Chapter 11
Grace
News of the bet travelled fast. By the end of the school day, I was besieged by messages from my teammates who’d missed the action, all of them asking if the rumors about Sebastian and me were true.
Admittedly, I was slightly embarrassed by the whole thing, but it would have been stupid to say no.
If there was any chance that I could secure more funding for the women’s program, I’d take it.
Our move from McKinley Rink to DuLane Arena had only solved the issue of our lackluster training facility.
There were other problems to address. The team could use new uniforms, for one, and the away-game travel bus had seen (and smelled) better days.
But all thoughts of hockey vanished as my phone lit up with a text from Gabby.
My pulse leapt. Despite my drunken messages over the weekend, she’d been radio silent.
Fallen leaves crunched underfoot as I stopped along the tree-lined path in front of Nelson Library, heart hammering with nervous anticipation.
Gabs
So cringe
And don’t call me gremlin. I’m not a kid anymore
And then something even crazier happened. Gabby’s name flashed across the screen as my phone received an incoming call. I’d never answered so quickly.
“Hello?” I held my breath, half-convinced that this was some sort of prank call.
“Don’t you have any friends at your new school, or boys to keep you busy?”
Despite the snark in her tone, I let out a breath of relief. It really was Gabs.
“Hello?”
“You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. I don’t even get the courtesy of a thumbs-up anymore, what did you expect?” I tried my best impression of her snarky attitude.
“I’ve been busy,” she said.
That was her excuse? If it were possible, I would have reached through the phone and shaken her by the shoulders. “Sam mentioned that you had a fight with Dad.”
“That’s why I called,” she admitted. “I can’t deal with him lately. He’s so up in my business all the time, and I thought you could talk to him for me. He listens to you better.”
My mouth fell open at her words. Gabby was asking for help? After avoiding me all summer, acting as if she wanted nothing to do with me, she was actually asking for my help? Maybe this was a step in the right direction.
“What’s going on?” I asked. There was a long pause on her end, and for a brief moment, I thought she’d hung up.
“I quit dance without talking to Dad, and he’s making a huge deal about it. Apparently, I need to pick up another hobby outside of school now that I’m not dancing, but there’s nothing else I’m interested in.”
“Why did you quit?” Something wasn’t adding up. Gabby loved to dance, and she was damn good at it. Just last year she was placing at regional competitions.
“Does it matter?”
I bit down my frustration and took a long breath, willing myself to remain calm. “Please just tell me. I’m willing to talk to him if you have a good reason.”
“I just don’t want to do it anymore,” Gabby said.
“That’s not a good reason,” I argued. “Did something happen? Are your instructors pushing you too hard?”
The front doors to Nelson Library flew open, and a group of laughing students spilled outside. I covered one ear and took a few steps away from the building, worried that I’d miss Gabby’s reply.
“You sound just like Dad. I should have known better than to think you’d be on my side.”
“Wait,” I said quickly. “I’m on your side, Gabs, I promise. Explain why you don’t want to dance anymore. Is it taking up too much of your time? Are the other girls being mean?”
“Sure. So, can you talk to him?”
She wasn’t even trying to convince me. That was what worried me most. The whole “I don’t give a fuck” attitude was so far from her normal demeanor.
“I’ll talk to Dad about it,” I agreed. “But he’s right about finding another hobby. You’ll be bored without dance. Trust me, I know you.”
“You’ve been gone for three years, Grace. You don’t know anything,” she bit out.
It had been hard on Gabby when I’d left for Boston College, but it had been just as hard on me. We were always close, and spending most of the year without her was a huge adjustment. But I always made staying in touch with her a priority, despite my busy schedule.
“That’s not fair.” After all, she’d iced me out this summer. She was the one ignoring my texts or sending one-word replies every few weeks.
“But it’s true,” she snapped.
“If I really don’t understand anything, then I’m not the right person to speak with Dad. Given that he has been around for the last three years, I’m sure he’s made right decision.”
Gabby remained silent for a moment. I had no idea what to expect from her at this point. She sounded like a completely different person right now.
“So much for the help, big sis. I won’t bother you again.”
The line went dead.
The chill of November whipped at my hair, blowing pieces into my line of vision as a shiver crept across my skin.
There was an all too familiar prick of unease at the base of my neck.
It was the same feeling I’d had leaving for Dallard University at the end of summer.
Now more than ever, I was doubting that Gabby’s attitude shift had anything to do with regular teenage angst. How had I let myself get so wrapped up in hockey and my rivalry with Sebastian that I completely forgot the reason I’d moved home in the first place?
Gabby needed help—my help. I just had to figure out how the hell I was supposed to be there for her when she wanted nothing to do with me.
>> <<
Caroline’s lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a word she spoke.
Remi Wolf was blasting through my wireless headphones, her voice supported by a chaotic combination of instruments and engineered sound production.
After a moment of staring at my roommate, I paused the song and pulled off my headphones.
I had an inkling that the thirty-four open tabs on my computer were a contributing factor to my slower than normal reaction time.
Could your eyes melt off from looking at a screen too long?
“I didn’t take you for the suffer in silence type.”
I cocked my head to the side, wondering what exactly she meant.
“You’ve been hiding out in the science building for the last week. What’s going on?”
“I—nothing. I’ve had so much homework. It feels like I have a paper due every other day,” I explained.
Caroline didn’t look convinced. Nothing was wrong, per se, but I wasn’t feeling like my normal self.
Gabby was constantly in the back of my mind, and I had no idea how to make things better.
Between my stress about her, my ever-increasing workload from school, and a new training regimen to ensure I stood at chance at winning the bet, I was exhausted.
There was no taking my foot off the pedal at this point—not for any of it.
“You haven’t come to lunch in forever. I’m insisting you take a break from whatever it is you’re doing”—her eyes swept across the three open textbooks on the table—“and come eat.”
Was the Caroline Hart—overachiever extraordinaire—implying that I was overworking myself? I glanced back at the endless tabs open on my laptop and realized how right she was.
“Come on, you need a break,” she insisted.
I packed up my things and trailed after her. She kept glancing back as if to check that I was still there. Was she worried about losing me, or did she think I was going to run?
“There’s been a new development,” she said.
“A new development? In what?”
“You’ll see.”
I didn’t have it in me to question her as we exited Barton Hall, crossed the quad, and entered the dining hall.
We slipped into the line and grabbed our food before heading toward our normal spot.
When I saw that there were men—hockey men, to be exact—sitting beside Lydia, the dots finally connected.
Bryce, Landon, and Kent were perched around the circular table, eating lunch and chatting like it was a normal occurrence.
Lydia didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“I was wondering if I’d ever see you here,” said Landon, snatching a carrot off my tray and biting into it with a loud chomp.
Rude.
“She’s too busy for us,” Caroline snarked in a playful tone.
I gave her an exasperated look. “Professor Lang assigned us an entire book to read before class on Friday.” And my sister is giving me heartburn with all the worrying I’ve been doing.
“Meals should serve as an obligatory break,” said Kent before he bit into a large sandwich. There was a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, and I was positive it had everything to do with his proximity to my blond roommate. She might not have realized it yet, but Kent had it bad for her.
“That’s just your excuse to eat, like, ten meals a day,” Caroline said.
He flashed her a smile and flexed his biceps. “I’m a growing boy, what can I say?”
“Is this a thing now?” I asked, motioning around the table with my fork. “Two weeks ago, we were deciding whether or not to toilet paper your house and hang tampons from the sad-looking bush in the front yard.”
Lydia choked on her drink at my confession.
“It’s a historical house, you know. Any damage would have certainly assured your expulsion.”
My heart rate spiked at the sound of Sebastian’s voice. He appeared over Kent’s shoulder, one hand gripping the strap of his backpack and the other palming an apple. Holding my gaze from across the table, he lifted the fruit to his mouth and bit into it. My breath hitched at the resounding crunch.
“Are we all friends now?” he asked, taking the seat beside Kent, placing himself directly in front of me.
“If ‘we’ excludes you, then yes,” I said with a sweet smile.
Sebastian grinned. “Does that mean you won’t be attending my birthday celebration this weekend?”
“Finally turning five years old!” I exclaimed. “You must be proud.”
“It’s a big milestone. I can even count to ten.”
“I can bring a cake. Would you prefer dinosaurs or race cars?”