Page 51 of The Assist
She doesn’t turn her head. “I’m trying to cut down.”
“You said that last week.”
“This time I mean it.”
I let a beat pass. “Mia.”
She finally looks at me, and it’s not cold. Just guarded.
“I know things have been weird. And I’ve been giving you space, but…”
“Is that what you’re calling it now?” she cuts in. “Space?”
I exhale. “I didn’t want to make things harder for you.”
She crosses her arms. “You’re not. It’s me. I’m making things harder for myself.”
I blink. “That supposed to make me feel better?”
Her mouth twitches like she’s fighting a smile. “No. But it’s honest.”
That thread of tension’s still there, pulled tight between us. I want to grab it and reel her in. I want to say screw the consequences. But I know I can’t, not like this.
“We’ve got hours on that bus,” I say, softer now. “You gonna keep pretending I don’t exist?”
She picks up a bottle of water and finally looks at me with something that’s not irritation or confusion.
“We’ll see,” she murmurs before she walks away.
As we pile back on the bus, I end up across the aisle from her this time. Jonno’s taken a seat at the back to talk with Jacko about shoulder strapping, and Mia’s got her legs curled under her, earbuds in, and a notebook open in her lap.
I try not to stare. Really, I do. But when she glances up and meets my eyes again, I mouth,Talk to me.She gives me the tiniest shake of her head, and goes back to making notes, essentially ignoring me for the rest of the journey.
It’s well past dark when we pull into the hotel car park. The place is nothing fancy, two-star at best, but it’s clean and close to the rink, and everyone’s too tired to complain. Jonno heads to the reception desk to get us all checked in and rooms assigned. Murphy and I end up being paired together as usual. Not that I’m complaining but just once, I’d like a room on my own.
Mia’s at the front desk when I pass her. She doesn’t look at me, but her fingers drum against the counter, restlessly. I linger for half a second longer than I should, but she doesn’t say anything.
But when she turns to leave, she hesitates long enough for me to know she’s thinking about it too. Thinking about me. Thinking about us.
Later that night,Murphy’s passed out with one leg off the bed and his phone still playing YouTube videos. I’m lying awake staring at the ceiling, wondering if Mia’s awake too. Wondering if she’s alone in her room on the floor below ours,thinking about the way I almost kissed her. The way I still want to. I want to tell her I get it. I want to tell her that I’m scared too.
But I also want to tell her that she’s the only thing that makes me feel steady lately. That when she looks at me like I’m not a mess of expectations and injuries, I feel like I could be more than what my dad said I’d be.
I pull out my phone, stare at her name in my messages. I don’t type anything, just stare. Because if I say the wrong thing, I might lose whatever fragile thing this is. And right now, I’d rather stay restless and full of unsaid words than risk breaking it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MIA
Idon’t sleep, and it’s not because of the lumpy hotel mattress or the weird humming sound from the mini-fridge. It’s not even Ollie and Jacko shouting through the paper-thin walls at three in the morning over a card game theyinsistedwasn’t competitive.
It’s Dylan. More specifically, it’s Dylan sitting far too close on the bus last night. The way he mouthedtalk to me. The way I wanted him to kiss me.
I groan and bury my face in the pillow. This isn’t sustainable. I’m meant to be his physio, not a hormonal disaster around him. Every look, every touch, every smart remark wrapped in a smile is starting to feel like a test I’m seconds away from failing.
I check my phone but there are no new messages. Of course there isn’t. He’s probably sleeping like a log, oblivious to the emotional hurricane he’s stirring up inside me.
I drag myself out of bed, splash cold water on my face, and tie my hair up into a high ponytail with shaky hands. The hotel breakfast room is on the ground floor, and judging by the echoing voices bouncing up the hallway, half the team is already headed down there.
