Page 69 of Oh, Flutz!

I do. And I try not to look up at Katya, who looks about two seconds away from bursting into angry tears.

Once I’ve got them all in my hand, she points down the hall. “Flush them down the toilet.”

With that, Katya finally starts talking. “No!”

“Lee, come on, is this really—”

“No, please, I can’t sleep without them. I’ve tried, Bryan, tell her I’m fine!” The terror on her face is enough for my stomach to sink like a rock. I was seconds away from coming to her defense, to tell Lian to lay off her, but I know that look. I know what it means.

“I…” Crap.Crap. I hate being caught in the middle. I don’t want to do this. I have to do this. For her, if anything. “I think,” I say slowly, hesitating, standing back up and closing my hand around the pills. “Maybe…look, we can find someone, to—”

She looks like I’ve slapped her. Only for a split second, though, because then the betrayal morphs into fury. “Fuck you.Fuckyou!” She drops to the floor, scooping up the rest of her stuff and shoving it into her bag.

“Katya, come on.” Nothing.“Katya. You know this doesn’t look good!”

She slings her backpack over her shoulder, then marches over to me, face burning red. “You might be my partner, but you arenotmy friend,” she hisses, eyes blazing, poking me hard in the chest. “Get out of my personal life. And you better stay out of my way tomorrow if you want to live.”

I don’t even say anything. I just let her go.

Lian isn’t even fazed as my furious partner storms up to her. “No need to worry. You’re not coming to practice. I’m taking you to a friend of mine.”

“I—”

“Don’t even try to complain, or I’m sending you to rehab, and wereallydon’t have time for that.” She pins Katya with a cold look. “You do as I say, and maybe I’ll let you back on the ice in two days.”

Katya doesn’t reply, just shoots me another look of absolute hatred, then pushes past her and storms out the door, leaving the two of us standing there.

I open my mouth, then close it, unsure what to say. “Lee, I…”

“She’ll be fine.”

“Will she?”

“Sanjiv will know what to do. You know him, you know he’s good.”

I do know he’s good, he’s the one who made my competition nerves less incapacitating, but it doesn’t make much difference. It must show on my face, because my coach softens.

“She’s going to be okay, kiddo. I promise.” Lian sighs, rubbing at her forehead. “It’s better that we rip the band-aid off now.”

Her words should make me feel better. They don’t.

When I get home,it’s dark.

“Alex?” I call out, feeling my way alongside the wall of the entryway until I get to the light switch. I flick it on, and the living room is flooded with a warm glow.

“Alex, you here?” I dump my bags, then shuck off my sneakers and let them drop to the floor with a clunk, sliding them over to the footwear lineup by the door. “I swear, every time I think it’s getting better, she just goes and pulls some crazy BS again. I’m sick of it.”

, and resist the urge to pull my hair out. “I don’t know, Lex, I think…I mean, maybe it’s stupid, but I thought we were getting along. She’s just so freaking—ugh. Remember last year, that whole thing with you and Charlie Beck? It’s just like that. I mean, except for the part where you guys liked each other. Obviously. ‘Cause we definitely do not like each other. That would be—”

“She isn’t here, Bryan.”

I stop.

I turn around, and sure enough, there he is, sitting in the kitchen doorway like Dracula.Motherfucker. “Hey, Dad.”

He nods once, his way of acknowledging my existence. “Your sister’s sleeping over at a friend’s tonight. You were talking to a wall.”

I ignore the comment. “Which friend?”

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