Before I know it, the table is set and the meal is good to go. The food isn’t burnt, after all. It was close, though.
Donovan pulls out my chair, and I thank him while eyeing him suspiciously in return. He’s doing everything I taught him to do, but I know the score—he’s just getting his practice in, that’s all. It doesn’t mean anything, and I need to remember that.
Ellen stacks our plates high, teasing her ex-husband as she goes. It’s crazy how close they are despite being divorced, and it makes me think how chill my life would’ve been, if I’d only had parents like Donovan’s.
Amelia’s sitting there looking totally pissed off, but the vibe is relaxed. It turns out this isn’t so bad after all.
“So, tell me, Carrie,” the coach says, taking a swig of his beer. “Were you at the game on Wednesday?”
I freeze mid-forkful.
“Maybe?” I try. “Wednesday, let me think…”
Fuck! Of course he watched. He must’ve heard me lose my shit with Berenson!
I flash him my sweetest smile.Yup. He totally heard.
“Okay, you got me—I’m no Girl Scout of the year. I can explain, though. It was my first time, so—”
“Ellen’s been blacklisted from Donovan’s games,” the coach cuts in.
“Seriously?”
He laughs. “You should’ve seen her. She would cuss out the opponents, their parents, their future kids—”
“I guess Ididgo a little tiger mom.” She smiles.
“By the way, what did the hospital say, son?” his dad cuts in.
I turn to Don. “You went to the hospital? When?”
“Yesterday. They wanted me to do an X-ray.”
“Because of your shoulder?”
Don puts down his knife and fork and takes a deep breath in.
“No. It’s my brain. I didn’t want to tell you, but seems like I don’t have a choice—”
“What are you talking about?”
Worry nudges at me.
“The doctors were hoping it’d give them some insight into what makes someone perfect. They said they’d never seen a brain like mine. What they found was so game-changing,” he continues, “they couldn’t actually capture it on-screen.”
This guy… This fucking guy…
I prod him in the arm with my fork. “You are such an ass!”
“You’re a terrible person, Donovan.” His mom shakes her head sadly.
He bursts out laughing, throwing his arm around my neck.
“Relax, guys. I got the shoulder checked out—Berenson didn’t break anything. I’m unbreakable.”
He swoops in to try to kiss my temple, and I wave my fork at him, warding him off.
“So,” Amelia interjects, looking back and forth between us. “How long has this been a thing?”
