Page 111 of Don't Let Me Go (Don't Let Me 2)

What did he say?

I’m…

I blink slowly, convinced I’ve heard him wrong.

Wait, what? I’m fired?

There’s no way this is happening.

I’ve done nothing wrong. This internship means everything to me.

Is the room spinning? Why does it feel like the room’s spinning?

Maybe I’m dreaming. This isn’t real.

I can feel everyone staring at me. As if I really am in a dream. One where you’re naked in front of a group of people. And everyone’s watching you. Waiting for you to realize how bare and vulnerable you really are.

And I am. I’ve been stripped bare, and I’m so freaking vulnerable, I might actually puke. My short fingernails dig into my palms as I fist them together. But the familiar bite of pain doesn’t wake me up. It only confirms my greatest fear.

This is real.

This is happening.

And Coach’s threat? It officially came to fruition. In front of everyone.

“What the fuck, Coach?” Theo yells. “I didn’t want––”

“Coach, you can’t kick her off the team,” Colt argues, snapping out of the same haze I’d been lost in. He leaves me alone at the edge of the room and goes head-to-head with Coach Sanderson, flanking Theo’s side.

“You wanna blame someone?” Coach asks my brother. “Blame Theo for not following the goddamn rules.”

This can’t be happening.

I shake my head and step forward, desperate to fight for what I want despite the insane circumstances. “Coach, I didn’t do anything.”

Theo talks over me, anxious to fix the shitstorm he’s created. “They’re bullshit rules, and you know it.”

Ignoring him, I hold Coach’s gaze and beg, “You can’t fire me. I obeyed the rules. I told Theo no.”

“Unfortunately, your position can be filled in an instant,” Coach grits out, glaring at Theo again. “Finding a new captain or left wing isn’t so easy.”

I pull back, a gasp slipping out of my parted lips as the truth hits me square in the chest.

He’s serious.

I’m––I gulp––finished.

In the blink of an eye, everything I’ve worked for is gone.

But Coach is right. I’m a dime a dozen. I'm at the bottom of the food chain. Hell, I'm a nobody on this team. Theo, however, is irreplaceable. He’s one of the stars. One of the top scorers who’s being recruited by multiple teams across the country. Who knows? He’s so coveted, he might already be signed with one of them.

That’s the problem though, isn’t it? He knows how important he is to this team and thought it would give him free rein to get what he wants. Instead, it backfired in my face.

I can feel his gaze on me, branding the side of my cheek as the realization finally settles into Theo’s bones the same way it’s settled into mine. He reaches for me, but I step back, keeping distance between us. And I need it now more than ever.

Theo glares at Coach, his upper lip curling in disgust. “Fine. I quit the team.”

A few murmured oh shits echo around the room, but they’re drowned out by the whoosh of my heart drumming in my ears.

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