Chapter 8 Brothers and daughters

"You're the coach's daughter?" I deadpan.

I look at Amy's side profile. She looks happy, and honest. So did she approach me because I'm Cole's sister, or did she talk to me for me?

I thought she was cool.

"I know." She smiles down at me. "But please don't tell anyone. I don't want people all up in my ass, especially here."

"What do you mean?" I frown.

"I mean, people want to be friends with me just because I'm his daughter, okay? I don't have any friends, because I don't know if they wanna be my friend or if they wanna get close to the team." She slings her arm around my shoulders, and I relax a little. "So imagine my surprise when I found out you're Cole Brown's sister. And I actually liked you. Now I know you're my friend for me."

Her story sounds eerily similar to mine.

"So you didn't approach me because I'm his sister?" I want to make clear, because if she did, I'm still going to feel like she lied to me.

"I didn't even know!" She exclaims, her brown eyes wide. "Until you introduced me to Luke, and I thought what are the odds!"

"But he didn't know who you were." I'm still confused. The coach has been with this team for five years, how did Luke not know she's his daughter?

"Bonus for me! Do you know if he's single?"

"You are not getting with Luke! Maybe it's best if you rather stay away from the players."

"You sound like my dad." She pouts. "And you're being unfair, because you are smooching James!"

"I'm not smooching him!" I laugh. "We're just talking!"

"Code name for wanting to fuck him!" She pulls me down the stairs onto the lawn where everybody is dancing. "You have to ditch him, and we can be single girls forever!"

I throw my head back and laugh. "But I like him! He's so nice and cute!"

She sticks her tongue out at me and throw her arms up in the air to the rhythm of the music. I notice we're probably the only two girls not drinking out of a red solo cup, but I sip my Coke gratefully. I've heard of horror stories at frat parties, and maybe I should take Mom's advice and just let loose for once. I should enjoy my time on campus while I'm still young before having to get a job.

So I throw my arms in the air, too, and laugh along with Amy, my first real friend that's not my brother.

Hands land on my sides, and I turn my head around to come face to face with Luke.

"What are you doing here!" He shouts in my ear. "Cole is gonna be really mad!"

"Cole is not my boss!" I shout back. "Besides, we're not even drinking."

"Come with me, then, before he blows up if something happened to you here." He grabs both mine and Amy's hands and we giggle when we follow him back into the huge house.

He leads us past the party in the front foyer, towards the back of the house and someone who acts as a bouncer opens a door for us.

We enter a big recreational room with couches and a huge screen on the walls where a few guys are playing video games.

The music is not as loud in here, but it's clearly a private section of the party in what looks like exclusive for the football players.

"What are you doing here!" Cole gets up from the chair he was sitting on close to the pool table, the blonde from the coffee shop almost falling to the ground from his lap.

My ears burn as he walks over to us.

"Found them outside in the crowd." Luke crosses his arms, smirking like he did a good thing.

"I'm at a party." I also cross my arms, only making my boobs almost pop out from over my corset. "Clearly."

"Who let you in." Cole demands, stopping just in front of me, the scent of his familiar cologne burning in my nostrils.

I used to love that smell, now it leaves a bitter aftertaste in the back of my throat because the fucking idiot is making a scene and drawing all the attention to us.

"I let us in!" Amy steps bravely next to me, holding her drink up. "And no, we're not drinking, we're not doing drugs and we're not having sex either. So let us have some fun, dude. Geez!"

I could kiss her right now for standing up for me.

"Aren't you coach Murray's daughter?" Cole turns his attention on her. "I could call him up right now and tell him where you are."

I grab him by the wrist and pull him to a corner away from everyone's prying eyes.

"What is wrong with you!" I whisper-shout at them. "You're embarassing us and acting like I'm a little kid!"

He puts his hand next to my face in the wall, caging me in and obscuring me from everyone else's gazes. "I don't want you here."

Hurt blooms in my chest as I look up in his angry blue eyes. He has never said those words to me. I've always tagged along when he and Luke were doing things, and not once has he ever made me feel unwelcome.

"You're being really rude." I lose some of the spunk in my voice. "Who are you, and what did you with Cole?"

He lowers his face until it almost meets mine, and it kills me that someone so handsome that was once my best friend, is turning out to be so cruel to me. It's like I've stepped into another dimension.

"I'm trying to protect you." He grinds out.

Cole used to lose his temper a lot. At school, on the field, sometimes at home. But never with me.

"I don't need your protection, Cole." The hurt bleeds through my voice. "I just want my brother back."

I slide last him, and walk back to Amy.

James is also standing there with a huge smile when he sees me.

"Hi." I hug him briefly before turning to Amy. "Can we go? I think I've had enough of this party."

"It sucks anyway!" She says loudly before hooking her arm through mine. "See you around, Luke."

And that's how I knew I found a new best friend, because she's treating me better than the old one with no questions asked.