Page 37 of Through the Flames
“What? No!” She shook her head rapidly. “No. Nobody died.”
“Then why do you look like a Victorian ghost who didn’t finish her business?” I finally got moving again, closing the door behind me before my bag hit the floor with a loud thud.
“I got a call.”
“I must’ve missed the memo where getting a call became a life-threatening occurrence.”
“Jesus Christ, it’s like I’m talking to Dom, just somehow worse.” Sierra pinched the bridge of her nose. “I got a call from a team in Cali. They picked me in the draft.”
“You what?!” I shrieked before barreling into her and basically tackling her with a hug. My brother would’ve been proud. “Oh my fucking God! That’s amazing! That’s … wait. Why aren’t you jumping and screaming?”
I eased back to scrutinize her.
Sierra just gave her head a little shake. “It was such a long shot. I mean, I didn’t even tell anyone because I was so sure it would only end in disappointment.”
“Are you kidding? You’re gonna go pro! You’re gonna live in California! Holy shit, you’re gonna be famous—”
I was hugging her again, like I’d just won the lottery myself.
“But this wasn’t the plan,” Sierra blurted out.
“What do you mean? I thought it’s what you wanted? To play professionally?”
She groaned, throwing her head back and exhaling through her nose. “Yes, it is. But it wasn’t the plan. I’ve never allowed myself to actuallybelieveI’d make it.”
I recoiled and looked at her in utter disbelief. This girl was so delusional sometimes. First she thought she could out-stubborn my brother, and now this. She was born to do this.
“Well, you better startbelievingit fast, because this is real. I don’t get it. What’s the problem?”
She threw up her hands. “I was supposed to finish my degree first, so I’d have a safety net. If I do this, and I fuck it up, I don’t have anything to fall back on. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and I—”
“Fuck the plan!” I grabbed her by the shoulders, levelling her with a stare. “Listen to me.Fuck. The. Plan.Thereisno fucking plan. Life could be over in a freaking second, so even if it’s scary and you’re freaking out right now,you’re gonna do it. You’d be insane not to.”
Sierra stared at me, her eyes wide. “But I—”
“No!” I held up a finger and waved it in her face. “This is your dream. You know you want to do this, so just do it.”
“But what if it goes wrong?”
“Then it goes wrong! Then you’ll find something else. You’re not alone anymore, Sierra.” I pulled her in for another hug. “We’ll be there if it all goes to shit. Which it won’t.”
“Well, at least one of us has faith in me,” she said dryly, her voice muffled against my shoulder. “But also, you’re kind of crushing my lungs here.”
I released her from my death grip. “Okay,nowcan we celebrate, please?”
“Fine,” Sierra groaned, then added softly, “Thank you.”
Dom showed up about half an hour later, practically bursting with pride, a massive grin on his face. Sierra had called him to break the news before I’d arrived home, and he’d hauled ass here straight after practice.
“I’m so fucking proud of you!” he roared before picking her up and twirling her around. Sierra’s surprised giggles rang through the room.
Those two shouldn’t work on paper, but in reality they were absolutely perfect for each other.
“Alright!” I clapped to garner their attention before they got swallowed up by their lovesick little bubble. “What are we doing? Where are we going? I need to know what to wear, people.”
All the tiredness I’d felt earlier was put on the back burner. This was Sierra’s big night, and we’d celebrate the shit out of it.
“It’s the middle of the week,” Sierra remarked. “Should we really—”
