27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Darren

I didn't like Dillon turning into a virtual robot, shoving his emotions deep inside. But he played and played hard, winning against Heritage High School, and now we were playing for the championship against Broad Run Spartans. While I was fucking pumped for this game, I worried about my friend, but I couldn't do anything but hope we'd find Cade at UVA, which was still a long way off. Hopefully, Dillon would hang on before he cracked.

The Spartan's defense was fucking fire. As part of the offensive line, we did our best to protect Dillon. Twice, he'd gotten sacked, and I cursed myself. I needed to do better. We were all nervous, not just because this was the championship, but because it was the last game of our high school careers. It was hard to get the excitement going once you got behind on points and let your quarterback get sacked. Nervousness could turn into more mistakes .

Still, we held our own… until we weren't, now down by two touchdowns.

After the other team scored, it was our turn to put some points on the board, hopefully. Dillon inched the ball closer and closer to the end zone, and just when we thought we'd make the first down, one of the defensive linemen slipped by me and tackled Dillon… again.

Dammit! How was I going to succeed at this sport if I couldn't play against a challenging team?

It was fine. We got pushed back, but we could still pull this off. But no one lined up for the next play. I looked back to find Dillon lying on the ground.

My heart stopped. No, no, no. If he got injured because of me… I fucking failed as a right guard.

I ran over to him just as our coach did, chatting with our physiotherapist on coms, who was waiting to treat Dillon.

"Dil, are you okay? Where's it hurt?"

"I'm fine… ribs."

The coach and I helped Dillon up as the crowd applauded. Once we got him in the room that we used for treating injuries, the physiotherapist looked him over.

"It doesn't look like a full fracture," he said. "We won't know for sure until we get some X-rays."

"That's it, Dillon. I'll send Stu in to replace you," the coach said.

Oh, fuck no. Stu was the second-string quarterback. While he wasn't bad, he was no Dillon. We would lose this game if they threw in Stu. Even with Dillon, we still struggled.

Dillon shook his head and scowled. "Absolutely not. I earned this. I worked my ass off for this. It only hurts a little, and it's the last game of the season. The last game of my high school career. Then I can rest."

"What do you think?" the coach asked the physiotherapist.

He shrugged. "It's a fracture, but he's fine for now. If he takes another hard blow, who knows? "

I was more determined than ever to take care of Dillon and win this one. Everything fucking hinged on this game. I didn't want him playing injured, but I trusted him if he said he could still play.

"I'll do better at protecting you," I said to him, before looking at our coach. "If my boy here says he's good, then he's good. Let him play. We only have one more quarter."

Coach nodded. "Fine, but protect him, Wilson."

"You can count on me."

The physiotherapist wrapped up his chest in a tight bandage to hold everything together, and then Dillon and I jogged back onto the field. He was wincing and breathing hard, but if he could jog, he could play.

We lined up, and I watched every single movement from the Spartans as Dillon took the snap.

Even after Dillon had thrown the ball downfield, one of the defensive linemen went after Dillon, probably hoping to put him entirely out of commission. Fuck no. I tackled him right before he reached my friend. I quickly stood and jumped up and down, screaming and cheering as our wide receiver took it down for a touchdown.

"Hell, yeah!" I whooped at Dillon, who smiled like a loon.

You could tell Dillon was hurting, but he pushed himself and persevered. And Dean and I nearly killed ourselves in protecting him. Not one defensive lineman touched Dillon again for the rest of the game.

The push to increase our points was a hard road, but we did it, winning 35-28.

The locker room after the game was loud and filled with electric excitement. We'd won the state championship… barely, but we defeated a formidable team. It was something to be proud of.

All the animosity toward Dillon washed away, renewed with trust that he'd help bring them the final win, even while injured.

While Dillon was excited to win, he was fucking over the football team. You saw it on his face. His smiles were fake, and he would quickly frown as soon as no one was looking. I didn't blame him at all. He lost trust in them. Hell, I did, too. They didn't suddenly stop being homophobic shits after a little lecture and winning games.

The following weekend, Christian and I dragged Dillon to a massive party to help him unwind. He was expected to make an appearance as part of the winning football team and show the school that he was beyond the rumors.

As soon as we got there, Dillon made a beeline straight to the alcohol, despite people shoving drinks in his hands. He'd quickly downed them and went in search of more.

This wasn't going to be good. Since I drove, I was the designated driver. It was just as well. Let him get sloshed. It would take his mind off shit. I'd keep an eye on him and let him just get loose.

Christian wasn't a big drinker, so he nursed a beer while I chugged water. We danced to a couple of songs, and I loved him pressed up against me. Even better, we could do this freely, something Dillon and Cade never got a chance to do. I ached for my best friend, but by the fall, we would all have Cade back in our lives. I was sure of it.

Suddenly, there was chanting and screaming as a crowd started to gather in the living room. I grabbed Christian's hand and tugged him toward the commotion.

There, in the middle of the crowd, was Dillon on top of David, beating the ever-loving fuck out of him.

"Whoa, I didn't know Dillon was so fierce and scary," Christian said.

"Anyone can be if the right buttons are pushed," I said. I understood that all too well. "And David is excellent at pushing fucking buttons."

I could've stopped the fight sooner, but David fucking deserved to be taken down a few notches. Even when he stopped moving, Dillon continued to punch down. It was time to stop the fight, and I finally reached for my friend and yanked him off.

Darcy ran to David, weeping over his bloodied face.

"I fucking hate you!" Dillon yelled as I dragged him away.

"I think David's had enough, Dil. "

"So have I." He shoved me out of the way and stormed off.

"Let's get him out of here," I said to Christian.

"Definitely. He needs us."

I rushed to get the truck, and then we drove over to where Dillon was walking to who knew where. I pulled in front of him and jumped out, finding him sobbing, tears mixed with blood. I got him inside the truck as he continued to cry and drove him home.

Once I got him there, Christian and I helped him inside the house. Ms. C came into the foyer to see her bloodied son with wide eyes.

"What the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

"I'm afraid it was Dillon hurting someone. He was provoked, and he retaliated," I explained. "The guy's a prick and no doubt antagonized Dillon."

She frowned. "That's no excuse." Her fingers grabbed his face to look at the bloody mess as he continued to whimper quietly.

"Enough is enough, Dillon. It's time you got some help. I've put up with the moping long enough, but when you start hurting other people… I'm done." Her hard eyes pinged to Christian and me. "You boys can go on home. I appreciate you bringing him home safely."

Thank fuck, he was going to get the help he needed.