Read Online Damaged Souls (Broken Man) by Christopher Scott - Free Book Online

kids, especially when it came to their idea of locker room fun.
    As Greg exited the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off, he thought back to the incident that destroyed any leftover hope of him and Mitch rekindling their friendship while at the same time officially ended Greg’s football career. It happened during the beginning of eighth grade, the fog finally starting to lift from Greg’s mind after a productive summer two years removed from his father’s death.
    It was the summer he and Delaney became best friends. They did everything together that summer. Riding bikes to the beach, going out to eat, and just hanging out together as friends, something still possible at the innocent age of thirteen. It was also the summer he met Jack and Amanda.
    At first, he thought it was odd that Delaney spent so much time with this couple that weren’t her parents, but soon, he came to understand why. They were just different than Delaney’s father and girlfriend, actually, they were different than any parents he knew. They never really talked about it much, but Greg gradually cobbled together the story of Delaney’s parents’ divorce, the relationship between Jack and Delaney’s mother, and the coupling of Jack and Amanda after her death.
    Greg really liked both of them. Amanda was a beautiful newly expectant mother and a trained Psychologist able to talk about anything without making you feel analyzed or scrutinized. He always felt comfortable talking with her, and Amanda even seemed to make progress with Greg’s mother during the few sessions she managed to attend.
    Jack was a little harder to get to know. The General Manager at one of the nicest resorts in town, he was serious and intimidating at first, unsure of this boy hanging around his new house and growing family. But, he gradually warmed to him, and soon, Greg found himself spending more and more time with Jack, Amanda, and Delaney.
    It was during one of these visits that the subject of football came up. Greg remembered the conversation with Jack as they casually tossed the football, a simple activity that somehow made the conversation come more naturally between two cautious participants.
    “You’ve got some pretty good hands,” Jack complimented him after a difficult catch.
    “And you’ve got a terrible arm,” Greg remembered his flippant response as he tossed the ball back to Jack.
    “Thanks,” Jack wasn’t bothered by the insult. “But seriously, you should think about going out for the team this year.
    “I don’t know,” he had responded, although the idea had occurred to him. “But I’ll think about it.”
    Greg surprised himself by showing up on the first day of practice, curious as to what the reaction would be. The response from the other players turned out to be cold as expected, but warmed slightly as they soon realized his and Mitch’s relationship had not skipped a beat, at least not on the football field. Mitch found Greg open again and again, connecting with unspoken words and laser like passes that absolutely shredded the defense.
    As he put on a pair of boxers, Jack recalled the boisterous locker room environment after that practice, fueled by an excellent first day and led by the star quarterback. The loud music, the banging metal of the locker doors, the crude insults. It was truly a predator’s lair, and unfortunately, a weaker prey chose the wrong day to trespass.
    Greg couldn’t remember if the two boys who emerged from the showers were on the cross country team or in the band, it really didn’t matter where they came from. No, it was just the wrong place and wrong time for these skinny kids as they tried to make their way through the obstacle course of overgrown boys on the cusp of manhood. As he heard the sound of snapping towels and watched the animals circle their victims, Greg knew these boys were in trouble.
    Greg eyed Mitch, for once not at the center of the huddle that had formed. He waited for the leader to say