Fallen Crest Forever

“I know.”

“I felt like an idiot when I saw you there.”

“I know.”

“Why are you here?”

She looked around, her forehead wrinkling a little. “Where’s Taylor?”

“She’s skipping today because I was worried something might happen to her.”

“Are you kidding me?” Her eyebrows shot up. “You think we’d do something to hurt her?”

“Yeah.”

“Faith and Rae might be a lot of things, but actually harming someone isn’t something they’d do.”

I stopped stretching. “Are you here on behalf of them, or are you here because you feel bad about your part?”

“I . . .” She hesitated, her head dipping down for a moment. She took a breath and looked back up. “I feel bad for my part. I knew they were going to do that, and that’s why we asked to join you guys.”

“So, we wouldn’t know right away that we were outcasts?” My old anger was surfacing. I felt it simmering. “We’d find out later, when something actually happened to hurt me or Taylor?”

Shame flooded her features. She looked back down at her legs. “Look.” She twisted her hands together. “I feel bad for my part. And you should know that not all of us follow those two. I think you’ll be amazing for our team, and I’m glad you joined.”

I looked at her friends. Nettie huffed, looking away. Grace gave me a timid smile back.

“And your friends? Are they on the same page?” I asked.

“Grace is.”

“Not Nettie?” Not the drunk girl who’d made out with a guy for everyone to see?

She hesitated again, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “If Nettie has to choose between you and them, it’s them.” She lowered her voice. “I’m not even sure she’d choose Grace and me over them. Not that it helps.”

I nodded. Coach Langdon came out and went over to the two divas. He had a word with them, and both whirled around to look at me. A couple seconds later, he moved on to talk to Ruth. Faith and Raelynn stormed over.

“You narc’d on us? Are you kidding me?!” Faith hissed. She turned to Courtney. “What are you doing over here?”

Courtney straightened, raising her chin. “I was apologizing.”

Faith snorted. “You’re weak, Courtney. If you want to be on the losing side, so be it. We’ll target you too.”

“So you’re declaring it then?” I stepped in front of Courtney, facing Faith. “You’re openly saying you’re going to go after me?”

“I already did.”

Smart-ass bitch. I only smiled, though. “Okay. Just so we’re clear. And you bet your ass I went to the coach. When I think you’re going to try to hurt a friend of mine to get to me, I’ll do whatever I need to cover her back.”

Coach Langdon blew the whistle. The rest of the girls began to gather in front of him. I started forward, but Faith called, “What makes you think I’d go after her first?”

I stopped and looked back. I had a nice fuck-off smile. “If you want to come after me, you need to catch me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Like that’s going to be a problem.”

I kept going, content just to smile to myself. She had no idea.

The run was a joke.

These girls weren’t used to my speed. I started strong, and I never let up. Faith and Raelynn stayed right behind me for three miles. Then Raelynn fell behind, and we came to the D route. I went that way, and Faith continued with me. We were too far ahead to see whether the other girls chose to stay on C or come our way. For a while, it was just the two of us, but after another half-mile, I couldn’t see Faith either.

I stopped once to check the map.

Then I put my head down, concentrated on my breathing, and kept my arms relaxed. I just kept going.

This was the closest thing to flying for me. I felt it as I soared around the curves and over the hills. This wasn’t normal. What I could do wasn’t something others could—at least no one here. I kept going, finishing the last few miles strong, and the others were just arriving after their shorter route when I cleared the line.

Coach Langdon looked at me, looked at his watch, and muttered, “Holy shit.”

I wanted to do more.

I could do more.

I’d run this morning, held myself back, and refueled. I felt like I was just whetting my appetite. My legs should be jelly, but they weren’t.

“You can do that every day?” he asked.

I nodded. My music was still blaring in my ear, but I heard enough over it. “You want a runner for the Olympics. I’ll do it.”

This was it. That was what I wanted to do, whether I succeeded or not. It clicked as I was running today. I wanted to try. I had to try.

He sighed, taking his cap off and raking his arm over his forehead. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Coach?” Raelynn pushed forward. Her braid had unraveled, and her hair was plastered to her face with sweat. She must’ve chosen to stay on the C route. Her hands found her slim hips. I hadn’t heard her speak before, but her voice was just as pretentious as I’d thought it would be.

“You can’t keep up with her, Rae. Even you have to admit that.”

He sounded like he was apologizing, but that was all he said as he walked back inside. The rest of the girls began to stretch.

Raelynn glared at me, her nostrils flaring, before she half-snarled. “Don’t get comfortable.”

I stepped toward her. “Is that a threat?”

She jumped back, but muffled a scream before plopping down to stretch.

I picked my old spot, away from everyone, and was half done with my stretches when Courtney came over. She leaned down when I laid back and pulled my leg to my chest. She helped push it against my chest and spoke around her counting, “1—lines were drawn today. You know that, right?—4—I’m with you, if you’re wondering. Grace and me.” She pushed my leg a little farther. “Resist. 1. 2. 3. 4. Relax.”

I followed her instructions, and she repeated another two counts until we switched legs. I waited until she released my leg before replying.

“Besides my mother, I haven’t had a fight directed just at me for a while.” I grinned a little. “It felt kind of good.”

Courtney pressed down. “Resist. 5. 4. 3. 2. Relax.” She waited a beat. “Resist again. You’re used to fights or something?”

I snorted, pushing back as much as I could. “You don’t really know my boyfriend and stepbrother, if you have to ask me that.”

She laughed. “Relax.” She patted my leg, standing back up. “And you’re right. I’ve heard stories, but I never fully listened.”

I grunted. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

I finished my stretching and sat up to realize the other girls hadn’t gone. I’d assumed they would. But instead they had showered, and were standing in a line. I frowned.

“They’re waiting for Faith.”

“Say what?” I hadn’t heard that right. There was no way.

Courtney groaned softly, giving me an apologetic look. “This is what they do. If she’s not back, they don’t leave. She’s the star.” She shrugged. “Or she was.”

“This is insanity.” I felt like I was watching a cult. They were all brainwashed, and I looked over their faces as I moved toward the parking lot. They were blank, except for excitement brimming in a few. Raelynn glowered, and she stood at the end of the line with a hand resting on her hip.

I spotted Mason waiting for me in his Escalade. I ran over and got inside, but when he reached for his keys, I said, “Wait.”

He paused. “Something wrong?”

“I just want to watch.”

He leaned back in his seat, watching with me.

We waited, and twenty minutes later, Faith ran past us toward the team. They began clapping. Raelynn’s glower diminished. As Faith ran to them, they came over and patted her on the back.

“That’s strange.”

“Why?”

Mason’s question threw me. “They support her like a parent would cheer for a kid. That’s weird.” I looked at him. “Isn’t that weird?” ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">