Callie, who looks as healthy as ever, even after what happened in the morning, is the first to speak. “Okay so, don’t freak out.”
As soon as she says that my heart starts pounding and it must be visible on my face because Poe swats Callie’s arm. “You’re freaking her out by saying that.”
Callie grimaces. “Yikes. Sorry. I honestly just wanted to curb the blow.”
The blow.
My heart gets stuck in my throat at this and I slip and stutter with my words. “W-what…”
When I can’t complete my sentence, Wyn steps in. “You’re both freaking her out.”
She grabs my arm and smiles. Although there’s nothing happy about it as she says, “He’s leaving.”
“What?”
Poe touches my shoulder to get my attention. “I heard it through someone last night. Arrow’s leaving. Coach TJ is gonna be the main coach until they can find a replacement. They’ll probably make the announcement tomorrow.”
Callie gives me a sympathetic look. “We didn’t wanna say anything before. Because you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.”
“But you can now,” Wyn says.
“Yeah, go to him.” That’s Poe.
They’re all standing around me, holding some part of my body, my arms, my shoulders, as they tell me that I should go to him and do something about it.
Only I don’t know what.
I don’t know what I can do if he’s leaving.
He’s leaving.
Leaving.
I mean, I knew that he was gonna leave but I didn’t know it was gonna be this soon. That it was gonna be just two days after I told him that I love him.
That’s why he’s leaving, isn’t he?
Because I told him I loved him.
Because now he thinks that I’m gonna be declaring my love to him every two seconds. He probably thinks that I’m gonna throw myself at him like I’ve done countless times before.
Take your love and get out of my face…
And oh God, I have to tell him.
I have to tell him that I won’t. That I won’t bother him or make his life harder.
I won’t go to him or talk to him or be all dramatic about it.
In fact, I promised myself that I won’t even watch him around St. Mary’s. I won’t watch him in the hallways or in the dining room, in the library or on the soccer field.
So this is stupid, him leaving.
“I have to stop him,” I burst out, finally coming to a conclusion.
I also do it loud.
Louder than I should have because the girls quiet down around me. They all give me startled looks and I shake my head. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to be so –”
