Page 134 of What If I Knew You

I square my shoulders and take a deep breath and tell them, “Well, I guess it’s happening now.”

“It was nice knowing you, Pickle Pants,” Harrison says.

“Thanks, Meers.”

Before I even make it to the door, Ella’s on me, wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a huge hug. “You can do hard things, Bodhi Roche. Lumin believes in you.”

‘Thanks Ella.”

“You’re doing this for Corrigan.” She pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Because you love her.”

“I do love her.”

She swats my ass. “Then get in there and do what you have to do.”

I move silently down the hall inwardly pepping myself up because Ella is right. I’m doing this for Corrigan.

I’m doing this for us.

When I reach Coach’s office, I don’t even bother knocking. He’s sitting at his desk so I step inside the door and wait for his instruction.

“Sit.”

Yep. That’s all he says.

So, I move around to the other side of his desk and take a seat in one of the two chairs settled there.

Do I wait for him to start?

Or do I just take the bull by the horns?

He’s just staring at me.

Why isn’t he saying anything?

I should say something.

Okay. I’ll go.

“Look, Coach, I think we?—”

“I owe you an apology Roche,” he finally says, interrupting me.

I’m sorry…what now?

“Oh. Uh…”

I’m not really sure what to say here.

He wipes his hand down his face and then leans back into his big comfy office chair. “My daughter…she’s uh…” He fidgets with a pen in his hand, obsessively clicking it in and out.

Click click.

Click click.

Click click.

“Coach?”

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