Page 33 of Leave Me Broken

Luca smiles at Payson, she flashes a quick and very forced grimace before she slips onto the stool next to me. I could have my toast gone if my stomach wasn’t twisting so bloody much.

“Seriously, what is on my toast, Ashley?”

“Beans. Very popular breakfast in England. Eat.”

Her nose scrunches up. Luca is grinning ear to ear at her looking at the plate. “I’m not eating beans and toast. That . . . that doesn’t even make sense. It’s two carbs.”

“Beans are a starch, now eat.”

“Whateverrrr. I’m not eating that.” She pushes the plate away and turns to me. “No offense to your country, but no. Gross.”

“Payson,” I scold. “Just eat it, it’s good, I promise.”

Her eyes flare and she bites her lip, so I know whatever crosses her mind is not something she wants to say out loud. I lift an eyebrow and point. “Eat.”

“Ash, I’m not eating that. Seriously.”

“It’s not like the beans you are thinking of,” Luca tries to help but she still refuses. She even goes as far as comparing it to a meal her granddad would eat when he was a kid—during the Great Depression. I ate mine, hoping her seeing me eat it would help, but she still refuses to even try it.

“Fine, at least eat the egg. Please,” I beg, with the last bit of rationality I’m holding onto this morning.

She eyes it for a long time and eventually picks up her fork. I praise God when she takes three bites. It takes longer than I would have liked but eventually the egg is gone, the beans and toast are pushed nearly off the plate, not to touch anything, and her milk is gone. Luca tosses her an apple and she happily eats that as well.

“Come on, we need to get ready.” I offer a hand. She slips her small hand into my large one. I kiss her knuckles and turn for the stairs, planning on heading to my bathroom so we can shower and get dressed. And so I can wash off all the emotions from this morning.

13

Payson

If I thought it was awkward in Ash’s kitchen this morning with Parker, it’s nothing compared to the car ride. We are sitting in the back of Ash’s car, he wasn’t happy about it, but it obviously makes more sense for Luca to sit in front with him. The back seat is an okay size, I mean, Ash and I have fooled around back here but right now, it feels the size of a shoe box. Who knew being in a small space with someone who hates you could be so suffocating?

“Are you ready for today?” Ash has been trying to keep conversation going the whole two hours we’ve been on the road, and it works when his questions are directed at Luca, but I can’t manage more than a word or two. Better than Parker blatantly ignoring him.

“Yes,” I tell him. He catches my eyes in the mirror, his eyebrows are bunched with stress. Things with Parker are bothering him, he didn’t talk much during our shower, but I can tell anytime Parker ignores him and his shoulders deflate.

“What are you going to do about Alyssa?” Why not move from one miserable conversation to the next?

“I don’t know.”

“She punched me.”

Parker pipes up for the first time all morning and of course it’s annoying. “You punched her back?”

Annoyance hits me hard. Seems to be a Pearson thing, or whatever Parker’s last name is, to defend the princess of Bayshore. “Yeah, because she’s a bitch.”

Luca’s deep rumble hits my ears a lot better than Ash’s grunt of irritation. I said I had to be a team player, I’m not around my team right now and even if I was, Alyssa is a bitch. At least Luca is on my side.

“Well, whatever, it’s not like I thought you were going to do anything, anyway.” Instead of arguing, his hands turn white from choking the steering wheel.

Ash-hole.

“Alright, ladies, yesterday didn’t end how we wanted but it’s a new day.” All eyes look between me and Alyssa on complete opposite sides of the circle. “A fresh start, and I want everything from yesterday behind you. I want your only focus to be going on that court and doing your best. We can take home gold today and I expect it.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Good. Now go warm up with Coach Luca.”

Janelle and I pair off to start our warm-ups.

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