Page 71 of A Follow-Through in Faking
I hear her racket drop right before I spin around to see Catalina covering her face, her shoulders shaking as she cries into them. I waste no time running to her, and as if she senses me, she drops her hands to lift her arms so I can wrap mine around her. Her legs fling around me too, and then we’re hugging, all sweaty and sticky from this exhausting match.
“That was incredible,” I whisper into her ear, but Cata doesn’t reply.
She merely holds on tighter.
We did it. We won our first tournament as doubles partners in years. Wedominatedthis tournament.
“Good job,mi mariquita,” I say.
“Good job,mi corazón,” she replies, and I have a feeling that for the first time, she isn’t saying it sarcastically.
Chapter 30
Catalina
“Iftheytrytofeed me one more fucking tasteless sandwich, I’m going to throw a pillow at their heads,” Sage says, glaring at the tray with food in front of her.
A nurse caught me bringing her food two days ago and told me this hospital has a strict policy against that. I got a warning not to do it againlest I want to be kicked out of the hospital, or whatever the fuck they said to me. I was too distracted by Charlie laughing at me for getting scolded and Sage’s complaining grunting noises. Vanessa was frowning at the nurse because of how ridiculous it was.
“If only you hadn’t been so reckless about sneaking food in,” Sage goes on, and I scowl at her.
“Eat your tasteless sandwhich,” I grumble, but when she smiles at me, I smile back.
It’s been hardly more than a week since her surgery, but she looks much better. They’re keeping her here to ensure there areno complications. According to the doctors monitoring her she’s supposed to get discharged soon to fly back home. This isn’t the first time Sage had to withdraw from a tournament, so she’s taken the news of not being able to play for a while much better than I would have.
“What if I told you I brought you some dessert?” Charlie asks, piquing Sage’s interest.
“I’d ask why you didn’t bring me a bucket of chicken tenders too,” she replies, but her eyes are full of amusement as Charlie walks toward her with a wicked smile.
“They would have smelled the chicken. They can’t smell the chocolate bar,” they say and pull out said bar, holding it up so Sage can admire it.
“Marry me, Charlie,” Sage teases, and Charlie bursts into laughter.
“Eat your chocolate bar, woman,” is their only reply as they shake their head, but I notice the smile on their face. The way their eyes sparkle too.
I look back at Sage, wondering if maybe there’s something there I didn’t notice before.
The thought leaves quickly because Ness gets up and walks to the window in Sage’s room, looking out of it with a thoughtful expression on her face. Sage is munching on the chocolate bar now with Charlie watching her from the chair they’re occupying, so I walk toward Ness, placing a hand on her arm once I’m close enough.
“You alright?” Her brown eyes meet mine, and she forces a smile.
“Nothing I can’t fix.” I furrow my brows at her non-committal answer, and Ness lets out a sigh. “I’m having some trouble with one of my biggest distributors, but it’ll be okay. Once I figure that out, I can get back to designing your next outfit for the nexttournament. I’m trying to figure out what message we can send this time. Any ideas?”
I smile softly at her.
“Hundreds,” I reply, and she grins back at me, leaning forward to wrap me up in a hug she needs very badly. And I hug her back because I’ll be damned if I didn’t give my friends the kind of comfort they’re always so happy to give me.
Santiago: Hey, cariño. I know we were meant to go out on a date tomorrow, but I have to reschedule. I’m having an episode, and Manu isn’t home to help me through it. Please don’t hate me. I promise to see you as soon as it passes.
Ever since I received the message an hour ago, I have been running to get all of his favorite things. His favorite croissants from the café. Some iced tea from his favorite brand. SomeLebkuchenfrom the grocery store. A bunch of other snacks he always talks about. I also got him a plushie of a bunny that looks like Tornado, bought a new game for us to try out together, and in case he doesn’t want to do any of that, I’ve taken my car to his house so he can drive it and cheer him up. He may have been sponsored by Spark Racing with his Lightning Bolt, but my Ragna Velocità Rossa is still one of his favorite cars in the world.
If Santi hadn’t told me he needs to be distracted and talk through these episodes, I wouldn’t be on my way to him. Other people prefer to be left alone when they have episodes of depression, but my sunshine man isn’t like that. He needs to bearound people he cares about, and if he didn’t think he’d be a burden to me, he’d have asked me to come to him.
But I don’t mind him not saying anything. He’s done so much for me without me saying a single word, like all of the dates he took me on. Playing doubles with me. Getting me tickets to the Monaco Grand Prix where I will meet Valentina Romana in person for the first time.
I’m still annoyed with Santi for meeting Adrian Romana and Nevaeh Fuchs-Romana all those years ago for a tennis session. I knew he had history with Nevaeh, but I hated him for meeting her and her husband again without me present. I admire her, and I’m a big fan of Adrian. His performance at Velocità Rossa in Formula 1 is unlike any other, except for his sister’s, of course.
“Hi, I’m here to see Santiago Castillo. I’m his girlfriend,” I say to the security person at his apartment complex.
