When we don't know who to turn to, sometimes we turn to the ones we least expect.
Luke Salazar is a senior at Bay High School, and he's been pushed, shoved, and shut out for most of his life. Miles Jefferson has been the ringleader of a lot of that...
"Where's Rachel?" I asked Brooke, craning my neck to look over my shoulder.
Brooke looked around too. "I don't know; she went to the bathroom, but that was like 15 minutes ago."
Panic rose in my chest. What if she had run into William? I promised Miles that I would watch out for her. I jumped up and pulled Brooke to her feet. "We have to find her."
We glanced at the scoreboard - it was the bottom of the 8th; we had one inning to find her and make sure she was okay - before Miles left the field and realized we had lost sight of her.
"I'll go check the bathroom," Brooke said, scampering off in that direction.
"I'll go check behind the dugout," I said, but when I got to the edge of the bleachers, I ran right into Rachel, who looked like she was about to pass out at any moment.
"Oh, thank God," I said, pulling Rachel into a hug. She didn't hug me back; she just leaned into me limply. I pulled her closer to me, my arm wrapped around her shoulder tightly. We made our way to an empty bleacher on the bottom row. "Rachel. What's wrong?"
She just stared ahead blankly, shaking her head slowly. "I can't... I can't tell you."
"What do you mean, you can't tell me?" I asked, my voice shaking. "Did William hurt you again?" I'd fucking kill him - before Miles even got the chance.
She shook her head again, faster this time. "No. Nothing like that," she breathed, her eyes locked on Miles, who was up to bat.
"Rachel, you're scaring me," I said, turning her face to force her to meet my eyes.
I saw Brooke over Rachel's shoulder and jerked my chin upward to beckon her. She ran over.
"I'm scared too, Luke," she whispered.
Brooke reached us then and sat next to Rachel, grabbing her hand. "Rach, what happened? What's wrong?"
"She won't say," I said, a note of frustration clouding my otherwise sympathetic tone.
Brooke narrowed her eyes and turned Rachel to face her. "Rachel Mae, tell me. Now."
Rachel shook her head frantically. "No. No. No. I can't. I can't." A sob escaped her throat and she began to cry.
Brooke gathered her into her arms, and I rubbed big circles on her back with the palm of my hand. "Shhh, sweetheart. It's going to be okay," Brooke cooed, looking at me with wide, frightened eyes over Rachel's trembling shoulder.
Suddenly the crowd erupted into cheers. Brooke and I looked up; we had won the game - we were state champions.
The team had hoisted Miles onto their shoulders, and he held the giant gold trophy high in the air, the elation clear on his face.
Rachel didn't even look up.
Miles
"Thanks - yeah man, you too - great game," I said to teammate after teammate, clapping them on the backs and shaking their hands.
I was grinning, looking everywhere for Rachel... or Luke... or Brooke... or anyone. But they weren't in their regular seats. My eyes scanned the bleachers until they landed on the front row. Rachel was leaning against Brooke, and I could see her shaking from where I stood. My grin disappeared, and I ran to them, shoving the gate open.
"Rachel, Rachel, baby, what's wrong?" I asked desperately, my eyes bouncing from Brooke to Luke.
Rachel jumped up immediately and threw herself against me, sobbing harder than I've ever seen - harder than during her nightmare about her brother, harder than the night Dad hit her. She was hysterical.
"Baby, baby, please," I begged her, putting my hands on her cheeks and bringing her face to mine. "Please breathe."
I looked at Luke, begging him to tell me what was going on, but it was clear he was just as confused as I was. "Get her out of here," Luke whispered. "We'll figure it out later. I'll tell her parents she left with you."
Coach was calling me to the field for a group photo, but I didn't even turn around. I took her hand and pulled her away from the crowd, toward my Jeep.
When we got there, I put her in the backseat and crawled in next to her so I could hold her. She leaned against my chest, still crying, but her breaths coming easier now. I put my hand on the side of her head, stroking her hair. "Shhh, it's okay baby. It's just us now."
She sat up, turning in the seat so she could face me, her eyes swollen and cheeks red.
"Rachel, I need you to tell me what happened. Please," I begged, brushing the remnants of the bruise on her cheek with my thumb. "What did he do to you?"
Her eyebrows lowered. "Who?"
"My dad. What did he do to you?"
She shook her head as if coming out of a deep sleep. "N- No, Miles. He didn't do anything to me. This actually doesn't have anything to do with me at all," she said, twisting the hem of her v-neck in her hands.
"Then what is it?" I asked urgently.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Miles - this isn't something I can just say. It's - it's life-changing," she whispered, her grey eyes opening to meet mine.
I ran my hand through her hair, which was a complete mess from burrowing against my chest. "You can say anything to me."
She clenched her teeth. I could tell she was trying to find the right words. Finally, she spoke, and her eyes filled with tears again. "It's about Luke."
I bit my lip. "What about him?" All kinds of thoughts ran through my head - was he sick? Did he do something to her? Did he say something mean? But that didn't fit - he had been comforting her when I ran up.
She licked her lips nervously and looked up, her chest blotchy.
My heart beat wildly. This was something huge. Rachel didn't behave this way for no reason.
She finally looked back at me and her eyes didn't leave mine.
"Miles, Luke isn't your cousin," she said softly.
I narrowed my eyes in confusion, not comprehending what she was trying to tell me.
But before I could say anything, she spoke again.
"He's your brother."
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