Page 12 of Racing Hearts

Ellie tried to smile, but she couldn’t get herself to. She was still too shaken up from what had just happened with Sierra. When Juniper became distracted by one of their other teammates, Ellie scooted closer to Chris. “What do you know about Sierra?” she whispered to him.

Chris stared at Ellie for a long time as if he was confused about her question. “What do you mean?”

“Sierra is an enigma to me. I can’t figure her out.”

Chris nodded slowly. “She is pretty shy, and I think she’s kind of reserved. I figured you and Juniper must know more about her since you hate her so much.”

Ouch. Ellie knew Chris wasn’t trying to be rude, but that one hurt.As if I don’t already feel guilty enough.Ellie shrugged, trying to blow off his comment. “I don’t know. She just doesn’tseem to be trying very hard to fit in with the team. It also doesn’t help that she’s a big homophobe.”

Chris’s head shot back as if she had given him whiplash. “A homophobe? Where the hell did you get that idea?” he asked with a laugh. “I literally heard her talking to someone about hertwo momsjust a few days ago. Seeing as how she wasn’t saying that they are disgusting humans for loving each other, I’m going to say with a lot of confidence that she isnothomophobic. I’m actually pretty sureshe’sgay.”

“What?” The question came out so loudly that the rest of her friends looked over at them. Now, Ellie wasreallyconfused. She looked around to make sure her friends were no longer paying attention, then whispered to Chris again. “What are you talking about? How do you know this?”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t for sure. I’ve just gotten some vibes.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “This is a college track team, Chris. Even the straight girls give off gay vibes.”

Chris laughed. “Dude, I know. It makes my life so much harder. How am I supposed to know who’s willing to hook up with me?”

As Chris continued to go on about the perils of a straight man trying to date, Ellie’s mind wandered back to Sierra. Chris was probably wrong about her being gay, but if she had two moms and wasn’t actually homophobic, that changed so much. It meant everything Ellie thought she knew about Sierra wasn’t true.

It made sense that Sierra would perk up at hearing that someone else on the team had two moms, but that didn’t explain anything else that had happened. Ellie’s head was really spinning now. She had no idea who this girl was, but she wanted to figure it out. Hell, right now, it felt like sheneededto.

Chapter 6

Sierra

Sierra couldn’t believe that Ellie Finch had just caught her crying at a haunted farm. Honestly, what were the fucking chances? Also, why did Ellie suddenly act like she cared? Did the girl find a heart when she saw someone with tears in their eyes?

Sierra knew that their issues weren’t solely because of Ellie. When they first met, Sierra had been short with her, then at the first optional practice when Ellie tried again, Sierra blew her off a second time. She knew she wasn’t acting like herself, but she couldn’t help it. She was heartbroken. That word didn’t even come close to describing what she was feeling. Her heart was completely shattered right now.

Sierra had become friends with Teresa McBride when Teresa moved into town in eighth grade. Sierra’s mom, who was the school principal at the time, had pushed her to befriend the new girl, and Sierra did it to make her happy. It didn’t take her long to realize how much she enjoyed being around the girl with flowing red hair, a wicked smile, and the world’s most carefree attitude. The two of them quickly became best friends, and by the beginning of their junior year, Sierra realized that what she felt for Teresa went beyond friendship.

Throughout that year, she had seen signs that maybe Teresa felt the same way, but that wasn’t confirmed until the summer before their senior year when Teresa kissed her underneath the stars. It was like the beginning of a fairytale.

When Teresa asked Sierra to keep their relationship a secret, Sierra went along with it. As the girl with two moms, there was nothing stopping her from shouting it fromthe rooftops, but she understood how it might be harder for someone who didn’t grow up in the same situation as her.

In fact, Teresa’s situation was about as opposite as it could get. Her mom died during childbirth, so she was raised by her single dad, the pastor. Even though he was never rude to Ellie, she could see the judgment in his eyes whenever she mentioned her two moms. When he suggested she invite them to his church sometime, she knew it wasn’t out of love.

So, of course Teresa was scared to come out. He was all she had, and she was at risk of losing him. Teresa was very persuasive, and she had somehow convinced Sierra that it was for the best if she didn’t even tellherfamily about them. The prospect of keeping it a secret became more appealing when they decided to go to the same college and room together. Sierra was so in love that nothing sounded better to her than waking up to the love of her life every morning. Her moms might have been progressive, but Sierra highly doubted they would have let her live with Teresa if they knew they were together.

Teresa had made so many promises about how different things would be when they got to college, and in a way, that was true. Instead of being out at school and living as their authentic selves, Teresa had broken up with her the week they arrived. She told Sierra that she had been thinking about it a lot, and since she was bisexual, it made more sense for her to go for a guy. That way, she would never have to come out to her dad.

Teresa had shared that with Sierra right before it was time for her to leave for the first track meeting, so of course, she wasn’t in the right mindset when Ellie introduced herself. Right after walking away, she had vowed that she would do better the next time Ellie tried to talk to her.

Unfortunately, that also fell on a terrible day. Even though Teresa had told her they couldn’t be together, they had still slipped up a few times, and Sierra was holding on to thehope that Teresa would change her mind. Teresa had chosen to call Sierra right before her first optional college track practice started to tell her she had a date that night. The last thing Sierra wanted was for her new teammates to see her cry. She knew she probably came across as a bitch that day, but it seemed like a better option than looking like an emotional mess.

So, yeah, she knew she hadn’t made the greatest first impression on Ellie, but listening to her and Juniper constantly whisper about Sierra, as well as all the dirty looks they gave her, seemed like a bit much. They had made the assumption that Sierra was homophobic without even getting to know her. If they talked to her for even a few minutes, they would realize that wasn’t true. She had been hesitating to come out to anyone in case Teresa changed her mind and decided to secretly date again, but she could have at least assured them that she very much supported her non-traditional family.

Ellie and Juniper had made up their minds about her and there was really nothing Sierra could do. She had tried to be nice after the time trial, especially since she figured Ellie wasn’t too happy about taking second, but Ellie was a complete jerk to her. On top of all of that, after telling Ellie to stay away from Teresa, shestillmade out with her at the track party. Of course, Ellie didn’t know the real reason why Sierra had given her that warning, but as teammates, the least she could do was findany other girlto make out with.

Teresa was very hush-hush about exactly how their kiss had gone when she got back to their dorm room that night. All she said was that she didn’tkiss and tellthen asked Sierra if she wanted to hear about the blowjob she gave to some random guy that night. Sierra’s heart still clenched as she thought about how she had told Teresa that she obviously didn’t want to hear about that, then rolled over in bed and cried herself to sleep. Thesedays, she cried herself to sleep more times than not. If Teresa noticed, she didn’t say anything.

Teresa had kept one promise—that was the one to continue being best friends with Sierra. She told Sierra how much she didn’t want to lose her, and even with how much she was hurting right now, Sierra preferred to have Teresa in some capacity rather than not at all.

It wasn’t good for her mental health, though, especially on nights like this. Teresa had made plans with two guys from their English class to come to the haunted farm, and she swore to Sierra that it was just as friends. As soon as the guys picked them up, Sierra could tell that was another lie. Teresa sat in the front seat with one guy, holding his hand throughout the entire car ride. The guy who was sitting in the back with Sierra kept giving her a look that asked if he could do the same. That would have maybe been fine if Sierra hadany interest at allin guys, which she didn’t. She couldn’t say anything, since she was sure Teresa would get mad at her if she did, which was what led to her crying in the middle of a haunted farm.

When Teresa and her date started making out and Sierra’s “date” clearly wanted to do the same thing, she had to admit to him that she didn’t know this was a date and wasn’t interested. He had huffed away from her, which had left Sierra to cry alone. She was alone, at least, until Ellie Finch showed up out of nowhere. Seriously, how was this her luck? She really wanted to know what she had done in a prior life to deserve what she was going through now, because it must have been really fucking bad.

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