**Chapter 11**
“And that’s a zero for you.” Jackson looked smug as he scored a near-perfect shot. Full marks either way, so it didn’t matter.
Dan’s team was last. I was in third. Aaron and Todd were second. Jackson and Sara were first. I was only third because Betty had taken both of our opening rounds.
She was terrible. Actually, terrible wasn’t the right word. She had no choice but to be terrible. Something was clearly going on with her.
“It’s your turn, bro,” Dan said. Turns out five beers was all it took to become someone’s bro.
I stood up and walked to the line. I’d never been into sports, indoor or otherwise. Since I was thirteen, my life had been masturbating, studying, and later volunteering at the doctor’s office. No time for anything else.
I knew the basic rules of bowling, but I’d never actually played. How hard could it be? They gave me a practice shot once they found out it was my first time. After that, I started to get the hang of it.
I wouldn’t say my form was perfect, but with my enhanced stats, focus, and intelligence, I managed just fine. I took my first official shot.
Strike.
Every pin dropped. There was probably a special name for it, but I didn’t care. All I knew was to throw the ball and knock the pins down.
Everyone’s mouths hung open. Even Mira, sitting quietly on the sidelines, stared with wide eyes.
“Br…Bro,” Dan called. “You’re not hustling us, right?”
“I’m buying the beer.” What exactly were they losing? I walked back to my seat while Betty cheered loudly about how amazing our team was. Everyone else watched her with narrowed eyes, but Jackson’s expression was different.
His earlier smug arrogance was gone. Before me, he had been the top dog here. Not anymore.
“Dude,” Todd said, “that’s hard to believe. Your form was terrible, but your grip and control were perfect. What sport did you say you play?”
“I didn’t,” I replied. “I’ve never played any sports.”
“You’re lying,” Lucy said, eyes narrowed. Almost everyone agreed with her.
“He’s telling the truth,” Sara said. “He hated sports three years ago too. I doubt that changed in high school.”
Mira nodded in agreement. Everyone stared at me like I was some kind of monster.
“Seriously, brah?” Dan still looked like he couldn’t process it, but with Sara and Mira backing me up, he had no choice.
“It was just a lucky shot,” Jackson muttered, pure displeasure in his voice.
“I doubt that, man,” Dan disagreed. And he was right. After the next round, my form was already better. I’d just watched everyone else and adjusted. I wasn’t a fast learner before today. But…
“Why don’t I buy that beer now?” I said, turning to Betty. “Hey, Betty, mind giving me a hand?”
“Sure.” We headed to the bar and ordered ten mugs. I carried six. Betty somehow managed four. I could’ve carried them all, but I wanted to confirm what I’d noticed earlier.
I wasn’t imagining it. There it was again. She had been too excited during the first hug to hide it properly, but afterward she was careful.
We returned and kept drinking until people started getting tipsy. Jackson kept trying to make moves on Sara. She wasn’t comfortable doing that in front of everyone and refused every time, which only made him more irritated.
Once I noticed no one was paying attention, I stood up. “Hey, Betty. Can you help me out with something?”
“Sure,” she said, not knowing what it was but not refusing. We walked toward the restrooms. Once we got there, she looked at me strangely.
“What do you wanna do here, Tyler?”
“We’re friends, right, Betty?”
“Of course we are.”
“So if something was going on in your life, you’d tell me, right?”
She smiled, but I could see the panic behind it. “Of course.”
Her words didn’t match the look in her eyes. I stepped forward and, before she could react, lifted the front of her shirt, exposing her stomach.
“He—” She tried to stop me, but I was too fast.
With her stomach bare, I asked again, “We’re friends, right, Betty?”
She didn’t try to pull her shirt down. “It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing. I’d felt it the moment she first hugged me—the slight pained expression, the subtle wince every time she raised her arms. She wasn’t just bad at bowling. She could barely use her arms properly.
“Who did this?” I asked, staring at the bruises covering her stomach. Deep, sharp, most of them fresh. Some were already fading, which meant this wasn’t new.
“She fell” wouldn’t work on me. I knew exactly what hit marks looked like. I’d treated hundreds and caused thousands myself.
“Who was it, Betty? Ex-boyfriend? Current boyfriend? Someone at school? Who?” I pushed her gently against the wall and locked eyes with her.
There was fear in her eyes—not of me, but of someone else. I didn’t like that. Betty had been one of my crushes years ago. Her big ass had definitely played a part even when she was fifteen, but that wasn’t the point right now.
She was a friend first. I didn’t have many friends, but the ones I did have always had my back, and I always had theirs. Betty was no different.
“Tyler, please,” she pleaded, not wanting me involved. Nothing was going to make me walk away.
“Who was it?” I asked again, voice sharper.
“Her stepdad.” Sara’s familiar voice came from around the corner. She stood there, eyes fixed on me.
I let go of Betty and turned to Sara. “What do you mean, stepdad? I didn’t know her mom remarried.”
Betty’s dad had died in a car accident when she was ten. Her mom had never remarried, at least not the last time I saw her.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked Betty.
“Because her mother stupidly transferred everything to him. If he divorces her, they lose everything,” Sara explained for her.
“I see.” I looked back at Betty. “You’re staying with us tonight. For old times’ sake.”
Betty didn’t answer, but that was a yes.
“Go fix your makeup,” I said gently. Her eyeliner had smudged from a few tears.
Once she stepped into the restroom, I turned to Sara. “What’s his name, and where can I find him?”
“Tyler—” she started, probably trying to talk me down. I closed the distance between us.
“Where will I find him?” My tone was firm, no space for refusal.
She sighed and told me everything she knew. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough. I only needed to locate him.
Betty was still inside, so I told Sara to wait outside. “We’ll head home once she’s out.”
She nodded and turned to leave. Before she could take more than a step—
“What the fuck are you doing here with him?”
Jackson stood at the corner, expression dark.
Great. Now what did this piece of shit want?
I just hoped he didn’t make me any angrier than I already was.