Clean Point

19 Nico

19

Family Friend – The Vaccines

‘Are you calling or folding?’ Henrik’s voice pulled my attention back to the table and away from the one person that always seemed to capture it. We’d been playing cards all evening out on the patio. But when I’d caught a glimpse of Scottie through the doors to the kitchen, I’d lost track of the game entirely.

Looking around the table, I took in the chorus of puzzled faces and lips pressed in firm, concerned lines as Inés and Henrik stared back down at their cards. Dylan, however, who sat opposite me, was calm and collected, a smirk spread on her lips.

‘You gonna call, Kotas?’ She challenged, raising her eyebrows confidently. I tried to ignore her, learning over the course of our stay here that she was impossible to read. I’d never played her on the court before, but after seeing her in a card game, I’d quickly figured out how terrifying an opponent she would’ve made.

I looked over at the kitchen again, spotting Scottie’s messy blonde bun sticking out above the door of the fridge, and without another thought, I folded. Dylan made an unintelligible noise of glee, scooping the hoard of chips to her side.

‘I’m going to sit this next round out,’ I announced, pushing myself out of the chair.

Inés eyed me suspiciously, her glance flickering behind me to the kitchen. ‘Are you going to get yourself a snack?’

I picked up my empty glass from the table. ‘I’m just getting a drink.’

‘Mhm,’ Dylan hummed. ‘Sure you are.’

‘You got something to say, Bailey?’

‘Nothing.’ She refocused on the pile of chips in front of her. There was a long silence as I looked around the group, waiting for somebody to crack and tell me the truth.

Henrik finally broke, saying somewhat playfully, ‘You two just seem to spend a lot of time together.’

‘Yeah, because we’re mixed partners. We train together all day.’

He smiled, lifting an eyebrow. ‘So are me and Inés.’

I looked between them as if I was still missing something. ‘And you guys are hanging out right now.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t chase her around.’

‘And don’t get me started on the way you guys look at each other,’ Inés chirped in. ‘It’s like watching a rom-com unfold.’

‘It’s sickening,’ Dylan said, just loud enough for me to hear.

My gaze caught on Dylan, her tone sharper. She didn’t look back up at me, but it was clear what she thought of Scottie. I could understand her view. While it was good that Scottie came clean and confessed to the doping, Dylan was robbed of the precious Wimbledon win. If somebody had stolen that from me, I’d never forgive them either.

Inés pulled my attention back to her, playfully adding, ‘So, you both ditched us in Lindos for no reason at all?’

‘Then turned up soaking wet?’ Henrik smirked.

‘It was raining!’ I defended, throwing my hands in the air. I realized that I had almost shouted, and after a quick glance to the kitchen, found Scottie there, unaware of the discussion that was going on.

‘You were supposed to be in the van.’ Inés smiled. ‘And you were gone for hours doing God knows what.’

‘We were just talking.’ My mind stuttered under their accusations.

I knew we were growing closer. After all, we’d been working together for a while now. We had a relationship where before there was misunderstanding and a little arrogance, but now there was communication and friendship.

And maybe, just maybe, I thought about the moment in the doorway. The way her pink lips had parted. How her eyes looked into mine. How the front of her soaked body pressed against me. Maybe I even thought about it in the shower when I most definitely should not be thinking about my mixed partner.

‘There’s nothing going on.’ I wasn’t sure if I had said the words for their sake, or for mine, but I said them firmly, trying to put an absolute end to this conversation. The last thing I needed was for Scottie to hear any of this, to think that … to know that …

‘Yet,’ Dylan said, looking across the table at me, her gaze icy and cutting. Inés and Henrik looked at each other with raised eyebrows, their lips pressed into small smiles.

I was stuck for a moment, unsure if I should continue my plan to see Scottie. I had only wanted to check on her after today, to make sure Sarah hadn’t done anything that we needed to speak to Jon about. Henrik had begun to shuffle the cards, and Inés looked over at me, a knowing smile on her lips.

I waited for another sarcastic response, but she just rolled her eyes at me and looked away.

‘Just go,’ she mouthed, nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. I hesitated for a single moment longer, before relenting. Behind me, hooting and hollering rose from Henrik and Inés. I turned on my heels, sticking my middle finger up at them, sick of their childish antics.

Pulling the door open, I found Scottie sitting at the breakfast counter, snacking out of a box of granola. Her neck was left exposed by her swept-up hair, while she wore ELITE joggers and a tank top with thin straps that I made a mental note to ignore.

‘I sincerely hope that’s not a communal box,’ I grumbled, taking in the sight of her arm disappearing into the box, her cheeks full like a hamster as she still chewed on the last handful of granola.

‘It’s not,’ she said after swallowing, a smile curving onto her lips. ‘I charmed Elena into buying a box for me.’

I scoffed. ‘Like the coffee?’

‘That’s one secret I’ll never tell,’ she said with a wink. Every morning, she taunted me with that mug she somehow managed to acquire and successfully hide from Jon. And every morning she refused to tell me how, or where, she got it. I was getting pretty sick of green tea, antioxidants be damned.

‘How were things with Sarah today?’ I asked, leaning back against a kitchen counter opposite to where she sat.

She shrugged. ‘Same old thing.’ Her words did nothing to stop my concern.

‘You would’ve hated it. They’ve moved me on to TikTok,’ she added, digging out another handful and eating.

I scoffed, my fingers gripping the edge of the cool marble countertop. ‘I’m surprised they didn’t want me involved.’

‘I think Sarah’s a little apprehensive, given what happened.’ She almost side-eyed me, the glare soft but ever so accusatory.

‘But she didn’t push it again today?’ My heart dipped, waiting for her answer, the same rage ready to rear its head again. I hated it when they’d sent me off to gym instead of being able to keep an eye on the situation.

Scottie shook her head. ‘Nope, she was on her best behaviour. Jon was helping out, so I doubt she would do anything like that again.’

‘Good,’ I said, trying to hide the relief behind a mask of indifference. Even knowing Jon was there helped keep me calm. My grip on the counter loosened, my shoulder blades relaxing into my back. She was okay.

‘You guys sound like you’re having fun out there.’ Scottie nodded her head towards the garden where the three others were still playing cards.

‘Dylan is wiping the floor with us.’

‘Sounds like her.’

‘Want to join us?’ I offered. ‘Maybe you can read her bluff better than the rest of us.’

‘I can think of about one hundred other ways I’d rather spend my evening than giving Dylan any of my money.’

‘You never know, you might end up taking it from her instead.’

‘Tempting.’ Scottie pressed her lips together, scrunching her nose with a fake indecision. ‘Maybe I should watch her take yours instead.’

‘Be my guest. That’s how the night seems to be going, anyway.’ I laughed, watching her face light up with similar glee.

‘I’m not sure who I’d prefer to lose to.’

‘If you play, you could end up beating both of us.’ I hold out the offer, trying to tempt her into joining us. So many nights she has spent alone, kindly turning down my offers to join us.

‘I don’t even know how to play poker,’ she admitted, biting her lip and my gaze couldn’t help but watch, paralysed by the soft movement.

I cleared my throat, a lump forming, and then the words were out before I could even think them through. ‘I’ll teach you.’

Her head cocked to the left. ‘You’re that desperate for me to play?’

I shook my head in denial, stuttering out a response before I could string words together. ‘You always hang out on your own. I don’t want you to feel left out.’

‘Thanks, but I’m okay.’ Her attention turned back to the box of granola.

‘Is it Dylan?’ my words hung in the air between us, an unspoken question playing over in my mind. Is it me?

‘It’s … it’s hard. I know what they all think of me.’ Her voice was low, barely louder than a whisper. When she looked up at me, I could see the tremble in her pink lips, the watery effect washing the blue of her iris out. I wanted to step forward, close this small gap between us, and wrap her up in my arms. Keep her safe from everything she was too keenly aware of. Her voice nearly broke as she grew louder, but no longer confident. ‘And I don’t blame them. But it makes it hard to want to hang out with them. It took a while for me to … move on from everything. Being around them only reminds me of what happened.’

My control snapped as I pushed myself away from the counter, leaning forward on the breakfast bar opposite where she was sitting. She straightened, her body going stiff as if taken aback by the movement.

‘Scottie, you came clean. You owned up to what you did,’ I started. We were face to face, her eyes looking into mine before glancing down to where her hands were pulling at the other nervously, her nerve lost. Apprehensively, I reached out, my fingers tipping up her soft chin so she would meet my gaze. A lock of blonde hair fell into her face, and I pushed the soft golden strand behind her ear, keeping her freckled face clear.

‘I don’t know what happened,’ I continued, ‘but I know you now. And I know I can trust you. As both a teammate and as a friend.’ The word friend felt wrong, like it wasn’t big enough to encompass everything I felt for her, but it was the only descriptor I could think of. ‘Not many people would’ve ever had the courage to step up and take responsibility for what they did, but you did. I’m proud of you for that. And I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone work as hard as you do.’ The lump in my throat reappeared, and no matter what, I couldn’t swallow it down as the truth poured out, like I’d been cut with a blade, the injury deep and sharp, and now I couldn’t stop from bleeding out. She had to know. She had to see.

‘Watching you these weeks,’ I continued. ‘I can see why Jon had so much faith in you after everything. His career was in ruins after you came forward, and I couldn’t understand how, after that, he could ever trust you. But he believed you’d changed, and … and so do I. You’re committed, you work harder than anyone else here.’

The air was thick with tension as I kept my eyes on her, wanting to make sure that she knew I meant every word I had said. After a moment to collect myself, my lips broke out into a slight smile, trying to ease us out of the tension. ‘I’m not sure how an old man like me is going to keep up.’

She scoffed, some of that playful brightness returning to her eyes. ‘You aren’t that old.’

My smile widened. ‘So, you admit it?’

She tilted her head, looking at me through her thick eyelashes. ‘Don’t get too cocky there, Kotas.’

My name on her tongue – nobody had ever made it sound so good.

‘Wouldn’t dare, Sinclair,’ I replied, her own smile growing at the rhyme of my words. I lost myself for a moment staring at her, forgetting the point I was trying to make, but a quick glance over my shoulder reminded me.

‘Give them a chance to get to know you. Stop hiding yourself away. You spent the last two years running, don’t you think it’s time to stop?’ I asked, watching as her gaze dipped away from mine, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

‘Since when did you become so convincing?’ she murmured, shaking her head. Pride welled from inside of me. That’s my brave girl.

I hummed to myself, unable to tear myself away from her for even a second. ‘Probably right around the time Jon convinced me to start playing with you.’

A laugh escaped her on a breath and when she looked up at me again, her usual mask of confidence was restored. She looked ready for battle, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.

‘You coming?’ I asked, looking to her for an answer.

With a deep breath in, she nodded, before leading me out into the garden, ready for the battle. And as I watched her leave, confidence in her stride, I realized everything Inés and Henrik – even Dylan – had insinuated about us might not be so far from the truth after all.