Landon grips my face and holds me steady as he looks into my eyes. “I told you I wasn’t after your position, and I meant it.”
My heart melts under his intense gaze. “Thank you.”
“I’ll fill in Raymond when I get to the field. Go home and FaceTime him when you get there.”
My head tilts. “Why?”
Landon grins. “They told you that you can’t be on school premises, but they never said anything about being on the phone.”
I bark out a laugh. “Pretty slick, Fletcher.”
“No one will ever know.”
A smile stretches across my face despite my shitty news. I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and bring his lips down to mine. “Thanks for having my back.”
“Thanks for always having mine.” His hands grip my waist. “Even when I couldn’t see it.”
“No fucking way.”
I glare at Natalie through the phone. “Watch your mouth.”
“I’m sorry, but this is insane. They can’t fire you over this.”
“I didn’t get fired.”
Tori plants her hands on her hips. “We can go on strike. We won’t play unless you come back.”
“That’ll only hurt yourselves, and your chances at making states.” I point my index finger at my phone. “You guys have to prepare for playoffs. You can’t lose focus now.”
“But what about you?” Dominique says. “What will you do?”
“I’m an adult, and I can handle myself. Don’t worry about me.” My heart swells at their loyalty. “Coach Ray knows the plan. I know he can lead you. And hopefully this will all be over soon.”
After we hang up, I toss my phone onto my bed and rub my temples in small circles.
Sitting home isn’t my style. I need to be busy. Need to keep moving.
So, I throw on my sneakers and go for a run.
When my father died, I was eighteen. I hated being stuck in the house by myself, but I couldn’t afford to do much else. Running was free. I ran every day, multiple times a day. I got a scholarship to attend the community college just outside of town. After class, I’d wait tables at as many restaurants as I could manage to get a shift at. And when I wasn’t in class or working, I’d run.
Metaphorically, one could say I was running from my problems. Running from the overwhelming sorrow I experienced losing the only family I had left. But people have turned to worse things, so I’m okay with being labeled a running addict.
The house became a symbol of my grief. Waking up in the silence of the empty house was a daily reminder that I was alone. Still is, though I’ve come to enjoy the solitude.
Or maybe I don’t enjoy it. Maybe I had to learn how to survive it, so I convinced myself I liked being alone.
Landon has filled me with so many mixed emotions since he’s been back.
That’s what he’s always done. He challenges me. Pushes me. Flips what I think and shows me a different perspective. I think that’s why I’ve always been drawn to him. I crave the opposition. I crave the chance to grow into a better, stronger version of myself.
I run my usual route, and then I run a little more. When my legs are ready to give out, I head back home.
When I walk through the front door, my eyes land on the outdated China cabinet with random knickknacks on the shelves. I smile remembering how Dad used to complain, “There’s everything but China in this China cabinet.”
My eyes flick to the old couch with bright pink roses on it, donning a red stain on the corner of the cushion from the time Ispilt fruit punch on it when I was five. Mom didn’t yell. “Stains just mean love lives here,” she said.
I stare at Dad’s favorite maroon recliner. I told him he should replace it because the springs poked him in the ass every time he sat, but he refused. “This thing will out-live me,” he said.
