I added something silently.
Rowan.
Coach sat down beside me on the bench.
“That girl,” he said finally.
Of course.
“She a distraction or a stabilizer?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because I didn’t know.
Not fully.
“She’s…” I started.
Stopped.
Then tried again.
“She’s not noise.”
Coach nodded slowly like that told him everything he needed.
“That’s dangerous then.”
“Why?”
“Because things that aren’t noise tend to matter.”
That sentence stayed longerthan I liked.
ROWAN
Serena was waiting for me outside my building when I got home.
Which meant she was either bored or suspicious.
Or both.
“You didn’t answer my texts,” she said immediately.
“I was working.”
“You were thinking.”
“That’s also work.”
She followed me inside without asking.
“New York shortlist comes out soon,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“You nervous?”
