“Shayne?” my mom calls. “How did volley—” She pushes my bedroom door open, stopping short when she sees Thayer. Her eyes flash to me in question before landing back on the broody boy in my room.
“Thayer,” she says, surprised, bringing a hand to her chest, her slender fingers fidgeting with her necklace.
“Elena.” He doesn’t bother to hide the contempt in his voice or in his expression. My mom eyes him warily, neither one speaking. My mom wasn’t ever the Ames brothers’ favorite person, considering their father’s status and affinity for bringing home gold diggers, so there’s no love lost between them. But this feels different, and I can’t put my finger on why.
“Thayer gave me a ride home from tryouts.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue, and I see Thayer tense out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t even see his car outside, but if she realizes it, she doesn’t call me out on my lie.
“How nice.” Her tone is polite, but her lips tug down into a frown.
“You know me. Always willing to lend your daughter a helping hand.” He winks.
My face burns with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, his meaning not lost on me, and he smirks, knowing exactly what memory is playing in my mind.
“I thought you were at Amherst.” It sounds like an accusation.
“He was just leaving.” I slip between them before he can answer her. The room suddenly feels way too crowded. They follow me down the hall and through the house, not bothering to make small talk. Mom waits behind in the kitchen while I walk him out. I jerk the door open, waving him through with my other hand. His eyes flash toward the kitchen, knowing she’s still within earshot.
“See you soon.”
I’m under no illusion that it’s a simple, friendly goodbye.
It’s a threat.
The next week flies by blissfully uneventful…when it comes to the Ames brothers, anyway. Taylor still got her digs in—pun intended—at tryouts, but where Thayer and Holden are more like hungry wolves, Taylor and Alexis are gnats. Annoying, but harmless. The last day of tryouts was Friday, and the results are to be posted this afternoon in the gym.
“Why do you seem nervous?” Valen asks around a mouthful of yogurt. “You know you’re going to make it.”
“I’m not nervous.”
She pins me with a look, and I roll my eyes, giving up the charade.
“It’s been a while and I’m rusty. What if they throw my ass on JV?”
“The horror!” she mock gasps, her eyes widening comically.
“Shut up.” The truth is, I’m not nervous about making the team. I’m nervous about playing again, period.
“Come on.” She throws her yogurt into the nearest trash can, then pulls me up by my elbow.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re going to confirm that you made the team.”
“We don’t even know if the roster’s up yet.”
Valen flicks her chin toward the hall where I spot Taylor, Alexis, and their friend Addison strutting through the double doors that lead to the lobby connecting the cafeteria and the gym. “I’m betting they do.”
“Fine.”
When we push through the double doors to the gym, a class who doesn’t have first lunch is playing basketball on the court and a group of volleyball girls is huddled around the list in the far corner. As I’m walking, the basketball somehow ends up rolling out of bounds, stopping right before it hits my feet. Aiden spots us, jogging over. We’ve seen each other in passing, but we haven’t said more than a few words together since he brought me home that night. I figured it was a one-time thing.
“Hey,” he says, coming to a stop in front of us. I bend over to pick up the ball, handing it to him. “Let’s hang out again.”
I arch a brow. “Does Holden know you’re talking to me?”
He bends down a little so that he’s closer to my height, as if he’s letting me in on a secret. “Contrary to what you seem to believe, I do think for myself from time to time.”
I chew on my lip, unsure. He’s one of them. And if I’m being honest, there’s still a part of me that feels some misguided sense of loyalty toward Thayer, even though he’s made it crystal clear that he wants nothing to do with me. But it wouldn’t suck to have another friend.