Page 17 of Fighting Spirit

“Why do you feel bad? He’s the one that should feel guilty!”

“He didn’t do anything wrong. He kinda got dragged into the whole thing, and he really did try to take care of me.”

“Was the ‘taking care’ before or after he drenched you and then tried to feed you an allergen sandwich?” Her eyebrow ticks up in question and she knows she’s got me.

I chuckle. “Somewhere in between?”

“Yeah, well, he sounds like a real gem.”

I grin back at her, enjoying the stern look she’s giving me. “I really do need to sleep now,” I groan, seeing the clock that reads 5:08. “What are you even doing up?” Part of me was hoping that she was awake already, that she’d been waiting until I got home the way I’d done for her so many times.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh?”

She sighs, scooting her chair forward like she’s locking in for a story.

“Me and Steph went out to that place on 17th. You know, the one with the stripy sign?”

I know the one, we’d been talking about stopping by sometime. I’m surprised that she never mentioned she was going anywhere.

“It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, but guess who was there?” She leans forward expectantly.

“Who?” I’m trying to muster some enthusiasm for this talk, but honestly, I’m too tired for this.

“Bri!” She slaps the table, the sound making me jolt.

“Oh shit.”

“And she was on a date!”

Fuck.

Four months ago, Georgie and Bri had probably the worst breakup I’ve ever witnessed. There were cheating accusations, screaming matches, and an only narrowly avoided slashing of tires. Bri’s an Allbreck cheerleader, and Georgie heard a rumor that she had something going on with one of the other girls on the squad.

Since then, she won’t come to the games, won’t watch rehearsals, and barely lets me even speak about anything to do with the team. I mean, I get why she’s keeping her distance from all things Allbreck Athletics, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t suck.

“Did you say anything?” I ask, half dreading the answer.

“Nah, Steph dragged me out of there before I could.” Thank God. “But I swear it was that girl.”

“You didn’t see?”

“She had her back to me, but her hair was the exact same.” Her face lights up with a feral kind of triumph, even as I know this must be killing her. “I knew those two were a thing.”

“Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay, I was right.”

Oh, Georgie. She’s all forced smiles and tense shoulders, and my heart breaks for her. I hate that she’s been going through this and I haven’t been here.

“You sure?”

“Mm hmm.” She stands to go, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze as she moves past me. “Well, if you’re all good, I’m gonna head back to bed.” She drops the two glasses in the sink and then she’s gone, leaving me back in the suffocating silence.

I stumble into the bathroom and finally peel off the costume, thrilled to have it off my skin. The shower beckons like a siren, but I’m too tired to consider it. I’ll probably regret it in the morning, but I guess I can just add it to the list.

Once I’ve brushed my teeth, it takes a minute of awkwardly scrambling around to find the big red pen I keep in here, but once I do I can tick off tonight on my toothbrushing checklist. I briefly debate taking my ADHD medication now just so I can tick it off-I mean, five thirtyisthe morning right-but quickly dismiss the idea. I’d need to go out and find something to eat with it, plus there’s no use having a burst of focus right as I’m about to go to sleep.

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