“What? I do not.” Lincoln scoffed, appalled at the accusation. I laughed at the dirty look he threw at his friends. “I occasionally change points in the story. But only when you all started complaining about predictability. It’s near impossible to tell a mystery to a live audience.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sam moved his hand back and forth, impatient with the excuses. “Let’s get this show on the road. I want to claim my win before we leave for the community center.”
Lincoln’s smile vanished. “We’re still doing that?”
“A promise’s a promise,” Sam said.
“Yeah, but we weren’t exactly in on the promise when you made it.” Henrik turned on the stove. He placed a skillet on top and drizzled on the oil.
“What’s at the community center?” I asked.
“Volunteer hours. We’re tutoring or something,” Sam explained while Lincoln let out a heavy sigh. “Oh, come on. It looks good on resumes. Coach thinks it’s great for a few of the players to get involved with the community, and—most importantly—I told the Ables we’d show up. Do you know how many applicants they had for this place? I needed something to help us stand out.”
My eyes widened, excited to hear new people joining the program. “I volunteer there sometimes on the weekends, too. It can be pretty rewarding. I’d be happy to join you guys and pick up an hour or two.”
Sam gestured to me. “See. It’ll be rewarding. Thanks, Naomi. Your company would be appreciated.”
“It’s free babysitting,” Lincoln noted in a flat voice. “I should know, seeing that my mom dropped me off at a similar program every weekend without fail. And then, proceeded to ‘forget’ to pick me up.”
“Huh. Is that where your abandonment issues stem from?” Sam pretended to be thinking hard.
“No, actually, but you’re on the right track,” Lincoln said. Henrik shook his head, laughing at them.
“Hey, come on,” I interrupted. “Don’t write off the center just yet. I promise it’s way more fun than you’d expect. Soon enough, it’ll be your favorite part of the week.”
“You hear that?” Sam asked. “It’ll be our favorite part of the week.”
“Okay, repeating everything she says isn’t going to make it more appealing,” Lincoln told him.
Sam, Henrik, and I laughed at his complaint. For some reason, my gaze strayed to Finn. I didn’t care about what he thought, I just wanted to see his reaction. I expected he’d look aloof as usual, but was surprised to find his eyes already on me.
When we made eye contact, Finn turned away almost instantly. He ran his fingers through his hair like he needed something to do. I turned back to the guys, shaking off the warm feeling creeping into my cheeks.
He was probably lost in a daydream.
I pressed my lips together, determined to resume focus on the conversation at hand.
Chapter Sixteen
Finn
Postbreakfast,Iwenton a run, hoping pounding pavement would get my mind off Naomi. I was only twenty minutes into the run when I realized it wasn’t going to help. My persistent thoughts about how incomparable she was wouldn’t fade because my lungs hurt.
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and rested my hands on my knees, trying to get rid of a stitch in my side. My back pain made steady breathing more difficult. As if sensing my struggle, my phone vibrated with a call from my sister, Anna.
“Everything okay?” was her greeting.
I straightened up to speak. “Everything’s great.”
“You sure…you sound winded.” There were voices on her end. Dad and Denver were in the background, whispering questions I couldn’t fully make out.
I winced at a few familiar phrases, ‘take it easy’ and ‘don’t think he’s ready.’
“I was on a run,” I said.
“A run?” Denver gasped, and suddenly, her voice was the main one filtering through the speaker. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’ve been on plenty of runs in the last week,” I explained, trying to keep my tone even and calm. There couldn’t be a repeat of my first, and only, outburst when I got out of the hospital. My anger almost got me sent to a recovery center. I much preferred the freedom of school.
