Dwayne smirks at me and twirls the whiskey in his glass. "Been there, done that. I taught her a couple moves." He holds up his drink and tilts it in my direction. Half the whiskey falls onto the carpet. "You're welcome."

I jump off the couch and my fingers clutch the collar of his shirt, ripping the thin fabric. "What the fuck are you talking about?" He looks at me, smiles, and grabs the bottle of whiskey off the table and brings it to his lips. He holds a finger in the air, takes a swig, and lets out a burp.

"I fucked her before you did." He takes another drink and throws the bottle to the ground when he finishes it. "I was her first."

I shove him up against the wall and lift him off the ground. The whole time Dwayne is just smiling at me like he doesn't have a care in the world.

"You're lying," I shout. "Don't fuck with me, Dwayne." The blood is rushing to my face and I bring my fist up to his. He looks at it, starts to laugh, and tries to smack it away. I hold steady.

"I. Fucked. Her." Every word that leaves his lips feels like a jagged dagger entering my stomach. The world around me starts to get blurry and my breath gets shallow. I let go of his collar and I take in a deep breath. I clench my fist and I spin around and aim it toward that stupid grin on his face. Somehow, Dwayne side steps me and I punch a hole through the dry wall. I pull my fist out and knock him down to the ground. I let the rage consume me as I start to see red. And I'm not planning on stopping until Dwayne is nothing but a beaten, red mess.

13.

Casey I walk through the wooden doors and take out my ID handing it to the officer behind the table. "I'm here to see David Cooper." The officer takes one look at me, slides his pudgy fingers across the table, and starts to write my name on a clipboard.

"He's in the detention center," the officer says. His chair creaks as he gets up and waves me over to the door. He holds up a finger in front of a camera, there's a buzz, and then he opens the door for me.

"Why were they arrested?" I ask. Half an hour ago, I got a call from Melissa to let me know that David was arrested. I was half asleep when I got the call, but I rushed over here as fast I could. The whole time, the worst possible scenarios were running through my head.

"He was fighting with his room-mate." He walks me to the end of the hallway, holds a finger in front of the camera, and opens the door for me. The detention center is a small and has a couple wooden seats along the wall. At the center of the room is a table, which is occupied by Melissa, Coach Vaughn, Dwayne, and David. Dwayne and David are facing away from each other while Coach Vaughn looks like he wants to rip them a new one.

I wave my hand at David, but he doesn't even look up in my direction. He has a cut at the right side of his forehead and a bruised cheek. Dwayne, on the other hand, is worse off, with a swollen right eye and a hand that's wrapped up.

What the hell were they fighting about?

Melissa gives me a half smile as she turns her attention back to David and Dwayne. She looks down at the report in front of her. "I don't know why the two of you were fighting and I don't care." She's about to continue when Coach Vaughn stands up and slams his hands on the rickey wooden table. I'm surprised the table doesn't break under his force.

"I'm going to have both of you running laps until you wish you were dead. Teammates do not fight. Not on my team, at least." He walks away from the table and runs his hand through his hair. Every second that passes, his face turns a little redder. He clenches and unclenches his head, throwing daggers at Dwayne and David. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Neither of them look up from the table. They just shake their heads. It's funny how the both of them look like little kids being scolded by their parents.

Melissa clears her throat. "Unfortunately, gentlemen there will be consequences. Dwayne, you will be suspended for the next two games." Dwayne looks up from the table, opens his mouth to object, and reconsiders when he sees how Coach Vaughn is staring at him. He ends up just nodding. Melissa turns her attention to David. "Before this happened, Coach Vaughn and I were discussing the possibility of letting you back on the field for practice. With tonight's development, that possibility is gone." David nods.

Coach Vaughn walks around the table to David's side. I never realized how tall and wide Coach Vaughn is. He makes David look small. He holds his spot until David looks up to him. Coach Vaughn stares him down before letting out a sigh. "As of this moment, you are no longer the team captain."

David shoots up, his chair clattering to the floor. "That's not fair, Coach. I worked hard for that spot. You can't just take it away."

"I can and have. I won't have my team captain fighting with his own teammates. It doesn't set the example that I want." Coach Vaughn nods to himself before he walks over to Melissa. "That's it. I have nothing else to say to these numbskulls."

Melissa nods and gets out of her seat. "On top of the school's punishment, both of you will have court-ordered community service."

Nobody says another word. The door buzzes and the officer holds the door open. Everyone shuffles out of the room with their heads down.

"Thanks for coming," Melissa whispers in the hallway. "At least, David will be able to concentrate on his studies now."

David has several forms to sign so I wait for him outside the station. The cold air nips at my cheeks. The door to the station opens several minutes later and David strides out. I reach out and grab for him, wanting him to get rid of the cold on the tip of my fingers.

"What happened between the two of you?" David looks at my hand and then up at me with disgust on his face, my stomach drops. This isn't going to be good. He yanks his arm away and turns away from me. His stride is long and fast. I practically have to run to catch up to him. My heart hurts and my hand shots to my chest. I rush behind him and grab at this shoulder. "David, talk to me."

He rolls his shoulder from my grasp, his face burning red. "Don't touch me!" he shouts. He looks at me and shakes his head. "Don't you dare touch me," he mutters.

"What did I do?" The pang in my heart grows as he puts distance between the two of us. I don't follow him. He's several feet away from me when he turns around, runs his hand through his hair, curses under his breath, and stomps back toward me.

"I know," he mumbles. "I know about all of it."

I tilt my head. I don't understand what he's talking about. None of this is making any sense.

"You know what?" I want to close the distance between us. I want to just apologize for whatever I did. To tell him that we can move passed it. Instead, I hold my ground. I don't know if my heart can take being rejected again.

"Dwayne." His face turns into a scowl. "He told me everything."

The tears bite as they start to fall. "I was going to tell you. I really was." I reach out for his hand. He needs to know how sorry I am. How much he means to me. "There just wasn't a good time to tell you." My throat breaks and I'm on the verge of breaking down. I take in a breath and my body shakes.

I don't want to lose him over this. I can't lose him over this. I pull at him and press my head against his chest, letting my tears fall into his shirt.

He doesn't move. He doesn't say anything. When I look up at him, there's only hurt in his eyes. And something else.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you. I know that now." I run toward him and bury my head into his chest. His body is warm and I can smell the light fragrance of his cologne. "It's all in the past. He means nothing to me now," I plead.

David doesn't wrap my in his arms. He doesn't say or do anything. Just stands there as my tears fall on his jacket. I shudder and plead with him.

He makes the first move. He pulls his body away from me and takes a step back. I bring up the sleeve of my coat to wipe away the tears.

"I don't believe you. Who else are you sleeping with?" He looks at me with hurtful eyes, unsure of what to believe.

The words sting at my heart. I grab for him instinctively and my lower lip shudders. "No one. You're the only one."

"Liar! You're always keeping secrets from me." He kicks the side of the building, clenching his hand into a fist.

I take a step forward and reach out for him. David swats my hand away. "David, you have to believe me," I cry.

"I don't have to do anything. I don't ever want to see you again."

And just like that, I fall to my knees. Everything around me starts to spin and I burst into tears.

"I never want to see you again, Casey Boone. Not now. Not ever."

His words penetrate me and hurt me at my core. With my legs trembling, I get up and take off.

I rush down the street and back to my dorm. I don't look back once. I can't bring myself to do it.

Thoughts of the last couple months stream into my head. None of this makes any sense.

By the time I make it to my dorm room I'm nothing but a bumbling mess. I slam the door behind me and drop onto my bed.

Why won't he believe me? Why won't he let me explain it to him?

His words echo inside my head, reaffirming one thought inside my head.

I never want to see David Cooper again.

Not now. Not ever.

14.

David I made a mistake. I didn't see it at the time, but now I know.

The last couple days, I've been beating myself up over how to fix it. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is Casey crying her eyes out. Those beautiful blue eyes of hers glossed over with tears. Tears that I brought about.

I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did. Blaming her for choices she made when she was younger. Blaming her for being with someone else beside me. Telling her that I never wanted to see her again. All of it was a mistake.

I let my anger consume me. Everything happened all at once. Finding out Dwayne slept with Casey, my chance of getting back on the field taken away, and my team captain title stripped away.

I couldn't take it. And I lashed out at the only person who cared about me. The only person who came in the middle of the night to see me.

Now, I need to show her that I care about her. That I made a mistake. And that I was willing to do anything to fix it.

I grab my coat off the couch and I'm out the door. I need to make this right. The sooner I do it, the faster I can see that pretty smile of hers.

It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to get there. I take a breath and knock on the door. And I wait.

The door creaks open a little and I let out a sigh of relief. "What do you want, David?" Dwayne's eyes are bloodshot and tired. I haven't talked to him since the night at the police station. This is the first step that I have to take in making things right. Also something told me that, Dwayne can help me out.

"I want to make things right. I want to apologize." Dwayne stares at me, and for a moment I think that he's going to slam the door shut. And if he did, I wouldn't blame him one bit. I overreacted at the time and let my emotions get the best of me. Dwayne leave the door open and walks over to his table. There are books scattered on the desktop. He sits down and starts to scribble into his notebook. "I shouldn't have punched you. I'm sorry, Dwayne."

Dwayne looks up at me from his books and nods. "It's not all your fault. I was drunk off my ass and being an asshole to boot." He taps the end of his pencil on the table. "I shouldn't have talked about Casey that way. I don't know what came over me."

I hold out my hand. "How about we put it behind us and start over?" Dwayne looks at my hand and a smile breaks on his face.

"One little fight ain't going to break us up, man. We still have a national title to win." He grips my hand and gives it a firm shake. I sit down and take off my coat. Dwayne looks at me. "So, you really like her?"

"I really do, Dwayne. I really really like her." I can feel my heart swelling as thoughts of Casey streams into my head.

This next part is going to be a little more challenging. In order to make things right with Casey, I'm going to need his help. He might be able to give me some information to repair the damage that I've done.

"Dwayne, I need your help." I dig my thumb into the middle of my palm. I'm not one to ask for help often. I like to handle things on my own for the most part. Stepping out of my comfort zone and being forward with Dwayne is something I would have never done before. That's how important Casey is to me right now. I will do anything to patch up things with her. Even if it means asking for help.

"What can I do?" There's no hesitation in his words. He sits upright in his chair and turns all of his attention to me.

I take a couple minutes to explain to Dwayne what happened at the station. To tell him how badly I fucked up. When I finish, I let out a sigh.

Putting everything out in the open is exhausting. I almost can't believe how much of an asshole I really was to her. The things I said and how cold I was to her. It's not the person that I want to be. Not when she means so much to me.

"I need to make this right, Dwayne. Can you tell me what kind of girl Casey was in high school? Maybe it can help me figure out a way to make it up to her."

Dwayne runs his hand through his hair, puts his pencil in the middle of his textbook, and closes it. He gets up from his chair and gets two bottles of water from the fridge. He sits down next to me and takes a big sip before he starts. "You're not going to like this. Just remember that high school kids can be cruel." He takes another drink of his water and clears his throat. "After her epilepsy attack, Casey lost all of her friends in one night. Nobody wanted to hang out with her and everyone pretty much avoided her. In the blink of an eye, she became an outcast."

I hold my breath and try to place myself in her shoes. Go from being the most popular person in the school to being ignored by everyone. Ignored because of something that is out of my control. I would be so hurt. And feel so alone.

"It quickly went downhill from there. Casey was valedictorian of her class before the incident. After she became an outcast, she stopped going to class. She stayed home for weeks on end. She got really lonely." Dwayne squeezes the plastic bottle and twists it. He turns it into a small ball and chucks it across the room. "That is, until her parents got her a dog." There's a smile on his face. "That dog made her happy. It pushed away all the feelings of loneliness until they had to give it away."

"What do you mean? Why would they give it away if it helped her?"

"Her mother was allergic to the dog. They ended up giving it to some family friends a couple towns over. Casey could still visit the dog, and it still helped but it wasn't the same as when the dog was with her. Luckily, by the time that happened, Casey was only a couple weeks from graduating. And that's all I know. I wasn't really the best boyfriend back then. I made some mistakes." Dwayne pats me on the back and gets up, sitting back at the desk.

An idea pops into my head. A possible solution to fix my relationship with her. It's a long shot, but at this, point I am willing to try anything to get her back.

I stand up and throw my jacket on. "Thanks, Dwayne. You've been a lot of help." I give him a hard smack on the back and I'm almost out the door when I see a telephone book on his bedside shelf. I grab it and hold it out. "Do you mind if I borrow this? I'll give it to you next time I see you."

Dwayne nods. "Keep it. I don't need that old thing anymore."

I'm already out of the door, finger flipping through the pages until I get to their name. They're going to think I'm nuts when I call them, but I'm hoping they're as understanding as Casey.

All I want to do is fix what I broke.

15.

Casey I rub at my temples. That had to be the longest hour of my life. Usually, I enjoy tutoring, but not when it comes to Hannah Thomas. She barely pays attention when I'm trying to tutor her. And when I can get her to pay attention, she completely forgets what I taught her less than two minutes later. Agreeing to tutor her was the biggest mistake of my life.

The wind bites at my face and I pull at my scarf up. I shiver as a gust of wind finds its way down my back. I need to get back to my dorm before I freeze to death. I open my stride and practically run when I hear a bark behind me.

I turn around and see a white dog rushing towards me from across the quad. I look around for its owner, but there's no one out here in this cold. I start to get worried when the dog barks and comes into focus.

"Casper?" I say to myself just as the dog jumps into the air and tackles me to the ground. We both fall to the ground and I wrap my arms around his fluffy neck. A smile spreads on my face as Casper starts to lick at my cheeks, pushing away the scarf and hat that I have on. "Casper, what are you doing here?" I laugh and squeeze him extra tight. Its been so long since I saw him.

Casper is my childhood dog. Correction, was my childhood dog, before I had to give him up because of my mother's allergies. I haven't seen him since last summer. Last time, I did see him was when I was forced to give him away to some family friends that lived across the state.

Casper jumps out of my arms and runs around me. He barks at me and gets low to the ground, the big, pink tongue of his hanging out to the side. I grab a stick off the ground and throw it. Dirt flies into the air as Casper zooms after it, picks it up, and hustles back to me to place it at my feet.

This doesn't make any sense. How is Casper here? He couldn't have possibly known I was here. And even if he did, I doubt he would walk the hundreds of miles to get here.