Jade’s grin is vicious. “You left early.”
“I was tired.”
“Liar,” Jade says, delighted. “You wereweird.”
Blakely bumps Jade’s shoulder. “Jade.”
Jade holds up her hands. “I’m just saying! She was weird.”
I shove my bag into my locker a little too hard. “I was not weird.”
Jade’s eyes sparkle. “So you didn’t talk to Flannel Guy?”
My throat tightens. “His name is Ethan.”
Jade’s brows shoot up. “Oh my God. You know his name.”
“Because he introduced himself,” I snap.
Blakely’s gaze turns sharp, thoughtful. “Did something happen?”
“No,” I say too fast. Then I force myself to breathe and aim for sarcasm instead of panic. “Yes, something happened. I went to a party. I talked to a person. I hated it. The end.”
Jade grins. “That’s my girl.”
Blakely watches me a beat longer than Jade does, like she can see the way my hands are trembling just slightly as I retie my shoes.
Then she says quietly, “We can leave early today if you need to.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t.”
Jade tilts her head. “Slo…”
“I’m fine,” I cut in.
Both of them groan in unison.
“Bot,” Jade mutters.
I glare at them both, then turn toward the court because if I stand still too long, I’ll start thinking about Logan’s mouth again, and I don’t have time for that.
Practice is brutal. It’s brutal because my body is here and my mind isn’t.
I miss a pass I never miss. I fumble a dribble. I get called out twice for zoning out.
“Rhodes,” Coach says, voice firm. “Eyes up.”
“I’m here,” I snap.
Coach’s gaze softens just slightly, like he hears the edge and understands it isn’t about him. “Then show me.”
I do.
I push until my lungs burn. Until sweat stings my eyes. Until the ache in my legs feels like something I can control.
For two hours, I almost forgot.
Then practice ends, and reality walks back in like it owns the place.
