Page 72 of Racing Hearts

Ellie stared longingly at her phone. She wanted to send another text to Sierra, but she couldn’t do it with Juniper watching her. She forced her eyes away from the phone and smiled at Juniper. “Let’s do it.”

After a tough workout and showers, Ellie and Juniper ordered takeout. They sat on the couch talking while they waited for it to arrive.

“I know I need to talk to my mom and Chris and make things right with both of them, but what about my dad? I’m so pissed at him, but I’m also pissed at myself for being mad at him. If he was still alive, I would never forgive him for this. But, he’s not. Just because he’s dead, does that suddenly make it okay?” Juniper groaned. “I’m so confused right now.”

“It’s okay to be confused. It’s also okay to be mad at him or forgive him or not forgive him. In the end, you need to do what’s best for you.”

“I probably shouldn’t have gotten mad at Chris though, huh?”

“Probably not. I think he was just trying to make you feel better.”

Juniper cringed. “And I’ve been a total bitch to him. Is it okay if I call him quick?”

“Of course. Take your time.” This worked in Ellie’s favor. If Juniper and Chris made up, maybe Juniper would go to see him. It was too late for their dinner date, but if Ellie could spend any time with Sierra, she’d be happy.

Once Juniper left the room, Ellie stood from the couch to grab her phone. When she hit the side button, the screen remained black. After trying multiple buttons, Ellie realized her phone was dead. She walked over to her bag from spring break that still hadn’t made it to her room and rooted through it to find her charger. After tearing through the whole bag, she realized it wasn’t there.Shit.She must have left it at the cottage.

She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and started opening all of the drawers in search of another one, but it was no use. She didn’t have another one. She also knew that Juniper’s phone used a different type of charger so she couldn’t even borrow one from her.

“All’s good.”

Ellie jumped at the sound of Juniper’s voice and turned to see her standing in Ellie’s doorway. “You two made up?”

“Yep. He can’t resist my charm. Don’t worry, though. I already told him we were having a girl’s night, so I’m all yours.”

“Perfect.”Ish.“Could part of our girls’ night involve running out to buy a new charger? I left mine… at home.”The lies keep adding up today. Great.

“Of course. We’ll go after we eat.”

Unfortunately, after eating, Juniper had another breakdown, which pushed back their trip even more. By the time they got back to the house with the new charger, Ellie could barely keep her eyes open. She gave Juniper a tight squeeze before saying goodnight and going to bed. She plugged herphone in beside her bed and tried to keep her eyes open while she waited for it to turn back on, but it was no use.

Ellie shot up to sunshine streaming through her window. She looked at her phone and found that it was already 7:45, and her first class started at 8.

“Shit,” she muttered as she jumped out of bed. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

She pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, grabbed her backpack, and ran out of her apartment. Their campus wasn’t very big, so she was luckily able to make it to class only a few minutes late. Her professor gave her an annoyed look, but didn’t say anything as she took her seat. Once his eyes were off of her and back on the board, she pulled out her phone.

She had a bunch of texts, but she ignored all of them except for the one from Sierra.Sorry. Super crazy night and morning. Any chance you can meet for lunch? I miss you.

Ellie checked her phone a few times throughout class, but it wasn’t until she was leaving to head to her next one that she got a response.I have classes this afternoon. Maybe after practice?

Can’t wait :)

Sierra didn’t text Ellie again throughout the day, but Ellie figured that was because she was busy with classes. When they got to practice, it was clear something was wrong. Sierra looked tired, and any time Ellie tried to share one of their secret smiles, Sierra looked away.Weird.

When practice ended, Ellie told Juniper she had to stick around to practice handoffs and waited for Sierra to slowly pack up her bags. “It’s about time,” Ellie joked when Sierra finally walked over to her. “I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

When Sierra didn’t laugh at her joke, Ellie became nervous. She reached out and grabbed her hand and was happy to find that Sierra didn’t pull away from her. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Sierra shook her head. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

Okay, that sounds very much like the beginning of a break up.

“Not going to lie, you’re kind of scaring me.”

“Why can’t you tell Juniper about us?”

“I…” Ellie opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to think of how to explain it without telling any of Juniper’s personal business. “Juniper found out something really upsetting this past week. It’s not my story to tell, but she’s not in a great place right now.”

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