Page 39 of Trick Play

“It’s Kennedy. Have you seen Ethan tonight?”

“Oh, hi, Kennedy.” Her voice perked up. “No, I haven’t. Reid mentioned he seemed off at practice, though.”

“He didn’t mention what was wrong?”

She laughed. “No, Ethan’s not exactly the type to open up and talk about his feelings. He usually takes it out on the ice and whoever dares to get in his way.” A male voice spoke in the background. “Reid says Coach talked to him after practice, then he stormed out. No one has heard from him since.”

“Was his playing off?”

She relayed that to Reid. “He says Ethan was playing fine. More aggressive than normal but nothing that Coach would call him out for.”

So, he got more bad news after practice? Something that really upset him. How much could one guy take?

“I know this probably sounds crazy, but I’m worried about him.”

“You are?” She sounded confused.

“Yeah, I noticed before class he seemed off like he had a lot on his mind, then something happened at my place. I doubt getting bad news from his coach helped.”

She sighed, telling Reid what I said. They spoke, but I couldn’t quite hear their conversation.

“We’re going to look for him. Reid thinks he knows where Ethan would be.”

That was good. They could find him and help him if he needed it. But I felt responsible for this mess. At least part of it.

I shouldn’t have pushed him. I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.

“Can I come?” I finally worked up the nerve to ask.

“Um. Yeah. Sure.” She couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Where are you going to go?”

“I’ll text you the address.”

“Thanks.” I hung up and grabbed my keys before heading out. By the time I reached the car, the text came in. I copied it into my map app and followed the directions, going as fast as possible without getting pulled over. That was the last thing I needed right now.

When I got to the house in the middle of a quiet neighborhood a few blocks away from campus, Reid and Haley were waiting out front. “Whose house is this?” I asked as I approached.

“Shawn Bennett,” Haley replied.

The basketball god? Huh. I didn’t expect him to live somewhere so … normal. I assumed he lived along frat row.

“Come on.” Reid marched up to the door and knocked. “I’m not sure I want to know what he’s gotten himself into.”

There were three cars in the driveway and two on the street, but they could have been visiting someone else. I didn’t hear a ton of noise, so I doubted there was a party. Why was Ethan so upset?

“Is it okay to knock? It’s almost midnight.” Haley asked.

Before Reid could respond, the door opened.

“Hey, man.” A giant stood before us. Reid was by no means a small guy, but he was nearly a full head shorter.

“Hey, Ty. Is Ethan here?” Reid asked.

Ty stepped back and waved us in. “Yeah, man. He’s in the basement.”

I followed Haley inside, and Reid went straight back to a staircase. He’d obviously been here before, and Ty seemed like a nice guy. Nothing crazy was going on, but Reid still seemed super tense.