Page 20 of Savage Truth

I got whiplash from the change of topics. “It was different. The coach is fine. So is the team.”

“I’m so excited for you. There’s a meet coming up soon? The end of the week?”

“Yeah, then, but also later tonight. Was this what you and Lucas were fighting about when Cole and I came in?”

Some of her excitement faded. “It was part of it. He’s worried it’s too soon. He wanted to schedule a private meeting with you and the coach from Thane so you could show him what you can do without any publicity.”

My mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me? That’s…”Generous. And so much safer.“Then why did you tell me to go out for the academy’s team?”

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “Because you’ve never had a normal experience at school. I wanted you to have this year to acclimate before college.”

“Mom, I don’t need that. I can acclimate anywhere.”I’m a fucking chameleon. I could only shake my head in confusion. “You’re acting like I’ve haven’t infiltrated any group I wanted to get the information on our marks.”This is such a risk.

“Lucas is working on making it safe for us.” The head tilt with her chin lifted told me her stubbornness had kicked in, regardless of the steady stream of tears. “I want you to have this, Riles.”

“It’s not going to work out. This kind of thing isn’t meant for a girl like me.” I wished it was and that I could have this one thing. But since I couldn’t… I’d had enough of living a lie.

* * *

Itilted my head ear to shoulder until a satisfyingpoprelieved the tension. Too much stress had built up in my neck from the unfamiliarity of what I was about to do. Sure, I could assimilate into any situation fairly seamlessly. But a meet where I was going to be true to myself and what I could do was different.

It made me vulnerable. Exposed.

Not only that, but I was going to do a complicated dive I knew the others on the team couldn’t do. There were a couple of scouts there—Coach had pulled me aside and let me know. He’d called them for me. Said to go all out. So I would, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t a bundle of nerves.

I would draw attention to myself, even though I’d been taught not to do that since I learned to walk and talk.

I glanced at the stands and found Mom sitting there with a huge smile on her face. She looked like she was about to combust with nervous excitement. I scanned the people around her. Lucas was there, but I didn’t see Cole, Damon, or their cousins.

That’s good.Right? Yes.I needed to stop thinking about him.

I scanned the audience and those milling about around the stands. I’d checked before the meet and found out that there was a school paper, and they usually had someone covering the events. A deeper search got me the names and photos of the students on staff. As my gaze crawled over the people, I found one of them, Skylar McCormick. Dressed head to toe in black, she leaned a shoulder against the side of the bleachers, a camera hanging around her slender neck. Black hair fell to her shoulder blades, and she hid her stunning face behind large black-rimmed glasses.

I hurried over, pasting on an easygoing smile. “Hey. Skylar, right?”

She leaned back against the railing, raising one sculpted eyebrow. “Yeah.”

I wanted to laugh. This chick was tough, and I liked her on principle. “You’re taking pictures for the school’s paper?”

“Sadly. Let me guess. You’re looking for an exclusive? Maybe a front-page article?” She smirked. “That’ll be tough. The football dipshits rule here.”

My fake smile turned into a real one.Yeah, this girl is my people. She just doesn’t know it yet.“That’s the last thing I want. Article? No problem, and I don’t care where it’s placed.” I shrugged. “But the picture… I don’t want any.” My body tensed, and I couldn’t stop the darkness of my past from sweeping through me like an unexpected and harsh rainstorm. I shut down my expression, hoping she didn’t get a glimpse of anything.

Sky straightened, her penetrating cornflower-blue eyes boring into me, seeing more than I wanted her to. Something swirled over her features, and I felt a connection born of hardship and fear that I hadn’t experienced with anyone since arriving in that overprivileged town. “I got your back. No headshots or full views of your face.”

My body sagged, and I had to reach out and steady myself against the railing, not even caring that she noticed. “Thanks. I owe you.”

Coach called for me, and I hurried away. The meet was starting. I went to stand by Jasmine and Megan. The coach had me going last, which was probably for the best. Then I could get out of there rather than talk to anyone. I’d already told Mom, who said they would meet me by the car.

The meet progressed agonizingly slowly. It was the first time I’d been to one instead of watching professional competitions on video or TV. Before long, though, it was my turn, and I was too aware of the audience as I climbed the ladder. At the top, I stopped and blocked them out, clearing my mind and visualizing what I wanted my body to do. I was going to do a reverse one-and-a-half somersault with four-and-a-half twists.

Once I pictured it without any mistakes, I took three steps to the end then jumped up and into the first somersault. My body rotated and twisted before straightening from fingers to toes and piercing the water. I had a couple seconds of complete solitude before I had to angle myself toward the edge of the pool and kick off, surfacing near the ladder to climb out. Complete silence was followed by thunderous applause and cheers. Shock rippled through me, and I almost slipped and fell back into the water. As soon as I was out, I hurried to where the other divers were, said a quick thanks to their congratulations, then told the coach I had to leave. There would be no second dive for me today.

It had been a mistake. I was way too exposed.

CHAPTER TEN

COLE

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