Yara goes quiet for a long moment. Then she releases a heavy sigh. “It’s stupid. There was a loud noise in the hallway. And it just… triggered me. I haven’t had something like that happen in almost a year.”
“That’s not stupid. It’s normal.”
“I thought I was doing better.” Her gaze drops to her lap. So softly I almost can’t hear her, she adds, “Now… everyone saw how weak I am. And I’m so ashamed.”
Her words are a kick to my chest.
They’re the same words I’ve thought to myself for years.
But I have good reason to be ashamed. Not Yara. Never her.
Without thinking, I reach for her hand. Her fingers are stiff for a moment, but then they wrap around mine.
Something powerful and electric shoots through me. Something I’ve never felt before.
“Don’t be ashamed,” I tell her. “You have absolutely no reason to be.”
She looks up at me again. There’s so much sorrow in her eyes, my heart aches with it. “I’m not sure about that, Ace.”
My hand tightens around hers. “I’m so sorry he did that to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop it.”
A smile ghosts her lips. “It could have been a lot worse.” A beat, and then, “Do you think we’ll have enough? To send him to prison? Even though I messed?—”
“You didn’t. And yes. I think we will.”
She releases a breath. “Okay. Good.”
I hate how dejected she sounds.
I hate that she’s still hurting and I’m not sure how to fix it.
I hate that badass Tink—and I mean that in the very best way—thinks she has something to be ashamed of because she was triggered.
“Hey.” I nudge her knee with mine. “You’re amazing, Yara. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
When she doesn’t respond right away, I try a different tack, hoping to cheer her up. “So.BattleBots. Have you heard anything about the new season yet?”
She blinks in surprise. “BattleBots?”
“Yeah. I’m assuming you’re rewatching the old episodes while you wait for the next season?”
Yara stares at me. Then she smiles, and it’s a real one this time. “I am. I’m on season four now.”
“And I bet you’ve come up with at least a dozen mods for the robots that would make them more effective? And possibly sent your ideas to the teams?”
Faint pink colors her cheeks. “Maybe.”
“I thought so. Will you tell me about one of them? The baddest-ass robot idea you had?”
“Really?”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
She goes quiet for a second, thinking. “Well. There’s one robot, it’s a lifter, and it has a wedge in the front to protect itself. But the wedge is too close to the ground, so it keeps getting caught up on the floor. If they raise it too much, it’ll leave the bot vulnerable to other lifters and flippers.”
“But you thought of a solution?” Because of course Yara would. She’s a freaking genius when it comes to robotics. That’s where her nickname came from, after all. Not Tink for the fairy, like people initially assume, but because her teammates always teased her about tinkering with things.
Enthusiasm lights her eyes. “I did. If you lift the main wedge up an inch or two, then add a secondary mobile wedge beneath it, it would adjust to the obstacles on the floor, but protect it from a frontal attack.”
