Page 67 of Waking Olivia

“Maybe if you were a little faster, it wouldn’t all be on my shoulders.” Olivia smirks, but there’s an echo of fear behind it. I was never a fan of Betsy’s, but now I loathe her and it’s a struggle to hide it.

As if that weren’t enough, the arrangements for the meet in Wyoming are a mess. The people I hired to help us bring in the corn and soybeans say they’re behind and I’ve got Jessica getting clingier by the day. She showed up on thetrackof all places, even after I specifically told her not to.

“What’s wrong with popping by to see my boyfriend in the morning?” she asks.

“We’ve discussed this,” I tell her. “I don’t like mixing my private life and my professional life.”

“That’s a little hard to believe, given how much time Olivia is spending at your mom’s house,” she retorts.

God, I wish she’d never met Olivia. She’s been off the rails ever since last week. “I don’t have a choice,” I sigh.

“There’s always a choice,” she replies.

On Wednesday, Olivia arrives with dead legs and small cuts on her forearms. “You’re staying with my mom tonight,” I tell her.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. You’re stressing out and I can’t afford for you to get injured or fatigued right before the meet.”

“I won’t run.”

“You know you can’t make that promise,” I reply. “I thought you liked staying with my mom?”

Something crosses her face, and for a minute she makes me think of the small girl she must have once been, vulnerable. “I’m not a charity case.”

“No one ever said you were.”

“I appreciate what you and your mom have done,” she says, “but I don’t need help.”

“If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for the rest of the team,” I tell her. I hate that I’m adding to the pressure she feels, but I hate even more the idea of her running through that neighborhood in the dark, and I don’t have it in me to spend night after night sleeping on her doorstep. “You’ve got us in line to win our first title. Think of what that would mean to everyone else.”

She finally agrees, looking so tired and overwhelmed that I wish I’d never brought it up. Sleeping on her steps is a far better alternative than the look on her face.

46

Olivia

Dorothy seemshappy to see me that night, but what Jessica said remains foremost in my mind.

“You should just stay out here until the meet,” Dorothy says over dinner. “Get some rest and some good food?”

That’s nice of you,” I say tentatively, “but I’ve got plans.”

“What kind of plans?”

I shrug, wishing I could avoid this conversation. “I’ve sort of got a date.” It was stupid and impulsive, but it pissed me off so much when Jessica showed up on the track this week that I finally told Evan I’d go out with him, something I know I’m going to regret.

Will’s head shoots up. “A date?” he demands. “With who?”

“You don’t know him,” I sigh. “He’s on the swim team. His name is Evan.”

“Evan? You mean Evan Rainier? He’s the captain of the team. Why the fuck wouldn’t I know who he is?”

“Will,” his mother scolds.

“Sorry,” he mutters, but his jaw remains tight.

“What’s your problem?” I ask. “Is he a serial killer or something?”

---