<Coach Styles>

Thirty Seven-

Songs:
Poison & Wine- The Civil Wars
Almost Lover- A Fine Frenzy
Devil's Backbone- The Civil Wars
Neely's POV:
Two fucking weeks. Two entire fucking God damn weeks I hadn't spoken to him. At home, it was utterly silent, me basically living by myself while Max traveled, living it up while I was living my own personal hell. I had essentially created it for myself. The old adage, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him." was true. I should have never told him about the cold kiss I had received from Colby. In all honesty, I thought it really was Harry until he chuckled. Now I had to drag myself around, acting like I was fucking happy when I was essentially dead on the inside. Like a flower during the winter time, coated by ice and unable to bloom.

Watching as he walked into the gym, his eyes red and puffy, I could feel my heart shattering. He still looked as gorgeous as the day I met him, only dark circles made their home under his eyes and he looked a little thinner.

"Alright," he sighed, wiping at his nose with his shirt. "Um, today we're gonna work on Special. We need to adjust the flex cut to be able to go above or below and also put in a new inbounds play."

"You okay?" Mia asked, bouncing the ball between her legs.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he nodded. "Let's start with layups. 30 makes, you run for the misses." I cleared my throat as we spread onto the court and I tripped over Mia, smashing into him. I immediately tensed, unable to move and could feel his eyes on me. Stepping around me, he walked to the sideline, standing next to Liam as we began the drill. My heart pounded in my chest, partly because of the running, partly because Harry. I had gotten some semblance of his touch after being deprived of it for what seemed like years. As we made it through practice and finally started working on plays, he blew the whistle, sending Liam over to me.

"If you're in deny, make sure your arm is in the passing lane," Liam smiled. "Stay in your stance and it'll help you recover faster if she beats you." Nodding as I wiped the sweat from my forehand, I took a deep breath and we continued to work.

"Split up at the goals. Shoot ten free throws and then we're done." We all spread out, and I tried to calm my breathing. I couldn't let my frustration- no, depression seep into my basketball career. I had to set myself up to be successful and get to college on a scholarship. I had to do whatever it took to achieve what I wanted to achieve. My dream wasn't one from a department store shelf or a Victoria's Secret commercial. I'd been depressed ever since the accident, but the break with Harry only added to the ever mounting cloud of sadness that constantly hung over me no matter how hard I tried to have sunny skies.

Walking from the gym to the locker room and changing back into the t-shirt and sweatpants I had worn to school, I pulled my hoodie over my head and quickly gathered my stuff before walking back out and making my way toward Liam's car. Sighing as he unlocked it, I plopped down in the passenger seat and tossed my bags in the floorboard.

"You did good today," he commented, probably trying to lighten he awkward silence that had formed between us.

"Thanks," I replied, looking down at my phone. It started to rain as we continued down the road and he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

"He misses you, ya know."

"Okay."

"Had a hell of a time getting him out of bed this morning. Took me, Louis, and Gemma just to get him in the shower."

"Who's Gemma?"

"His sister."

"Oh."

"I haven't seen him like this in ages."