Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87395 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Watching Kevin going at it in the middle of the night, fierce and merciless, was almost enough that Neil forgave him. Kevin was more demanding of himself than he was of anyone around him. He set his standards impossibly high and tried for them with everything he had, and he didn't understand why others wouldn't do the same.
Neil was watching Kevin, but it didn't take him long to realize someone else was watching him. He didn't have to look to know who it was; the intensity of the other man's stare set his nerves on edge with its weight. He didn't turn to see where Andrew was but raised his voice enough that Andrew would hear.
"Won't you play with him?"
"No," Andrew said, somewhere to Neil's left.
Neil waited, but Andrew didn't elaborate. "I think he'd benefit more if you did."
"And?"
Neil slowly turned, dragging his gaze along the empty home bench to the seats behind it. Andrew was sitting in the first stairwell about ten steps up. He was leaning forward, arms folded across his knees, as he stared Neil down. The blank expression on his face was startling. It'd been weeks since Neil last saw him sober and he'd gotten used to Andrew's drugged mania. Neil almost accused him of violating his parole again before he remembered what time it was. Andrew had likely come off his drugs to sleep.
More interesting than Andrew's calm demeanor was the baggy tshirt and sweatpants Andrew was wearing. Andrew wore long sleeves to pick Neil up from the airport, and Neil had only seen him in court gear since then. Now, without bulky armor and gloves in the way, Neil could finally see Andrew's trademark accessories: black bands that covered his arms from his wrists to his elbows. From what Neil heard, they were a sarcastic joke meant to help people distinguish the twins from one another. Why he had them on in the middle of the night, Neil didn't know.
He didn't have to ask. Andrew knew what he was looking at. He tucked two fingers into the band on his opposite arm and slid free a long, slim blade. Metal glinted in the overhead lights as Andrew pushed it back under the dark cloth a few seconds later.
"Is that your slow attempt at suicide or do you actually have sheathes built into those?" Neil asked.
"Yes."
"That's not the one you tried to cut Nicky with. How many knives do you carry?"
"Enough," Andrew said.
"What happens when a referee catches you with a weapon on the court?" Neil asked. "I think that's a little more serious than a red card. You'd probably get arrested, and they might even suspend our entire team until they think they can trust us again. Then what?"
"I'd grieve forever," Andrew dead-panned.
"Why do you hate this game so much?"
Andrew sighed as if Neil was being purposefully obtuse. "I don't care enough about Exy to hate it. It's just slightly less boring than living is, so I put up with it for now."
"I don't understand."
"That's not my problem."
"Isn't it fun?" Neil asked.
"Someone else asked me that same thing two years ago. Should I tell you what I told him? I said no. Something as pointless as this game is can never be fun."
"Pointless," Neil echoed. "But you have real talent."
"Flattery is uninteresting and gets you nowhere."
"I'm just stating facts. You're selling yourself short. You could be something if only you'd try."
Andrew's smile was small and cold. "You be something. Kevin says you'll be a champion. Four years and you'll go pro. Five years and you'll be Court. He promised Coach. He promised the school board. He argued until they signed off on you."
"He—what?" Neil stared at him, blood rushing in his ears as he tried to make sense of Andrew's words. Andrew had to be lying to him; Kevin couldn't have said such things about him. Kevin could barely stand to be on the same court with him as far as Neil could tell. What good did it do Andrew to say such obvious lies? Was he trying to rile Neil up?
"Then Kevin finally got the okay to sign you and you hit the ground running," Andrew said. "Curious that a man with so much potential, who has so much fun, who could 'be something' wouldn't want any of it. Why is that?"
If Andrew was telling the truth, then Kevin had definitely lied to all of them, and Neil could only guess at one reason why he'd go to such great lengths. Maybe Kevin remembered him after all and was saying whatever he had to in order to recruit Neil. But if that was so, how much did Kevin know? How much did he understand or remember about what happened eight years ago? Did he know Neil's name? Did he know what that name meant?
"You're lying," Neil said at last, because he needed that to be the truth. "Kevin hates me."
"Or you hate him," Andrew said. "I can't decide. Your loose ends aren't adding up."
"I'm not a math problem."
"But I'll still solve you."
Neil turned away without another word. Kevin was gathering his balls, finished with practice. When Kevin started for the door, Andrew moved behind Neil. Neil heard cloth rustle as Andrew stood, and Andrew's shoes tapped quietly on the stairs as he came down to inner court.
"You are a conundrum," Andrew said.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you," Andrew said as he slipped past Neil without a look back. "I need a new toy to play with."
"I'm not a toy."
"I guess we'll see."
Kevin had his helmet off as soon as the court door closed behind him. He looked right past Andrew to Neil. Neil stared back at him, looking for the truth on Kevin's face, looking for some reason behind Andrew's big words. Kevin couldn't have heard their conversation all the way out on the court, but Neil still expected him to call Neil by his real name.
Instead Kevin said, "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to practice."
"As if it will help you any."
It was rude, but it was exactly what Neil needed to hear. Andrew had lied to him. Neil could breathe a little easier as he watched Kevin set the bucket of balls on the ground at his feet. Kevin set his racquet and helmet on the home bench to undo his gloves and arm guards. Andrew took them as Kevin peeled them off, tucking the gloves under his arm and looping his fingers through the straps of the guards. He snagged Kevin's helmet by the safety grating across the front and watched Kevin collect his racquet again.