Page 85 of Falling

We seamlessly float into a conversation of Sophia asking rapid-fire questions before going back into the deeper ones. There’s a perfect balance between the ones we feel comfortable talking about and the more serious ones. I don’t think I could do this if it was anyone else, but because I’ve known her forever, talking to her feels easy. Fun, even.

Wren’s still standing with Michelle, watching me intently. I can tell that she’s listening to every word that I’m saying, and I hope that it’s taking her mind off skating and whatever is going on with her family, allowing her to be with us in the moment.

Sophia asks us about how we balance hockey and school, where we see ourselves in five years, and more hockey-related questions. I stay quiet for the most part, only answering questions that everyone else gets stuck on. But Sophia’s next question catches me a little off guard.

“We all know that hockey is a team sport, but what peoplereallywant to know is how you stay focused in the game. How do you ensure that you are on the right track and are going to perform your best as well as making sure it’s a team effort?” she asks.

I look down the line, hoping that someone is going to pipe up. “I think that this is Davis’s question,” Harry says, turning to me. Sophia nods, and I feel everyone’s eyes on me.

I take a deep breath and start talking.

“As everybody knows, Carter was my best friend. We grew up together, and we were inseparable. I took his death hard, and I didn’t let anybody in. I was drinking a lot—sorry Mom,” I admit, remembering that if my mom comes to graduation, she’s going to know I’ve been underage drinking. Everyone in the room laughs quietly. “I lost motivation to train, and I hardly ever went to the rink. Everything felt too hard and overwhelming, but then I met Wren.” The smile that was on her face drops as I connect my eyes with hers across the room. Her cheek twitches, and a sad smile forms on her face. “She turned my life around, and she reallysawme. She became the storm to the calm, quiet loneliness that I was in, and in the best way possible. She thought that I was hyper-fixating on her instead of dealing with my problems, but I managed to kill two birds with one stone, and I got through some of my problems while also getting a gorgeous, smart, talented, and just fucking brilliant girlfriend.”

“No cursing, Davis,” Sophia warns.

“Shit. Sorry,” I say, and Sophia gives me an evil glare. “Wait, no. Fuck. Can you take that bit out?” Sophia shakes her head at me. “All I'm trying to say is that having someone who cares about me by my side is what helps me stay focused because I know that I'm doing it so I can be the best version of myself for her.”

The room is eerily silent as I look at Wren, watching the way her features soften. Her eyes haven’t left mine since I started speaking, and her mouth is pinned into a warm smile, no doubt trying to decipher if what I said was true or not. Hell, I don’t even know half of the words that just came out of my mouth and where the truth lies within them.

I break eye contact with her, unable to bear the look on her face, and focus back on the interview. Sophia asks the group a few more questions before letting us branch off before our individual interviews. I go over to Wren, and she’s now alone since Xavier has pulled Michelle away.

“You okay?” I ask, standing in front of her. She nods. “Is what I said okay? You know, for the sake of the interview.”

“It was perfect. I don’t know how you managed to make all that up on the spot,” she replies, almost laughing. Her eyes shine.

“It wasn’t hard to talk about how much I enjoy spending time with you,” I say, stepping in closer to her. I watch her audibly swallow as she blinks up at me. I tug on her braid, forcing her to tilt her head up to me. I lean down to whisper in her ear, “They’re watching.”

She lets out a shaky exhale. “Of course.” She pulls back, trying not to make it obvious that she wants to move out of my grip. “I feel weird.”

“Why? Because they’re watching?”

She shakes her head. “No. Well, yes. I don’t know, Miles. I just— Everything you said out there sounded very real.”

I swallow. “Isn’t that the whole point?”

She looks at me for a long moment, her eyes tracing every line on my face. I let her take her time and figure out what she wants. She has so many thoughts in her head that I know it overwhelms her, but if she just let me in, let me help her, then maybe we could work through this together.

She blows out a breath. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. I-I think I might go, if that’s okay. I really need to get a workout in tonight.”

“Seriously, right now? Can’t you stay for a little longer?” I ask, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I don’t mean to sound irritated, but fuck, I am a little. I feel like it’s been months since we hung out, and I miss her. And she said she misses me, dammit.

“I need to go. I’ve already missed out on a lot of time just being here,” she says, looking up at me. “If you’ve got to stay to do your individual interview, I can just walk.”

“I can do it really quickly and then I can take you. I’ll just ask Sophia?—”

She cuts me off by rising on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “It’s okay. You stay. I’ll see you soon.”

She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she’s already running up the stairs out of the basement.

27

WREN

“I’M NOT A DRINK.”

I makemy way back home after a long day at the rink, ready to avoid the girls’ probing questions, and take a long bath before snuggling in my bed with a paperback in my hands. Most nights, Scarlett and Kennedy watch a movie like we used to. But now, I’m so used to walking past them, mumbling a “good night” that I don’t even realize that they’ve spoken to me.

“What?” I say in the near darkness, tugging my duffel bag higher up my shoulder. I step closer into the living room, looking at the makeshift fort they’ve huddled in. They both pop their heads out of the fort, pulling the blanket around them.

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