We're a team. A real team. And when one of us is down, the other steps up.
That's what family does.
And we're a family now, even if we haven't said it out loud yet.
Me, Nora, and Harper.
A family.
And I'm never letting that go.
35
TYLER
I’m in the middle of drills when I see the equipment manager jogging across the bench area waving my phone. Coach blows the whistle for a water break, and I skate over fast, already knowing something’s wrong.
“It’s been blowing up,” he says, handing it to me. “Figured you’d want it.”
My stomach drops as I take it with shaking hands.
Seven missed calls from Nora.
Three texts.
Nora: Come home NOW. Jessica’s here.
Nora: Tyler, please hurry.
Nora: She's not leaving.
"Fuck." I'm already pulling off my practice jersey. "I have to go."
"What's wrong?" Liam asks.
"Harper's mom just showed up at my house."
"Wait, what? I thought she was?—"
"She is. Was. I don't know. I have to go." I'm pullingon my shoes over my skate guards, not bothering to change properly. "Tell Coach it's an emergency."
"You need backup?"
"No. I just need to get home."
I don't wait for a response. I grab my keys and run.
The parking lot's a blur. My hands are shaking so badly that I drop my keys twice before getting the car door open. Jessica's here. At my house. With Nora and Harper.
The drive that normally takes fifteen minutes, I do in eight. I'm breaking every speed limit, running red lights, my heart hammering so hard I can hear it. My phone's on the passenger seat, and I keep glancing at it, waiting for another text, praying everything's okay.
What if Jessica took Harper? What if she hurt Nora? What if?—
I can't think about it. I only drive faster.
I pull into the driveway so fast my tires screech, and there's an unfamiliar car parked on the street—a beat-up sedan with a cracked windshield and a dented bumper. I'm out of my car and through the front door before the engine's even fully off.
The scene I walk into makes my blood run cold.