Page 31 of Racing Hearts

Amazing segue, Finch. Ten out of ten. Very demure.

Sierra’s eyes widened, but then her face softened. “Thanks. I really appreciate that. So did you, obviously, but that’s a given by now, right?”

Ellie shook her head as the same nerves that ran through her body whenever she thought about track returned. “It doesn’t feel like that to me. Every meet I wonder if it’s going to be the one where I forget how to run or something. I’m constantly afraid I won’t live up to all of the expectations people have of me.”

It was weird for Ellie to say that out loud to someone her own age. She had shared that fear with her parents, who obviously assured her that she would never let them down, but she’d never voiced it to one of her peers. Not even Juniper.

“That’s funny, because you carry yourself with such confidence. When you race, it’s clear you know that’s where you belong, and no one is going to take that from you. I would have guessed you never get nervous.”

“Yeah, kind of disappointing, huh?” Ellie asked, her mind going back to the words Sierra spoke about not meeting your hero. Words that still haunted her to this day.

Sierra shook her head. “I like that you get nervous. It makes you more real. More human.”

Sierra looked over at Ellie, and when their eyes met, all of the air was sucked from her lungs. She felt like she was floating outside of her body. It was the exact same feeling she’d had when Sierra’s eyes met hers on the bus ride. Ellie knew she had to say something, but she couldn’t remember how to form words. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before she was finally able to get words to come out. “I’m really sorry about ditching our dinner plans. They weren’t fake. I was so happy you agreed to go. When I got back to my apartment that night, I found Juniper in her room, crying. I couldn’t leave my best friend when she needed me. I know it doesn’t seem like it from your perspective, but she’s actually a really good person. She just doesn’t always like to show that side of herself. Throughout college, she’s been an amazing friend to me. She’s the type of friend who would drop anything to be there for me. Have you ever had a friend like that? Someone who might seem a bit standoffish or bitchy to other people, but you see the soft side of them, so you’d defend them until the end of time?”

Ellie didn’t know why she was so set on proving to Sierra that she and Juniper weren’t bad people, but she needed her to realize that was the case.

Sierra blinked a few times, and it looked like she might start to cry. She gazed at something behind Ellie, a distant, hard look surfacing on her face as she did. “I did. Well, I thought I saw a soft side of her. It’s not there anymore.”

Ellie wanted to know what Sierra was talking about, but she didn’t want to push her to talk about something that made her uncomfortable. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“She was actually…” Sierra shook her head rather than finishing her sentence. “Never mind. I don’t know why I’m talking so much right now.”

“You can tell me anything,” Ellie reassured her. What she really wanted was for Sierra to tell hereverything.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be nice to me just because I’m stuck in your hometown while your mom takes care of my sister.”

Was that really what Sierra thought? What else did Ellie have to do to prove herself? She didn’t have time to figure that out, because her mom and Sierra’s family walked back into the lobby at that very moment.

Sierra’s sister pointed to the boot that she was now wearing. “Broke a bone in my ankle. This amazing doctor believes I’ll be fine as long as I wear this boot for the rest of my life.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “She’s being dramatic. She needs to wear it for a month or two. If we ever get home, we’ll set up a follow-up with Dr. Ohrs.”

Annalise looked out the window and gritted her teeth together. “I hope you don’t have too far to go.”

Tiffany’s smile dropped from her face. “Unfortunately, we do. We’re over four hours away on a clear day. I think we might have to get a hotel and wait for the storm to pass.”

“We can’t!” Sierra said so loudly it caused Ellie to jump in surprise. “What if Mel goes into labor? I can’t miss my first nephew being born.”

Add that to the list of things Ellie didn’t know about Sierra. Apparently, she was going to be an aunt.

Sienna raised her hand. “I personally think we should stay. We’llnevermeet our nephew if we don’t make it home, and given the fact that there’s no visibility out there, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance we wouldn’t.”

Sierra looked between her moms as if she was desperate for one of them to say they would make the drive. “But what about work?”

Brooke laughed. “I’m sure the school will survive if I work remotely for a few days and your mama can literally work from anywhere.” Her face softened as she looked at her daughter. “What’s the real problem, sweetie?”

“I just really don’t want to have to stay in a hotel.” The way Sierra’s voice cracked made Ellie believe she was trying to hold back tears, and that broke her heart. She had no clue what was going on with this girl, but it had to be something. It was as if she was always on the edge of a mental breakdown.

An idea popped into Ellie’s head. It was probably an awful idea, but right now, it felt like the best idea in the world. Ellie looked between her parents. “Mom, Mama, could I talk to you in the back?”

Brinley squinted her eyes at Ellie as if she was trying to figure out what her daughter was up to. “That’s a little rude when there are people here. Don’t you think?”

“Please?”

Brinley looked away from Ellie to focus her attention on Sierra’s family. “I’m sorry. Give us just a moment.”

Ellie walked with her parents through the office and into the break room in the back. “I think we should ask them if they want to stay with us until the storm passes. It’s not like we don’t have the space.”

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