Page 44 of Burnout
He’s following me one second and the next I look back and he’s stopped to check his phone.
I walk back toward him. “Setting up a hookup later?”
“No.” He’s scowling at his phone as his fingers fly over the screen.
I wonder if he scowls during sex.
“We’ve only got thirty more minutes,” I remind him. Usually, I’d be game to stay at the gym until they kicked me out, but tonight I’m meeting up with some classmates to study for a psychology quiz.
“Something came up. I gotta go.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.” He shoves his phone in his pocket and jogs off without so much as an apology.
I start to follow him, but he’s quick and I’m too stunned to catch him.
What the fuck?
I’m still fuming the next day. I waited all night for a text that explained his hasty departure. I almost caved and texted him to make sure everything was fine.
As I perch on a chair facing the door, my gaze is glued to it, waiting to see if he’ll show. I don’t get it. One minute he is all in, and the next he’s bailing early with no explanation.
No more. I can’t handle it. I can’t help him if he doesn’t want to take this seriously. I’m done.
Knox walks in three minutes early. He’s staring out into the gym as he walks, but then something pulls him to look at me.
His steps slow as he approaches. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I parrot. I had planned to play this cool and professional. Simply let him know this wasn’t going to work and walk off. But with him standing in front of me, all my frustration resurfaces. “You’re alive.”
“Uhh…yeah.”
“I didn’t think you were going to show.” That’s a lie. I don’t know how, but I knew he’d be back, if only to tell me my workouts are shit and he’s quitting.
“Why wouldn’t I show?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you ducked out early yesterday or you’ve made every workout seem like torture.”
“Something came up.” His brows furrow. “You were standing right next to me. I told you I had to leave early.”
“Let’s just call this training together idea a big giant fiasco and move on.” I’m exhausted. I can’t fail myself and him too. “I’ll text you some exercises you can add into your workout routine.”
It’s what I should have done in the first place. One and done and out of mind. I stand and brush past him out to the parking lot.
Knox jogs after me, catching me as I reach my Bronco. “Wait, Avery. I’m sorry.”
Funny, he couldn’t find that word yesterday. “No, I’m sorry. This was never going to work. You’re?—”
“My little brother is failing math,” he blurts out.
All right. Not what I expected. “O-kay.”
“His GPA is almost below the requirement to play sports, so yesterday his coach texted me and wanted to meet immediately.”
I have so many questions but the first one out of my mouth is, “Why did he text you?”
“Because I’m Flynn’s guardian.” He rakes a hand through his hair. His obvious discomfort makes me feel like shit.
