Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I’ll never forget you.
It’s been really hard, but you made everything better.
I’ll be rooting for you. Good luck.
XOXO,
Lark
“Oooh,” my teammates chanted.
“So it is true?” Flash asked. “You and Lark?”
“Is what true?” I said in a strangled voice that even I didn’t recognize. “Give me the fucking note.”
“Is that what you were searching for?” Spencer asked from behind me.
“Yeah, a note from our childhood.” My stomach was throbbing. I hated that he’d read it out loud and now everyone was wondering what in the fuck I was doing with the note to begin with.
“XOXO,” Flash teased.
“Hugs and kisses,” A-Train added with kissy noises. “You mean a lot to me!”
“You sound like an idiot!” Spencer said, and there was nervous laughter from other teammates.
“First the flowers and now a love note?” Flash said. “Just fess up already, Henners!”
“We were kids, asshole. Look at the handwriting!” I reached for the paper, but Flash resisted, which resulted in it being torn in half. “You dick!”
“What the hell are you getting so bent out of shape about?” Flash said, finally surrendering the note. “We’re just messing with you.”
“What’s going on back here?” Coach’s voice boomed.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” I replied through clenched teeth. That was all I needed—for Coach to find out what all the teasing was about.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I threw my teammates a pointed look, then sat back down beside Spencer.
“Good,” Coach said as the bus grew silent. “Now let’s get our heads ready to compete.”
I sat stiffly, holding the two pieces of the note in my hand, trying to wrap my brain around what just happened.
“Why do you have that with you?” Spencer whispered.
“Because I…” I slumped against the seat. “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
He frowned. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
He knew; I could see it in his eyes. He knew this was about more than the note. It was about what the note represented.
“Maybe you should just tell them—about the cancer.”
“But why should I have to? The note was personal, and they violated that.”
“They were just being immature assholes.” He frowned. “I know that’s no excuse.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sighed. They obviously didn’t understand why all this was affecting me. I was likely freaking them out because I was being overemotional. “What if that’d happened to you, about something you were trying to keep private?”
“I dunno. Maybe laugh and play it off even though it stings?”
“I probably would if it wasn’t for my dad.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “How would he know about it?”
“He finds out everything. He and Coach are tight.”
“Fuck, okay. I get it now.” He patted my shoulder.
“Thanks.” I leaned my head back against the seat. “Glad my parents won’t be at the game.”
“I hear you.”
There was a low buzz around the bus the rest of the way to the stadium, and I just knew they were talking about me and asking each other questions. But I didn’t have it in me to address it with them. I could explain that Lark and I had cancer as kids, but I was feeling angry and stubborn about it. Fuck them.
The remainder of the bus ride was miserable, and the guys didn’t even try to smooth the way. To be fair, neither did I.
I performed badly in the game, my throws were off, and I didn’t feel the team chemistry the way I normally would. All I kept thinking of was my father calling and reaming me out. I didn’t feel safe from anyone. We really didn’t have each other’s backs, did we?
After we lost the game, the bus ride home was sullen and silent.
“Henners, in my office, now,” Coach said when we got back to Roosevelt.
No one looked at me as they filed into the locker room to store their stuff. I followed Coach to his office, where he asked me to shut the door behind me.
“You guys were not meshing out there,” he said.
Gee, I wonder why.
“You were way off your game,” he accused. “What the hell is going on? And don’t tell me nothing.”
“I was…off my game,” I admitted. I felt completely awful about it too. My chest had that lead-weight feeling the entire bus ride home, and I had a killer headache going too.
Was I feverish? Maybe I was.
“Was it because of whatever happened on the bus this morning?”
I nodded. “Guess it rattled me.”
He folded his arms. “Talk to me, Henners.”
“That’s just it. I don’t feel like I can.” I forked my fingers through my hair. “I feel like anything that happens gets back to my parents. It totally takes away from my college experience.”
His lips parted in surprise. “Why haven’t you brought this to my attention before?”
“Same reason. I know you and my dad go way back and that he checks in with you all the time.” I looked him in the eye, feeling brave. “Has my dad pressured you into anything? My starting position on the team?”