Page 76 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

“Sorry you asked what?” Dad breezed into the kitchen, curling his arm around my shoulder and dropping a kiss on my head.

“It doesn’t matter. How was your run?” She handed him a bottle of water.

“It was good. I like it now that the weather is turning.” He prowled toward her and she glowered.

“Don’t you dare, Jason.”

“But I need some sugar and you look so good in those yoga pants.”

“Seriously,” I muttered under my breath, forking another piece of pancake into my mouth.

“Don’t mind us, sweetheart,” he said, nuzzling Mom’s neck. “One day, you’ll meet the other half of your soul and you’ll know what it’s like.”

“Sure thing, Dad.” I kept my tone light. Breezy. Completely at odds with the tangled knot in my stomach.

“What are your plans for today?” he asked, finally releasing Mom and making a beeline for the coffee maker.

“I’m going to head down to the gym to train, I think.” I had a lot of excess energy to burn.

“Gotta get those practices in, get ready for competition season.” Dad smiled.

“That reminds me,” Mom said. “Lily is—”

I tuned them out, scarfing down my breakfast so I could get the hell out of there.

Rise ‘n’ Shine was the only gym in Rixon. Aside from a free weight and workout studio, it had a dedicated room with a sprung floor where they hosted dance classes and tumbling coaching. I didn’t use it all that often, preferring to stick to my yard or the school gym. But sometimes, when I needed to really push myself, I ventured down here.

Shouldering the door, I checked in, and headed for the locker room, stopping in my tracks at the sight of Zara and her friend.

“Oh, Poppy, what a surprise.” Her eyes lit up with wicked intent.

“Zara. Madison.” I smiled, moving to an empty spot on the other side of the room from them.

“How’s Sofia? I heard she was in the hospital last night.”

“How did you—”

“Aaron of course. He texted me this morning all worried about her.”

“Oh.”

My stomach dropped.

“I was just telling Madison, we’re going to hang out tonight, try and take his mind off things. If you know what I mean.” Her brows waggled.

“Right. Well, have fun.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail and shoved my things inside the locker, setting the lock and slamming the door a little too hard. “I need to get out there.”

“Break a leg,” Zara called after me, amusement coating her words.

What a bitch.

I’d been looking forward to coming here, but now it was tainted by her presence. I wouldn’t put it past her to lie about Aaron texting her just to upset me, but it didn’t matter.

He’d done enough of that all by himself.

The studio was quiet when I stepped inside. I headed straight for the tumble track and did some stretching, mentally recalling my favorite tumble combos. But the second I moved to the edge of the track, ready to go into my first combination, the doors swung open and Zara and Madison sauntered in, laughing and joking. They moved over to the trampoline and Zara pulled out her cell phone, scrolling through it. Music blared from the damn thing and she placed it on the side.

“Do you mind?” I snapped.

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