Page 82 of Falling

“Too busy to text your boyfriend back every once in a while?”

“Fake boyfriend, and yes. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I suck right now, and the show is in less than two weeks, so I really need to get my shit together,” she explains, blowing out a puff of air.

“Are you free tomorrow night?” I ask, awkwardly wringing out my hands.

“I was going to work out tomorrow night. I’ve got some homework due,” she says, but she avoids my gaze.

“I’ve got that interview with the team for Sophia’s documentary. A lot of people are going to be there, and you could invite them to the show,” I say. She thinks about it for a minute, twisting her mouth to the side. “Come on, Wren. We haven’t hung out in days. You said an orgasm wasn’t going to change anything, but it feels like it has.”

“I—It hasn’t.”

“Yeah? Then talk to me. Sit in awkward silence with me, I don’t care. Just please stop shutting me out,” I say, my tone pleading. “I miss you.”

Her eyes finally meet mine, and she whispers, “I miss you too.”

I make a show of trying to clean out my ears. “Can you repeat that for me?”

“No.” She smiles, and it's the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. A sight I’vemissedand it’s only been a couple of days. “I do have to go back to practice though. Congrats on getting back on the team. You deserve it.”

“All thanks to you.”

I wink at her, and she rolls her eyes, pushing away from the barrier before she continues skating. I walk out of the building with my head high, and a weird feeling settles over me.

Hope,I think.

26

MILES

SOPHIA’S CORNER

I’ve always tried notto warn other people when they meet my friends. It’s usually a surprise when they see how chaotic they are. I’ve been trying to prepare Wren for when we go to Sophia’s house, but she’s adamant that we’ll be fine.

Becoming the leader of the NU Press has given Sophia the perfect opportunity to make her dreams as a director real. She gets to interview students from different courses, and by the end of our fourth year, she’s aiming to create a huge graduation video to show everyone. Since the hockey season is in full swing, she’s coming around our team to interview everyone.

The only thing about Sophia and this project is that she’s kept it very secret. We’ve had mini-interviews before that she posts on Instagram and TikTok, but since this is her big project, we don’t get to see these ones until the mockumentary has been completed.

She sets up her house into a comfortable interviewing space, and the team and usually their other friends and partners join us so we can hang out afterward. I know Wren’s not going to enjoy the whole socializing aspect of today, so I try and get us there early.

As we drive toward Sophia’s house, Wren isn’t doing that angry humming thing that she does when we drive to the gym together. Instead, she’s silent, no doubt in her head about the showcase. Which is even more concerning because Taylor Swift is playing. I turn upNew Romantics,and her face doesn’t even crack.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” I ask.

“If I say no, are you going to ask me anyway?” I glance at her and catch her playing with one of her French braids.

“Yes,” I say. “What would be the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?”

She laughs a little, the sound rushing through me like a gentle wave. “These questions are getting more and more random,” she says. “I’d buy me and the girls a house where we could each have our own wing and then order as much pizza as possible.”

I grin. “Not even a salad? Wren, you animal.”

She laughs again. “If I win the lottery in the future, then I would probably stop skating professionally. I'd do it just for fun by that point. If I won it today, I’d just put it in savings.”

“Do you want to skate professionally? Like, the Olympics and all that?”

She sighs a little. “These last few months have put me through the wringer, but that was the goal when I first started, so I guess so.”

We get to Sophia’s house, and I park up, not wanting to end this conversation just yet. I turn to her as she stares straight ahead. “You guess so?”

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