kevin day: quotes to prove why i love him/will protect him (faves/most heartbreaking for me are bold)
âIâm not good enough to play on the same court as a champion.â âTrue, but irrelevant.â
âWhere the court is, Kevin is. He canât exist without it.â
âYou.â Neil said at last. Kevin pulled at his racquet again, and this time Neil let go. âTell me I can have your game.â
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 didnât understand why others wouldnât do the same.
âI brought him here.â Wymack said. âHe showed up at my hotel room at the winter banquet with his hand a bloody mess. He didnât want us to notify the Ravens or take him to a hospital, so Abby bandaged him up as best she could and I put him on the bus back to South Carolina with us.â
âFuck you cripple.â Across the room, Kevinâs face went white. âWhat did you call me?â âI called you a dead-weight has been.â Neil said. Kevin was out of his chair so fast he knocked it over.Â
âYou said he would come for you.â âI didnât know it would be like this.â âLiar.â Andrew said, and Kevin flinched.Â
âHelp me.â Kevin said, almost a whisper.Â
âDo you even remember how to smile?â Matt asked. Kevin glared at him.Â
âMorning sunshine.â Matt said with exaggerated cheer. âFuck you.â Kevin said. Dan yawned into her hand. âGlad to see youre still a morning person.â âFuck you too.â
The audience cheered their hearts out, delighted by Kathyâs surprise, but they werenât quite loud enough to drown out Kevinâs soft voice at  Neilâs side. The words sounded like a desperate prayer.
He ended up with his thigh pressed against Neilâs, hard enough Neil could feel him trembling.Â
Abby jogged the last couple of steps to Kevin and crushed him in a fierce embrace. Kevin held onto her for dear lifeÂ
âDont rely on something as insubstantial as a miracle,â Kevin said. âYou wonât win anything by standing around. Finish getting changed and get down to the court.â âOne day I want you to look up âinsensitivityâ in the dictionary,â Matt said, annoyed. âIâm sure itâll do your ego wonders to see your picture printed there beside it.â
Kevin had a knee hugged to his chest and his face hidden in the fold of his arm. His knuckles were white where his hand was clenched into a fist. Neil didnât think it was the bus that was making Kevin shake like that.Â
Wymack pulled a bottle of vodka out of the bag and put it down beside Kevin. âYou have ten seconds to inhale as much of this as you can. Iâm timing you. Go.â It was alarming how much a man could drink when he needed an emotional crutch. Wymack had to pry the bottle from Kevinâs desperate fingers afterward.Â
The noise Kevin made at his side was worse
Kevin stared at him a few seconds longer, then got out of his chair almost fast enough to take the whole table with him. Abby was at his side in a heartbeat, expression pinched with worry. Kevin couldnât seem to manage words, but he gestured for her to follow.Â
Kevin was silent for an endless minute, then said, âYou should be  Court.â It was barely a whisper, but it cut Neil to the bone. It was a resentful goodbye to the bright future Kevin had wanted for Neil. Kevin recruited Neil because he believed in  Neilâs potential. He brought him to the Foxes intending to make a star athlete out of him. Despite his condescending attitude and his dismissals of Neilâs best efforts Kevin honestly expected Neil to make the national team after graduation.
âWill you still teach me?â Neil asked. âKevin was quiet again, but not for long this time. âEvery night.â
âCan you do this, Kevin?â Abby asked, searching his face for any sign he was okay. âCan you play?â âIf I am breathing, I can play.â Kevin said. âThis is my game too.â
âIâm satisfied.â Kevin said. It was the last response any of the Foxes expected from him. They forgot about Riko in favor of gaping at Kevin. âNot with their score or performance, but with their spirit. I was right. Thereâs more than enough here for me to work with.â
Even Kevin was going to come out of this on top. He wasnât going to fade into obscurity like Tetsuji and Riko thought he would; he would ride the Foxesâ resurgence to the top and reclaim his place in the spotlight.
âDo you have my ticket?â âYouâre not going.â
âI know what heâs like,â Kevin said. Neil looked at him but Kevin was studying his hands. âRiko. If you want to talk.â
âIt is not a switch you turn on and off. You of all people know this.â Kevin finally pushed Neil off him, but he didnât try to get past  Neil. âYou did not grow up with him. You do not get to judge me.â
âGood thing youâre not there anymore.â âJean still is.â
Kevin recoiled so hard he slammed into the wall behind him. He clapped a protective hand over his own tattoo.Â
Kevin had his elbow on the windowsill and his face in his hand. âIâll tell them so you donât have to.â Kevin gestured with his free hand: âGet outâ or âI donât careâ but not âDonât you dare.â He didnât say anything; Neil didnât think he could.Â
Kevin was sitting on his bed, one knee tucked to his chest, as he stared dully into the distance. Neil sat cross-legged on the end of the bed and waited. It didnât take long. Kevin propped his chin on his knee and said, âHow do you do it?â Kevin flicked his fingers as if frustrated by his own vagueness and said, âAfter everything thatâs happened this year, after Riko and your father and the FBI and knowing Lord Ichirou has found out about you, why arenât you afraid?â
Kevin choked on his first denial. His second attempt was hoarse with disbelief. âDonât joke about such things .â Neil stared back at Kevin in silence until Kevin flinched and took a half-step back.Â
Neil felt cold all over watching him, but he didnât know if it was fear that Kevin was going to injure himself again or awe. Heâd always known Kevin was the best, but heâd almost forgotten what Kevin used to be like at his peak.Â
âDid you know Iâve never been skiing? Iâd like to try it one day, though.â
Kevin didnât slow or look around on his way to the locker room, and he pushed right past his celebrating teammates in the foyer. He dropped his helmet and gloves on his way across the changing room and caught hold of the edge of the sink. He swayed a bit like his legs wanted to give out from under him and his hands were trembling so violently Neil could see it from the doorway. Instead of falling he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the mirror. âWeâre all going to die.â Kevin said at last. âNo weâre not.â Neil said. Kevin thought about that for a minute, then straightened. After staring at his reflection for an age he lifted his hand and covered his tattoo on the glass. The result sent an odd tremor along Kevinâs shoulders. Neil didnât know if it was approval or fear. All that mattered was that Kevin nodded and turned back to them. He looked at Neil first, then Andrew. âWe have a lot of work to do.âÂ
Kevin was too busy soaking in the joy of being back on Trojan territory. His contented expression was at complete odds with the nerves and dread evident on his teammatesâ faces. Neil wanted to tell him to tone it down, but he couldnât remember the last time heâd seen Kevin in a good mood.Â
âInterestingâ was too tame a word for the look in Kevinâs eyes. The smile that finally slipped free and curved his lips was hungry.Â
Now that number was gone, covered up by the jet-black image of a chess piece. Neilâs knowledge of chess was hazy at best, but he knew for sure that wasnât a king. âYou did it,â Neil said, too stunned to manage anything else. âLet Riko be King,â Kevin said, with the exaggerated enunciation of the thoroughly sloshed. âMost coveted, most protected. Heâll sacrifice every piece he has to protect his throne. Whatever. Me?â Kevin gestured again, meaning to indicate himself but too drunk to get his hand higher than his waist. âIâm going to be the deadliest piece on the board.â
âFuck him,â Kevin said, sliding a little further down the door. âFuck all of them. Waste of time to be angry. They should be afraid.âÂ
Kevin dragged his stare back to Wymack;s face and said, âand my father comes to all of my games. That is enough.â On Wymackâs other side, Abbyâs gaze softened. Wymackâs jaw worked for a moment before he could say in an even tone, âYour mother would be proud of you.â âNot just me.â Kevin said in a rare bought of humanity.Â
Before he stepped on Kevin tapped the butt of his racquet against the floor and passed his stick to his other hand. He stroked to half-court head high and left-handed and the crowd went wild.Â











