Page 114 of Crashing into Love

“Okay. I do have to go, though. I re-booked my flight for today.”

“Then, go. But don’t pull away from her.”

“Okay. I… I won’t.”

Drew left, feeling slightly better, and headed to the airport. That night, she and Selma didn’t talk. They shared a few awkward texts, checking in on how their days had gone and the weather, which Drew hated, but it was all she could manage after the past couple of days.

The next morning, she woke up and decided to hit the mountain; not to train, but to get on a board and do a run for fun. The ride on the lift always gave her time to think, and she used it well, deciding to call Selma when she got home because they needed to talk about what they were doing. The first part of her run was good, but as she got to a cropping of trees, she went to turn away from them, and something in her knee locked on her. She was still able to turn, but only just, so she ended up toppling over and landing on her side in the snow.

“Fuck,” she muttered and unclipped her board.

It was her previously injured knee, and when Drew tried to stand, she could put some weight on it, but barely, which meant that she needed to be careful going down the rest of the mountain and get to her trainer immediately.

???

Drew Oakes: I’m out.

Selma Driscoll: Out of what? The shower?

Drew Oakes: The next USA competition. My knee.

She saw Selma’s picture on her buzzing phone and hit the accept icon.

“Hey.”

“What happened?”

“I went on a run today, and it locked on me. I rolled, and I was able to get up and make it down the mountain, but it’s pretty swollen, and the doc doesn’t think I should race on it.”

“Babe…”

“I just thought you should know.”

“You just thought I should know?” Selma asked, sounding a little irritated. “That you hurt yourself? I hope I would know; I’m the girlfriend. If anyone should know, it should be me, right?”

“I only meant that I texted you because you were probably with Gia. That’s why I didn’t call. I didn’t want her to maybe see my picture pop up on your phone screen or something.”

“Drew…” Selma didn’t say anything for a moment. “Babe, that’s not what I want; you avoiding calling me with important information because you’re worried Gia might see.”

“I don’t care if Gia sees. I’m worried you might.”

“I don’t.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll call next time.”

“Babe, how are you? What’s wrong with your knee?”

“I just tweaked it. Scans came back fine, but it’s swollen, so I need to take it easy.”

“God, I want to be there. I should be taking care of you. Are you staying off it like you’re supposed to?”

“Yeah. Andy came over about an hour ago and helped me get everything in my bedroom to make it easier for me. Computer, food, that kind of thing.”

“Andy? Andy was in your bedroom?”

“Yes, with her girlfriend. Daisy was here, too.”

“Oh.”

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