Page 76 of The Moment I Knew

“Next attraction?” he asked, and I swore his voice sounded as breathless as I felt.

I scanned the room, still a little unsteady. My legs felt loose, unreliable, like they belonged to someone who made worse decisions than I did. “What else is there?”

He nodded toward a fenced-off section where kids were hurling soft balls at each other with alarming enthusiasm. A sign overhead read DODGEBALL in glowing letters.

“Oh no,” I said immediately.

Cole grinned at me mischievously. “Oh yes.” He grabbed both my hands, walking backwards again as he stared at me.

“I will be taken out.”

His grin only widened. “That’s the fun part.”

We joined a game mid-chaos. A whistle blew somewhere, indistinct. Balls flew in every direction. I barely had time to register what was happening before one sailed past my head close enough that I felt the air move.

I shrieked, instinctive and loud, ducking behind Cole.

“Traitor,” he said, laughing.

“I don’t have survival instincts,” I said. “I have panic.”

A ball hit Cole square in the shoulder. He staggered dramatically, clutching his chest.

“Tell my story,” he said, already laughing again.

I grabbed a ball on reflex and threw it without aiming. It missed everyone and bounced harmlessly into the padding.

“Wow,” Cole said. “Devastating.”

“I’m warming up.”

Another ball came at me from the side. I screamed again, dropped to a crouch, and popped back up just in time to peg a kid who was not expecting it.

He stared at me for half a second in disbelief before laughing and jogging off.

I stared at my own hands.

“I did it,” I said.

Cole grinned. “You’re dangerous.”

We lasted maybe three rounds before exhaustion caught up with us. My lungs burned. Sweat clung uncomfortably under my hoodie. When the whistle blew again, I sank down against the padding, legs stretched out, heart hammering.

Cole dropped beside me, breathing just as hard.

“Admit it,” he said between breaths. “You’re having fun.”

I tilted my head back, staring at the ceiling lights blurring together. “It wasn’t bad.”

“That’s a yes.”

We sat there longer than necessary, watching the next group rush in, all fresh energy and reckless confidence. My muscles hummed, the leftover vibration of movement still echoing through me.

The whistle blew. Kids grabbed dodgeballs. And I realized we were still sitting in the warzone.

“Oh no,” I said, jumping to my feet in the hopes of escaping before the game got too intense.

“Imogen, where are you going?” Cole said, jumping up too.