Mason:
Are you okay?
I stared at it.
Then replied:
Rowan:
Not really.
That honesty came easier now.
Too easy.
MASON
I didn’t go straight home again.
I sat in the empty gym.
Lights off.
Just the exit signs glowing faintly.
My phone was on my knee.
Rowan’s last message still open.
Not really.
That matched everything today.
Coach.
Team tension.
Media noise.
My own head.
I typed:
Mason:
We’ll get through it.
Paused.
Deleted.
Typed again:
Mason:
This will pass.
Stopped.
