I grinned when she picked up my shoe and said, “Come on, Cinderella.”
She even tied my laces with meticulous care. I didn’t mention they were too tight. Instead, I leaned down. “Coming to check up on me, Coach?”
A gorgeous scowl appeared on her lips. “Griff wanted an update on your condition.” She glanced up at Doctor Paresh, who had a curious gleam in her eyes. “What’s the latest?”
“Concussion. Knee inflammation.”
“I can speak for myself.” I got to my feet between them and turned to Coach. “Doc says I have a concussion and knee inflammation.”
She rolled her eyes, ignoring me again. “How long?”
“Week to week. My guess is three.”
“Hello?” I felt like a kid begging for attention. “I’ll be ready in one.”
Once again, Coach acted like I wasn’t there. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll let Griff know.”
And then, she was gone, leaving pain to shoot up my shoulder when Doctor Paresh hit it. “She is your coach, Teddy. You can’t flirt with her.”
“I wasn’t.” Was I? I didn’t think so. Sometimes, I didn’t know how to turn it off. I flirted with everyone—men, women, dogs, babies. I wanted them all to like me.
Doctor Paresh shoved me toward the door. “Get out of my office.” She laughed. “Don’t be an idiot and try to do too much before you’re ready.”
I gave her a two-finger salute but made no promises. Even as a kid, I’d never been good at doing what I was told.
CHAPTER FIVE
FRANKIE
This time, I was certain no one was following me.
The unsettling feeling that had gripped me for the past two nights was finally fading. Since the incident, I couldn’t shake the suspicion, the haunting sense that someone had been lurking in the shadows behind me. It had been too dark to identify the car, too much of a blur to see any faces, but Iknew. Someone had trailed me home.
It had to be Travis.
That lying, deceitful bastard. I didn’t know where he was crashing these days—maybe at Autumn’s or curled up in some cheap motel, or hell, on the side of the road somewhere. I didn’t care. What mattered was, he’d made his choices, and I wouldn’t let him make me feel unsafe in my city.
San Francisco might intimidate some, but I had lived in the Mission District my entire life. I knew these streets like the back of my hand—every corner, every business, from the quirky mom-and-pop shops to the glossy chain restaurants slowly creeping in. I knew the names of the churches too. Like the one I rode past, its towering spires reaching high, echoing with the weight of a history far deeper than any tourist guide could convey.
Even when night fell, with the cool wind kissing my face and the dim streetlights casting long shadows, I felt untouchable on my bike.
As I rolled past the park, the sight of a few unhoused individuals loitering outside the arena interrupted the faint sound of rustling leaves and distant traffic. I could feel their eyes on me, but I kept my pace steady—until one man, older, wearing a crumpled gray shirt and worn-out jeans, stepped into my path.
I hit the brakes with a jolt.
“A little late to be out, isn’t it, girlie?” His voice rasped through the night, the smoke from his cigarette swirling in the cool air.
I swung my leg off the bike and let out a dramatic sigh. "Haven’t we been through this, Glen?" I flashed him a wink. "I know how to protect myself."
"It’s not you I’m worried about." He pulled the cigarette from his lips, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the night. "Do you have any idea how many bad men are out there?"
“Oh, trust me, I know all about them.” I wanted to laugh it off, but a knot of pity tightened in my chest—pity for myself, for the life I’d somehow ended up with.
“Trouble in paradise?”
Glen had been living in a van by the arena for the past six months. Mr. Mac, the team’s owner, let him park in the lot at night. Glen saw himself as the unofficial security guard, a way to repay the kindness. I had a soft spot for him. He’d never told anyone his story or how he ended up here, but I didn’t need to know. He didn’t owe us anything.
"It’s nothing. Just… men, you know?" I shrugged, hoping to downplay the heaviness in my voice.
