Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

RIO

My brain is a bit of a mess as I make my way to the athletics facility on Monday morning. I had the weirdest dreams all weekend long, and I have no idea what they could mean.

"Ready for coach to kick our asses today at training?" BooBoo asks when I enter the locker room.

"You know it," I reply with a wink. "There isn't anything coach can throw at me that I can't handle."

BooBoo grins from ear to ear and pats me on the shoulder. "That's my man."

I grab my gear from my locker but before I change I notice BooBoo playing with the pendant he always wears and a random thought pops into my head causing me to pause. "It was you that was talking about your mom being into witchy stuff, wasn't it?"

"Yup, made for a lot of weird shit going on in the house growing up," he replies. "I still don't understand most of it, but it makes Mom happy, and she isn't hurting anyone so I go along with it."

It doesn't surprise me that BooBoo lets his mom have her way even if he doesn't understand things because that's just the kind of guy he is. He wants everyone around him to be happy. He's the type to go along with just about anything to bring a smile to the faces of the people he cares about.

"Why the sudden questions about my witchy mom? You thinking about trying that stuff out?"

I shake my head. "No. I was just wondering if you knew anything about what certain dreams mean."

He tilts his head to the side. "What have you been dreaming about?"

I cast a quick glance around the room to make sure no one is listening to our conversation before leaning closer to BooBoo. "I keep dreaming that I'm being chased by a Koala," I whisper.

"Interesting," he responds in a softened tone, staring intently at me.

"Do you know what that means?" I ask, holding my breath as I wait for his response.

"Not a fucking clue," he tells me with a smirk. I roll my eyes giving his shoulder a shove for getting me going like that. He laughs and holds his hands up. "But I'm pretty sure my mom has a book about what dreams mean. I should be able to run over there tonight and grab it if you want. We can read it on the bus ride tomorrow."

"Why not," I reply. "If I can figure out why I'm having these odd dreams, maybe then I'll stop having them."

BooBoo purses his lips and nods. "Who knew having a mother like mine would pay off."

I chuckle with him, then change into my clothes for training. When I'm done, I chat with BooBoo about his weekend. Eventually, Whiley joins us, complaining that his sink burst a pipe this morning, and he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to make it on time for practice. Thankfully, that didn't happen because the coach isn't too pleased when guys are late.

Just as Whiley finishes changing, coach enters the locker room for our pre-training meeting.

The meeting runs as expected, going over what we need to work on and a breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of the team we'll be playing tomorrow. But when I think he's about to dismiss us, he brings up something new.

"I know we don't normally have our mascot with us on away games," Coach starts. "But since our newest Kerrington is still in training, Evangeline has requested he join us for our game tomorrow. I figured having the presence of our friendly and energetic Koala could only bring us good luck, so I agreed. I expect you all to treat Sasha with respect and give him a warm welcome. He might not be a member of this soccer team, but he is a part of the GSU athletics family and deserves to be treated like you would treat anyone else on this team. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir," we all shout at the same time.

"Excellent, now let's get to the pitch," he says before heading out of the locker room.

To say I'm unprepared to find out that Sasha will be traveling with us tomorrow is an understatement. I knew I would be seeing a lot more of him now that he's our newest mascot, but I thought away games were a safe space to avoid these new feelings that Sasha has brought up. Apparently, I was wrong.

I don't think it would have bothered me if this news had been sprung on me a week ago, I've always been good at ignoring him when he gets too annoying. But after this weekend and finding out that I might be attracted to him, the last thing I want is to spend a two-hour bus ride with him sitting right beside me. I spent far too much of my time thinking about him over the weekend, and I was hoping to get some time away from him in the place where I'm always able to push away my thoughts and clear my mind.

Fingers crossed he finds someone else to sit with.

Sleep was filled with more bizarre dreams of being chased by a Koala, leaving me more confused and wanting to get my hands on that book BooBoo told me about.

As I eat my breakfast and get my gear ready for the trip I'm moving at a snail's pace and my brain is a foggy mess. I hate feeling like this.

My feet are dragging as I make my way to the bus, and I just pray I can clear out the cobwebs before we have to play. I don't want to be a liability to our team.

As usual, I'm one of the first guys to arrive at the bus, so I throw my gear bag underneath and lean against the side until more of my teammates arrive.

To my utter shock, Sasha shows up only moments after me. I've never known him to be on time for anything.

"Why do you look like a dear caught in headlights?" he asks me as he adjusts his backpack on his shoulders.

"I think this is the first time I've ever witnessed you not late for an event," I supply, making Sasha laugh loudly.

"Well, considering I get paid for this, I didn't want to make a bad impression," he tells me while brushing a lock of his long blonde hair out of his face.

"Good idea. Although you are charming enough that even if you were late, I'm sure you could talk your way out of getting into any trouble."

"You think I'm charming?" he inquires with a flirtatious smile.

I roll my eyes like I always do, but I contemplate telling him the truth that not only do I find him charming, but that I'm attracted to him too.

Before I'm able to come up with a plan, Evangeline arrives, and Sasha excuses himself to talk to her, leaving me alone and a bit relieved. I don't think I'm ready to tell him about my feelings toward him just yet. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't even know what my feelings are for Sasha. I should probably get that figured out before I start confessing things.

Thankfully it doesn't take long for BooBoo to arrive, and he heads directly over to me.

"Did you get the book?" I question, anxious to find out the answers I hope it holds.

"I did, and you totally owe me one," he grumbles while riffling through his backpack. "I had to spend three hours talking to my mom about witchy stuff. I'm pretty sure my brain is never going to be the same after that conversation." He stops talking and hands me a clear-ish stone.

I tilt my head to the side, pursing my lips. "Umm, thanks?" I blink at my friend a couple of times, wondering why he just gave me a rock.

BooBoo sighs before responding. "Mom made me promise I would give that to you. It's supposed to help with clarity. It's a clear quartz, you're supposed to keep it on you at all times, even sleep with it under your pillow."

"Oookaayy…" I draw out.

"Did you want me to tell her no?" he asks with a raised brow.

I shake my head. "No, but why would she think I need clarity?"

"In order to borrow the book, I had to tell her about your dream," he explains. "I hope that isn't like an invasion of your privacy or something," he adds on quickly.

I wave him off. I've only briefly met his mom at a couple of games, but she seemed like a nice lady, and I'm not very concerned about her knowing about my dreams. "It's all good. Did she have any insight into what it could mean?"

BooBoo pulls the book out, opening it to a page that is bookmarked with a Kleenex. "According to the book and Mom, dreams about being chased tend to mean you are afraid of or are trying to avoid something. Hence, the quartz. Mom says once your mind is clear, you'll know exactly what the dream means."

I scrap my scalp and sigh. "Does the Koala mean anything?"

BooBoo nods, pulling out another book. "Mom says typically in running dreams, you're trying to get away from the subject you are afraid of, but we both know you don't have a fear of koalas, so she gave me this book about dream animals." Another Kleenex hangs out of the top of this book, and he opens it to the marked page. "Apparently, koala dreams can have a bunch of different meanings, but the one that goes the most with your running dream is that your subconscious mind is trying to tell you to let things unfold at their own pace."

I don't respond immediately, trying to wrap my head around all he just told me, flipping the quartz around in my hand a couple of times. "Does any of this make sense to you?" I ask my friend after a few moments pass.

He scoffs. "It all sounds like crazy shit to me," he tells me. "But what I think doesn't matter. It only matters if this resonates with you or not."

I nod, unsure if what the books are telling me truly hits home or not.

"Mom also said she'd be happy to do a tarot reading for you if you'd be interested."

"Have you had one done before?" I check with a tilt of my head.

He laughs at my question like I'm crazy for even asking. "Only like a million. I'll admit, as much as I think my mom is looney sometimes, her readings have always been scarily accurate. They are also really open to interpretation, though, and sometimes you'll think the cards mean one thing when they actually mean something else."

I stare at the quartz in my hand and nibble on my lower lip. "I'll think about it. Mind if I keep the books for the day," I ask. "I'd like to read the passages all the way through."

"Totally. Keep them as long as you need them," he assures me with an even smile.

"Thanks," I reply, shoving the books into my backpack and the quartz into my pocket.

The stone sits heavy in the small space, never letting me forget about its presence. Is it going to help me figure out my dreams? I've never been a person who believes in this kind of stuff, but the dreams have been happening for four nights now and there is this nudging sensation deep in my gut that is telling me it means something. So, if this stupid rock will give me the answers, I'm all for it.