Page 27 of I'm Gonna Get You Back
I toss him an acknowledging nod, hoping to keep it at that. But he continues.
“Heard about the fall.”
My heart drops into my stomach.
Of course he did. We’re not in the same division, but word gets around in a sport as small as ours. Still, I have to remind myself that not even my own trainer knows the extent of my pain. He’s sniffing me out, trying to get me to own up to something by pretending he already knows.
At least I hope he’s pretending.
“You in rehab or whatever?”
“Or whatever,” I respond.
Annoyance flashes across his face. “Always such a tool,” he mutters.
I smirk. It’s nice to know some things never change.
He takes a pull of his drink, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “So now that you’re damaged goods, is Stanford gonna drop your ass?”
“Who says I’m damaged?”
It’s Josh’s turn to smirk. “Your team likes to talk.”
Coach explained early on they couldn’t pull my scholarship just because I got hurt, but if my grades stay as bad as they are, not even my coaches can save me from academic probation. I just hope it doesn’t come to that.
Or that Coach hasn’t lost interest in me already.
“There’s no way that Olympic shit is real,” Josh states.
This time he’s right. No matter what the Olympic coach and I talked about in April, I’m out of that conversation if I can’t even get my ass to regionals.
I shrug in response because I owe Josh nothing and it’s the best nonanswer to life’s most annoying people.
Josh’s eyes flash. “Guess you won’t have any problem at the 5K tomorrow, then?”
Shit. I forgot about the Legacy 5K Fun Run.
The entire town is invited, but nobody usually shows up outside of the cross-country team and their families. Still, it’s a little over three miles, and I’ve just ensured that Josh will give it everything he’s got. If I don’t beat him, everyone will know something’s up with me.
But if I run, I could fuck up my knee even worse and completely screw myself over for regionals. For the entire year.
“How’s Amaya?” I ask, pointedly changing the subject, knowing full well she dumped his ass and was shooting him glares during our entire conversation earlier.
He narrows his eyes. “How’sClara?”
Though I’ve been wanting to sock him since the first time he talked down to Clara, I keep my stance casual and say nothing. I’ve noticed the longer I let a silence stretch with a guy like Josh, the more likely he’lleither spin himself up or lose interest. I watch and wait to see which way this will go.
Josh leans closer and gestures with a lift of his chin toward something over my shoulder. “I’ve heard about more than just your season.”
I turn around and see Delaney dancing and talking with a few of the other girls from the pom squad.
He doesn’t mean… No. There’s no way he knows. I didn’t tell anyone about what happened. Unless…
Didshesay something?
You have to let me tell her, Reid.
Everything I’ve been shoving down or turning against myself comes to attention. What happened was bad enough. ButJoshhearing about it makes it a lot fucking worse.
