Page 46 of Mine to Take

Ha!

Doubtful.

“I spoke to Reed Philips earlier this afternoon.”

My feet grind to a halt as surprise creeps into my voice. “You did?”

“Yup. I had a few things to discuss with him about Wolf and Ryder.”

Dad reps both of my teammates through his sports management agency. He’s negotiated their contracts with the franchises they’ll be playing with next season.

There’s a moment of silence before he clears his throat. “He did, however, mention your English grade.”

Seriously?

It’s gradually that I suck in a deep breath before releasing it back into the atmosphere as my gaze scans the surrounding area. At this time of the evening, campus isn’t nearly as crowded. There are only a few pockets of students.

“I suppose he told you that I’ll be working with a tutor,” I grumble.

Just saying the words pisses me off all over again.

“He did. It certainly can’t hurt.”

I press my lips together in silent disagreement.

“Mav?”

I huff out a sigh. “Yeah?”

“It’s not the worst thing in the world.” There’s a pause as his voice softens. “We both understand that.”

He’s talking about Mom’s breast cancer diagnosis.

Nothing could be worse than that.

I don’t even like to think about how terrible that year was. Every time I do, a pit the size of Texas takes up residence at the bottom of my belly. Even though I try not to dwell on it, in the back of my mind, I’m always concerned that the cancer will roar back with a vengeance, and she’ll no longer be in remission.

Every time she gets a blood draw, I worry.

Every time she goes in for a mammogram, I hold my breath until the scans come back clean.

You know what I hate more than anything?

Fucking cancer.

And the way it blew our lives apart in the blink of an eye.

On the outside, everything might look like it’s returned to normal, but that’s not the case. Our family has been forever changed by this insidious disease.

“Yeah, I know,” I mumble.

“I’m just asking that you keep it in perspective, all right? Control what you have the power to change.”

His soft words leave me feeling like a sulky teenager.

From the corner of my eye, there’s movement near one of the academic buildings and my head swivels in that direction. The fine hair at the nape of my neck prickles as I narrow my eyes, straining against the setting sun.

My heart leaps before slamming against my chest.

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