“Kirby,” Mara said, her voice soft.
“Uh-uh. Don’t call me that now,” Kirby said.
“Yeah, I’m gonna go,” Lindsey said.
“Nah.” Kirby shrugged. “I am.”
“Mara, sit down,” Lindsey said gently.
Mara was poised like she was about to burst off the starting line. She felt cornered, but she didn’t know if she wanted to race after Kirby or run and hide.
“I just…” Mara twitched but couldn’t make her feet move. “I think I…”Messed up. Ruined something.
“You’re okay. Sit down.” Lindsey pushed her onto a bench. The same bench she’d been kissing Kirby on.
Mara popped back up like the seat had burned her.
“So if you’re having an emotional breakdown, let me know,” Lindsey said. “We have support for mental health stuff.”
“I’m not. I’m fine.”Debatable. “Nine more days.”
“What?” Lindsey said. “Do I need to go get a coach?”
“There’s nine days to the fifty-k.”
“Yeah.”
“One day to the relay. Five to the team sprint.” Mara paced across the room. She tried to control her breathing.
“You’re not in those races.”
“I know. Kirby is. That’s Kirby’s schedule. And my schedule. It’s the… schedule.”
“Yeah, I’m going to get a coach.”
“No!” Mara sat down beside her. “I’m fine.”
Super debatable. She’d never had a breakup like that before. Was it a breakup if it hadn’t been real to begin with?
But it had been real toKirby.
How and when had that happened? How had Mara missed it?
If she checked her biometrics on her fancy smartwatch, it would probably look like she’d had a heart attack or something. Her whole body felt like an exposed nerve.
“How are things with you and Apollo?” Mara asked. She didn’t know what else to say.
“Holy fuck, Mara. I am not talking about boys with you right now.”
“Okay.”
Lindsey stared at her. Mara stared at her feet.
“Hey,” Lindsey said. Then Lindsey hugged her, and nothing could have shocked Mara more.
Tears sprung to her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Oh, no.” She squeezed Lindsey back and held on.
“It’s going to be okay. I don’t know what all that was, but it’s going to be okay.”
