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Fallon shakes his head. “Because everyone is watching you. They have been for years. They’re looking for that little bit extra that puts you over everyone else. Do you think I chose Slater Hills randomly as a place to coach in my retirement?”
I pale, my hands shaking as I point at the driveway to pull into the apartment complex. Swallowing down the bile rising in my throat, I push open the door.
“Sorry to be such a disappointment then,” I say before slamming it shut and hurrying up the stairs, my body screaming at me for pushing it so hard. I have to get away from him. I never stopped to think about why he had chosen my school out of all schools to coach. I had just been excited to learn from him. For him to hint that it’s somehow connected to me; my mind hurts trying to figure out the reason why.
Chapter Nine
Sage
The crumpled five-dollar bill is burning a hole in my pocket as Val holds my hand on the way to the corner convenience store. I can’t turn back now, even if I want to. Bringing my little sister has committed me to the job.
So why do I feel like an absolute fool? The fact that Fallon made a comment about coming here to coach me has added fuel to my crush.
And that stupid crush isn’t allowing me to forget that tomorrow is his thirty-first birthday. It’s saying I can do this one thing as a peace offering for freaking out in his truck the other day.
I don’t have a lot of money to spend, but I know I can afford one thing. His favorite candy.
“Can I get a soda too?” Val asks.
I shake my head. “No, one candy. That’s what I promised you to not tell Mom, remember?”
She pouts. “What if I want a soda instead?”
Pulling open the door, I guide her inside. “If you want a soda instead of candy, that’s fine. It’s one or the other.”
Val smiles wide, that missing tooth front and center, before taking off to the refrigerated section along the side. I watch her in the mirrors hung above the back wall as I head to the candy aisle.
The bright yellow box isn’t hard to miss and I snatch it, my heart pounding in my chest that I’m going to do this. It feels silly to get him candy for his birthday. But I didn’t know that much else about him, other than what I’ve read in interviews, and knowing his birthday feels personal enough.
Val comes sprinting over holding up an orange Fanta bottle.
I grimace. “Have you had that before? You don’t even like oranges.”
Her eyebrows furrow. “I like oranges.”
“Since when?”
“Since always,” she says, tapping her foot against the tiled floor with a slight stomp.
I roll my eyes. “Whatever. You better drink it all.”
She follows me to the counter, bouncing on her toes excitedly as I pay for our stuff. Her hold on her bottle doesn’t lessen as we walk home and some of my previous embarrassment melts away. Even if he doesn’t appreciate the thought, at least my sister enjoyed our little trip for her soda.
When we get back to the apartment, I pull out her crafting supplies box, planning to make a small card. Val watches me, confused.
“What are you doing?”
I pause, debating on telling her the truth. Even if she tells Mom, there’s no harm in it. “Making a card.”
“For what?”
“Someone’s birthday.”
Her eyes light up.
“Can I help?” she asks, her soda long forgotten on the counter as she crowds me at the table.
I snatch the paper she had grabbed, and hand her a separate piece. “How about you make one yourself? Two birthday cards are better than one.”
