Page 54 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

I’d checked out on her.

I’d regretted it the second she’d bolted from my car and disappeared into her house, but I couldn’t seem to shake myself out of it.

The girl I wanted was sick—seriously sick—and I just couldn’t wrap my head around that.

The fact she’d tried to push me away made perfect sense now.

Oomph.

The air knocked clean out of my lungs as I hit the ground hard.

“Kandon, what the hell was that?” Coach yelled. “Jesus Christ, play like that Friday and Limmington will be all over us.”

“Shit, man. You okay?” Aaron loomed over me, offering me a hand.

“Yeah.” I let him pull me up and brushed myself off. “Nice sack,” I said to one of my defensive players.

“Sorry, Cole. I didn’t think you’d—”

“Don’t sweat it. My head wasn’t in the game.”

Because it was stuck somewhere between kissing Sofia last night to hearing the words, ‘I’ve got leukemia.’

“Kandon, get over here, son.” Coach wafted his clipboard toward me.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to my teammates before jogging away. “Sorry, Coach. I wasn’t—”

“What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. I’m just tired.”

His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me. “Listen, this thing with Sofia—”

My stomach plummeted into my toes. Did he know?

No, I didn’t believe that. If Aaron didn’t know, nobody did.

“There is no thing, Coach.” I fought the urge to spill her secrets, to beg him to tell me everything would be okay. Because I wouldn’t betray Sofia, not with this.

“She’s going to be okay, son.” He squeezed my shoulder. “You need to focus on the upcoming game and the playoffs beyond that. And you need to decide regarding those scholarship offers, Cole.”

“I know, I’m trying. It’s a big decision.”

“It is. One I know you won’t make lightly. You know, it might help to talk things over with Mrs. Bennet.”

Sofia’s mom? No thanks.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Just… think about it. I need my star player’s head on straight going into these next few games.”

Easier said than done, but I didn’t argue. Because I didn’t want him to get any closer than he already had.

“Go on, get out there and show me what you got.”

“You got it, Coach.”

Except, I didn’t have it.

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