Page 89 of It's in the Contract
The crowd roars, and I beam. The wind sweeps my wet hair out of my face. I jump and execute a spin, bracing myself for another landing on their outstretched hands.
My stomach drops out from underneath me, and my emotions are a whirlwind of exhilaration. I prepare for the landing, my muscles tensing and my feet ready. I glance below, and Suzy and Dana are there, ready to catch me. Brielle is there, too . . . until she’s not.
I land, and one foot is secure, but Brielle’s hands slip out from under me, and I go tumbling to the ground. I land hard on my left ankle, and my leg collapses beneath me. I fall hard onto my side, and my head smacks the ground. Everything goes black.
My face iswet and cold, and my head feels woozy, like it’s full of cotton. My left foot throbs with a sharp pain, and a tingling numbness shoots up and down my leg.
I blink my eyes open, my eyelashes wet with dewy rain, and the entire cheer team is huddled around me. Some girls are screaming and crying.
“I’m fine,” I croak.
Someone pulls out a phone and starts filming.No . . .
“I’m fine.” I try to stand, and my left foot screams in pain. I cry out and slip back to the ground. My cheer outfit is going to be ruined.
A whistle cries, and I don’t know if the game has stopped or not. Everything seems to be happening too fast and too slow at once. My head spins, and I think I’m going to throw up.
Suddenly the gaggle of girls parts, and there he is. I don’t even know how Zeke got down here so fast, but my heart sags in relief at the sight of him.
Zeke parts through the shrieking girls and picks me up like I weigh nothing. I’m not thinking correctly, because I bury my face in his neck and wrap my arms around him, holding on tight. My ankle howls with pain, and I bite back a cry.
“I have you, Callie. I have you,” Zeke says.
He pushes past the crowd, the whole stadium watching us, the rain drizzling down my face. Coach Morgan runs up to Zeke and shouts orders in his ear.
One of Zeke’s arms is under my legs, his bicep taut underneath my back. I can feel myself falling back into unconsciousness, and I fight it.
“The game—we’ll lose?—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Zeke says. “You’re going to be okay.”
I cling to Zeke’s neck even tighter, squeezing my eyes shut. Every time he takes a step my ankle bounces, and a zing of pain goes up my leg.
“I think Brielle dropped me on purpose,” I whisper.
Zeke grips me tighter to him, holding me so close I can hardly breathe, and I’m not sure I want to. I don’t think about Noah, about whether or not he’s still playing, whether or not he noticed that I was hurt. I don’t think about Brielle, about her cruelty and the lengths she’ll go to to win. I don’t think about my mom. I don’t think about any of it.
Zeke has me.He has me.
“Can you get Callie to the hospital?” Coach Morgan asks. “I’ll call her mom.”
“Yes,” Zeke says. “I’ve got her.”
Tears fill my eyes, and not just from the pain. “Why can’t we be together?” I breathe the words, letting them fill the tiny space between us. “Why can’t you love me?”
I don’t think Zeke hears me over the pouring rain.
Thirty-Five
Callie Carter finally gets a dose of humility.
TikTok caption by @cheer_star76.
“Did we win?”The words are out of my mouth before I’m even fully conscious. I almost don’t realize I’ve said them until I blink my eyes open and become completely awake.
I’m in a white and gray hospital room, and I have an IV in my arm. Oh bleh. Please someone take it out. Something is beeping, and the air smells sterile. The sheets on the hospital bed are rough on my skin.
My vision clears completely, and Zeke is sitting in a chair next to my bed, staring intently at me, worry on his face. Caroline stands behind him, one hand on his shoulder, holding Mia on her hip. Mia plays with her mom’s black curls, her pink nails shining.
