making a snowball.
"Yeah, that's right, ball it up," he taunted.
"I will!"
Alan plowed into me, and not giving me a chance to scream, gave me a brutal face wash, cackling the whole time.
"I hate you," I sputtered when he let me go.
He mauled me with a hug. "I love you."
Feeling completely warm, I looked up at him with a smile, and then began to giggle.
Alan started giggling too, and he pressed me into his arms, letting me bury my face into the hollow of his neck. "I love you too!"
"What?" he laughed. "That came out all muffled. All I heard was 'MMF MMF MMF MMF!'"
I pulled back from him, grinning happily. I kissed the tip of his pink nose. "I SAID, I love you too!"
"Oh, I don't BLAME you."
There was just a long moment where we looked at each other, smiling. I felt like I belonged. Everything that had ever made me cry in my past suddenly felt a little better. I wasn't alone. And I was loved. It was pretty nice.
Then Alan kinda roared and tackled me to the ground. I squealed delightedly and pushed him away from me. "Come on, I'm cold and snowy." I helped him to his feet.
"Where are we going now?" he sighed.
"In there!" I pointed across the street to a coffee shop. I clasped my hand around his and we ran across the street.
The bell above the door jingled as we went in, and warmth welcomed us.
"HEY!" Alan yelled, dragging me over to a table where two guys were sitting. One of them was in a wheelchair.
"Bosley!" they both said, happy to see him apparently.
"Do you mind if we sit down?" Alan asked, his face one big grin. They shook their heads, so Alan slid into the chair next to the black guy and I sat down next to the blond guy in the wheelchair on the other side of the table. "How are you guys?"
"Good," the one sitting next to Alan replied. "I'm going to school. Still playing football." He grinned at me. "Hey. I'm Julius. Don't tell me your Alan's girlfriend?"
He had a sweet smile. "I'm afraid so, Julius."
Alan wrinkled his nose at me, and I laughed. He said, "This is Julius, and that's Gerry. Guys, this is Lyric. Coach's niece."
"Coach Yoast's niece?" Gerry asked me. He had a strong voice, the kind you would listen to and trust immediately. He almost kinda made me feel safe.
"Yeah, you know him?" I wriggled out of my heavy winter jacket and hung it on the back of my chair.
"I've known him for years," Gerry replied. "He's kinda like a dad for me."
I smiled softly. "Yeah, he's the closest thing I've ever had to a father too. How do you know him?"
"He was my football coach."
I had only heard of wheelchair basketball, never wheelchair football. I must have taken a long time to reply as I thought about how a guy restrained to a wheelchair could play a sport like football, because Gerry smirked. "I haven't always been like this. I was in a car accident last year."
"Ohh," I said quietly. "I'm sorry, Gerry."
"Lyric almost got us in a car accident once," Alan offered. "With Coach Boone."
Julius and Gerry gaped at me. "And you lived to tell the tale?" Julius asked.
Grinning, I announced, "Boone actually likes me."
"Just because you're Coach's niece," Julius laughed.
"No way, it's because I'm charming," I protested.
"It's the only reason I like you," Alan teased, and laughed at my expression.
"Alan, you wound me," I sighed.
"I was kidding. I like your body too."
I threw a sugar packet at him.
He smiled at me sweetly, reached across the table and ran his fingers briefly through my hair.
"Aww," Julius and Gerry chorused.
"Shut up," Alan laughed. "I like making her hair messy."
Gerry dipped his finger into the whipped cream swimming on top of his hot chocolate, and licked his finger clean. "You know, we'd better get going, Julius. Either of you want to finish this for me?"
Alan and I both dove for the mug of hot chocolate, slapped each other's hands away for awhile, and then resentfully agreed to share.
"See you later, Alan," Gerry said, wheeling past us lithely. "And I'll see you on Monday, Lyric, I guess?"
"Uh sure, why?" I asked, taking a sip of the drink and then pushing the mug over to Alan.
"It's Thanksgiving," he replied. "Coach invited me and my mom over for Thanksgiving dinner."
"Really?" I smiled at him. "Great. See you then."
They left together, and I watched as Julius held the door open for his friend.
"Poor guy," I said softly.
Nodding, Alan shrugged, looking up at me. "You should have seen him, Lyric."
"I just did?"
"No, I mean, when he was out on the field. Gerry was a leader, he was our captain." He sighed. "He was really going somewhere with football; he had talent. But then…the accident. It's not fair that there's all that talent and drive inside that kid, but he can barely move anymore. That's what pisses me off about your brother. Sky's talented; like Gerry; but he's willing to throw it all away because he's got such a chip on his shoulder. Sky's got a choice about how to use his talent. Gerry doesn't. It doesn't seem fair."
"Gerry sounds like an amazing guy," I said. "And Sky's just killing himself slowly, you know? Nothing's fair about it."
Looking at me tenderly for a moment, he smiled with a softness that almost made me want to cry, and came around the table to sit next to me. "He'll be okay, Lyric."
"Have you talked to him lately?" I demanded, sinking into his arms.
"No, he doesn't really talk to anyone." He tilted my chin up gently. "But none of this has anything to do with you, okay? There's nothing you ever did that would make this your fault."
"I feel like I should be able to get to him, because he's my brother and he should want to listen to me, but he just hates me…"
"He doesn't hate you, Lyric, he still loves you." Alan tried to get me to smile. "He knows you're trying. And if he doesn't know now, he will. And once everything is okay again, he'll be grateful to you and everyone else that tried to help him."
"How do you know everything's going to be okay?"
"Because right now it's not okay. And if it's not okay, it's not the end."
I laughed without humour. "You're so good to me, Alan…"
He didn't say anything, just barely kissing my forehead.