Page 105 of Heart of Gold
chapter forty-five
Quinn
Gavin.
I stare at him over Grayson’s shoulder and I feel a rush of emotions overtake me. I jerk my hand away from Grayson and pierce him with a look. He knew what he was doing. He knew Gavin was in there and that he’d walk out and see us.
This can’t be happening.
I push past Grayson, and try my best to get the fucking crutches to move faster. A sea of tears begin to form in my eyes and I feel everything. I fall to the curb and for what feels like forever I can’t breathe fully.
I’m basically hyperventilating and choking on my own breaths.
I came here to tell Gavin how I feel. To tell him that I’m better with him, that we are better together. That no matter what I’dalwayschoose him. That I never should’ve made him feel like I wasn’t choosing him. That I’d been manipulated for so long that I had no idea what was happening between us so I kept him at an arm's length because I was scared.
A hand lands on my shoulder and I turn to see Grayson, “Quinn come on. Let me take you home.”
“No!” I scream. “Get away from me, Grayson!”
A deep familiar voice comes from behind us, and I turn to see Coach. “Collins, you’re suspended indefinitely from the Ridge U football team. You need to go meet with the dean about what your options are for classes.”
What?
Grayson backs away from me and does as the coach says, leaving. Coach sits on the curb next to me. I feel a giant weight placed on my chest.
“I’m sorry I fucked up your season.”
He shakes his head, “You didn’t. You aren’t responsible for what others do. They are grown.”
I give him the side-eye, “Things would be different had I not been here. So don’t lie. Why’d you kick him off the team?”
“He paid Grant Laremore five thousand dollars to put Gavin out of the game.”
What?
I feel an instant wave of nausea, and spill the contents of my breakfast onto the concrete next to us.
“It’s none of my business,” he says. “But for what it’s worth, Gavin is a good guy. He cares about his team and his friends. It also seems he cares about you.”
“I know,” I whisper.
He shakes his head, “Maybe even more than football. I’ve been doing this long enough that I can tell when one of my guys' heart isn’t in the game. When I approached Gavin to play ball, he told me why he was doing it. It was for everyone else's benefit, the guy has more drive than any other kid I’ve ever coached.”
I tilt my eyes up to him, “Why are you telling me this?”
He shrugs, “Because, I want you to know when Gavin sets his mind to something he’s gonna get it done. Maybe it’s time someone fought for him.”
Those words resonate with me as Coach lifts himself off the concrete and walks away.
He’s absolutely right.
I hobble up to my feet and situate my crutches under my arms and call Ava to pick me up. I need to find Gavin and tell him the truth.
I need to tell him that I love him.
When Ava pulls up to the curb I practically jump inside not worrying about the pain in my ankle. It feels irrelevant right now, but maybe it’s just the adrenaline kicking in.
“Why do you look so crazy?” Ava asks.
