Page 49 of All the way home

“Fine.” Rena pulls her hair out of its ponytail and runs her fingernails along her scalp. “It’s really crowded, so I don’t like that. But there’s nothing I can do about it but wait. Hopefully, we’ll board in another half hour.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

In the background, something clatters.

“Sully!” Mum hisses. “Sorry, love, I’ve got to run, but please have Kieran call me when you can?”

“I will.”

“Kisses,” Mum says, and then she hangs up.

Rena stares down at her phone.

Silence stretches long enough, she knows it’s obvious she’s distraught. Lucas nudges her. “You okay?”

“I thought she was actually going to talk about it,” she admits.

“I know.” Lucas touches her cheek, turning her chin. “Look at me.”

Reluctantly, she does, dragging her eyes up to his.

“It’s all going to be okay,” he assures her. “Just try to get out of your head for a second.”

Then he leans forward and kisses her once lightly on the lips, then again on the forehead.

Rena blinks, taken aback, accidentally jolting.

Five years in, and she’s never not startled by the sudden presence of a kiss. Somehow, she never sees it coming, and always has to remind herself to rally.

She hadn’t seen the first kiss coming at all.

Six years ago, Rena had joined the girls’ soccer team. Honestly, she thinks maybe if she hadn’t, she and Lucas would have never gotten together, because joining the team had meant they’d suddenly started spending a lot more time together out on the field doing drills, hanging out with the same people, going to the same places on the weekends.

During their first season, they’d had a winning streak. After their first loss—at a home game, humiliatingly—she’d gone inside the school, sat on the steps, and thought through the game for ages, play by play. She knew she’d made mistakes, but pinpointing them after the fact was harder than she’d thought it would be.

A set of cleats echoed on the bare tile. Rena expected a teammate to turn the corner, but it was Lucas.

Mud splattered up the side of his leg, up onto his shorts, his blue jersey spattered with rain.

“Can I sit?” he asked when he got to her.

If it had been anyone else, she would have told them to go away so she could think. But Lucas was all right, because he knew not to interrupt her thoughts.

She nodded.

With a sigh, he sank down onto the step right next to her.

Rena tapped her foot against the vinyl. Without the usual clamor of bodies between bells, the hallway felt echoey and strange.

“You guys won?” she asked.

Lucas nodded.

In the following silence, the eerie emptiness of the school closed in around her, threatening.

“I heard what happened,” he said at last.

“Their goalie was too good,” she replied, and felt hollow. “Anyway, congratulations. You should go hang out with your teammates. I’m sure they’re eager to celebrate your win.”