Page 120 of Stealing for Keeps
I sit up, still clutching the ball. My heart is in my throat as I rush to my feet and jog down to the first floor. I come up short when I spot Rowan.
“Hey.” My feet slowly close the distance between us.
Mom’s smile is tight as she glances at me. “Fifteen minutes.”
I nod my agreement, and she leaves us alone in the entryway. I lead him into the living room where Wyatt is playing video games.
“Hey, W-dude.” Rowan offers him a fist bump and then takes a seat.
I slump into the chair next to him.
“I’m guessing by the disappointed look on your face when you saw me that you were hoping I was someone else.”
I did but admitting it feels too pathetic.
“What’s up? Why are you here?” I ask, trying to sound friendly and not like I want to crawl back upstairs and mope some more, which is exactly what I want to do.
“What do you mean, why am I here?” He chuckles. “I’m checking in on you. That’s what friends do.”
“I wasn’t sure I had any of those left,” I admit. I wouldn’t even blame him. Maybe I didn’t do it to him, but my actions cost him all the same.
“You do, but I don’t think that’s why you’re sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself.”
“I’m grounded,” I say.
“Uh-huh.” He dismisses my reasoning like he knows it’s not why I’m so doom and gloom. “Have you talked to Claire?”
Ah, and there it is. The knife twists in my chest.
“No.” I avoided everyone at lunch, and during art class, she barely looked at me. “It’s over. No point in trying to change her mind.”
“Come on, you don’t believe that. Everyone can see how into you she is. If they were surprised you two were hooking up, then that’s on them. I knew you were gone for each other weeks ago.”
I sidestep that, not totally surprised he knew, to ask a more pressing question. “If that were true, then why would she end it?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you did sort of blow up your life in the last week. And Claire has been avoiding her issues with her mom and skating for a long time. It was bound to come to a head eventually. You just got mixed up in all of it.”
“I don’t think so. I all but told her I was in love with her, and she just shrugged it off.”
“Yeah, well, when you don’t grow up with people saying it very often, it can be hard to hear and even harder to accept.”
I wonder about Rowan and his family situation. He never says much about the fact that his parents never come to his games, but that has to be hard. My dad had never missed one before this year. My family has always showed up for me when they could.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You can start by fixing things with Vaughn.”
I grind my back teeth.
“He’s not a bad guy.”
“I know.” He’s a lot of things, but a bad guy isn’t one of them.
“You two are so much alike, you know?”
“Because we’re both stubborn and hardheaded and only care about soccer?” I joke.
He meets my gaze with a serious expression. “I’ve never known anyone who loved soccer as much as you two, but you’re also both incredibly smart and genuine dudes.”
