Page 139 of On His Team

Rowan: 48 is really good, G.

I look at that there. Better.

Me: Thank you.

Rowan: Proud of you.

I stare at the screen. My entire chest warms.

Lucy looks over from the couch. “What?”

I lock my phone. “Nothing.”

“Who are you texting?”

“Nobody. I have forty-eight kids signed up now.”

She sits up. “Wow.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“That’s great, G.”

“Thank you.” I eat another bite of cereal. My phone stays face down beside me. I am extremely normal. I smile at her, and she turns back to what she was doing.

Wednesday is worse, logistically. I have class, work, two conversations about liability language for the event, and an email from Ives asking me to bring an updated staffing plan Friday. By the time I get home, I want to remove my brain and put it in a bowl of ice water.

Lucy is standing by the door with a bag over one shoulder. “I’m staying at Hawthorne tonight.”

I drop my keys into the dish. “Okay.”

“He has video until nine, but I’ve got my group meeting until eight anyway, so I’m just going there after.”

“Okay.”

She reaches for the door. I look toward the hallway. Then toward the kitchen. Then back at her.

“Are you coming home tomorrow morning?”

Lucy’s hand stops on the knob. Slowly, she turns. “Probably not. Why?”

“No reason.”

Her eyebrows rise. I immediately regret asking. She turns all the way around.

“How’s your mom?” I ask, changing the subject.

Lucy looks over her shoulder. “Fine.”

“How’s Tyr?”

“He’s good.”

“Bear?”

“He’s good, G.”

She steps out of the apartment, then leans back through the doorway. “How’s Laurens?”