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Mia scowls in fake annoyance, then joins me in a giggle fit.
“Ladies, what is taking so long? We need to do warm-ups and stretches before the game. Let’s move it along!” Coach yells from the doorway. I head in her direction when Mia pulls me back, kinda roughly.
“Ow, chick, what’s up?” She just grins, then steps in front of me and walks out the door. Rolling my eyes, I just follow.
I would really liketo know why I can remember Mia and almost everything about her, but I can't remember my family. There has to be some significance here that I’m missing. Walking out and over to the side of the field, I see the other girls stretching. I’m not sure what they expect me to do; I don't remember any routines or cheers. Plus, the lady—Mom—tells me I can't be a “flyer” anymore; it’s too risky if I was to fall, and with the vibes I've been getting from my so-called teammates, they would probably drop me.
The only thing I really remember is standing on the sidelines and waving my pom-poms. This is going to be a disaster.
Well, here goes nothing.
Carter
Ash has been going crazy all damn day, and I know I’m not the only one sick of it. Gracie was his girl. I mean, he fucking proposed to her at sixteen! You don’t know who you want to date, let alone be with forever at that age.
But he was so adamant. Even went as far as to ask her dad for her hand. They were the ‘it’ couple, soulmates. Everyone was jealous of what they had. Even me. I saw Gracie first, but she only ever saw me as a friend. But she was the prettiest girl in first grade.
With her blonde space buns and overalls, I instantly knew she was going to be my friend. And when Dom moved here in third grade, we all hit it off. Then, King came, and finally, Ash. We created a perfect group, and Ash had a twin sister, Mia—who was super mean to Gracie at first.
She couldn’t understand why someone would want to play sports with smelly boys, read books all the time, and not like to wear makeup or dresses. She changed Gracie, and I started to see her as more than a buddy.
But then Ash flipped the script and asked her out to the movies. Things changed from then on. Gracie and Mia became glued to the hip, and Ash and she always were holding hands or hugging. Then as we got older, the PDA grew, and it was a little awkward getting hard for your best friend’s girl.
But now everything has gone to shit, and if I want to get through this year, I just need to pretend that I can’t stand Gracie and try to keep my family together. We have already lost two people; I refuse to lose anyone else.
We have plans. Dom and I are going to go to Las Vegas and find a place. Ash and King are going to join the military and request to be stationed at Creech AFB, like a friend of ours. He said it’s a small base compared to Nellis, but he likes it up in the mountain town.
Though I can’t see us not living in the city. I have plans to make it big on the music scene, and California isn’t far from Vegas, and Dom is looking at going to the University of Nevada for music management.
We have plans to stay together, and I can’t let Gracie change that, but I’m worried about how Ash is glaring at her and grinding his mouthpiece as we run drills. He’s either going to end up in jail or a mental institution.
Gracie
I give up. I’m a panting, sweaty mess, and I know that I’m just giving everyone a show. I toss my pom-poms to the ground and move over to a bench for my water bottle.
That was horrid, absolutely awful, and a complete waste of time. First, the Coach made a giant speech about how happy she was that I was okay and back on the team. Which, I'll admit, was very sweet, but the snickering and eye rolls from my team were completely over the top and unnecessary.
Then she wanted to do a refresh of the jumps and basics for me, and who do you think she chose to ‘help’? Yeah, cue my eye roll.
Miss Queen Bitch herself was very helpful and informative while recording the whole thing, so I could look back later and see what I did wrong. I can just see the TikToks.
So here I am now, sweaty and extremely sore, so of course, the whole football team needs to come over and chat. I’ll admit, I’m not too upset when some really attractive guys come over. The one with the dark hair and green eyes seems okay. He keeps looking at me out of the corner of his eye, and when I smiled, he almost grinned back.
Another guy with messy blonde hair keeps watching me, too. But he seems worried about something. Ugh, I’m just ready for practice to be over.
I don't know any of these damn people, but they sure seem to know me. I know I'm the butt of some inside jokes, and it's getting old. Why can't anyone just tell me what the hell is going on?
“You didn’t deserve to survive,” Bianca sneers as that boy Ash joins the group. “Mia should be here cheering instead of you. She always would drag you along like a docile dog, but you don’t belong here, Gracie.”
Tinsley pulls my arm, forcing me to stumble. “I never understood why everyone always thought you were so pretty. I just don’t see the allure. You’re so red right now, Gracie; it’s just pathetic. Coordination is also lacking. I don’t know why Coach is so devoted to keeping you on the team. It’s just so sad,” she scoffs, shaking her head.
These girls are so cruel, and I don’t see how I could have ever been friends with them. I just want some goddamn answers.
What happened that night? I've scoured Facebook gossip and news sites but have found very little information when it comes to the accident. From what I've gathered, my family is well off, but why would they pay to keep this hidden? What is the big secret? Everyone calls it an accident, but with all this secrecy, it just makes me more suspicious.
My therapist tells me to move on, start fresh, and leave the past in the past. Like that’s ever going to happen with the constant flashbacks and ‘helpful’ reminders of who I was before.
Sheryl pulls my hair, and I wonder where Coach is. Shouldn’t she be putting a stop to this? “Poor little Gracie, no one will tell you what happened. Aren’t you even the slightest bit curious about what happened to your supposed best friend?”
