“You’re reacting instead of reading. That’s why you’re late.”
A pause.
“And off.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
Coach looked at me for a second longer than usual.
“Stop trying to control everything at once.”
That landed.
Harder than I expected.
Because it wasn’t just basketball.
It was everything I was holding too tightly.
ROWAN
Serena was lying on my bed scrolling through my phone again like it was a shared device.
“You’re texting him less,” she said.
“I have work.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
She held up my phone.
Mason’s chat was open.
Last message still unread for longer than usual.
That felt… wrong.
Serena pointed at it.
“You see that?”
“Yes.”
“You’re hesitating.”
“I’m not hesitating.”
“You are emotionally buffering.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means you’re thinking too much before replying.”
I grabbed my phone back.
