When the tone sounded, I placed my test and the recorder in the wire basket on Mr. Parsons’ desk.
I checked my phone once I got out into the hall. Preach had texted a picture of a sunset and said it was a clue about where we were going on our date. I’d just sent a heart in response when Sam exited the classroom.
“That was ridiculous,” she muttered. “My hand hurts from writing so much.”
“That last question was really hard,” I admitted.
“Anyways,” Sam said, “back to Preach.”
I laughed. “That didn’t take long.”
“Are you two going to prom next month?” she asked.
“Whoa, slow down a sec there, girl.”
“No. I just mean, it’s your senior prom. Senior year is supposed to be the best year of your life. You can’t miss out on that.”
Best year of my life? Try worst year of my life. But she didn’t know about Emmett. My chest instantly tightened, and I struggled to take a deep breath. The halls felt like they were closing in on me.
“Grace? You okay?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah, sorry. Just—ah, felt a little funny there for a second.”
Preach’s face flashed through my mind. The way he felt when he hugged me helped thaw the icy sensation running through my veins. It wasn’t just Preach, though. I’d made some good friends, like Sam and Willow, and I’d joined the track team, pulled some great times on my runs, too.
I glanced at my brace, and a wave of unease bloomed in my stomach. Focusing on the good stuff had helped me not think about my hand, but it didn’t completely block the scary thoughts from my mind.
What if this thing took months to heal instead of weeks? Everyone would leave for college.
I’d be stuck here, in our small house, sharing a room with my younger sisters.
What would I do?Shit.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak you out,” Sam said.
“Huh?” My mouth went dry.
“Prom. I asked you about prom, but then you got all white in the face.”
“Oh, yeah. I—we—haven’t talked about it.” But the thought of going to prom with Preach wasn’t what had freaked me out. Thinking about my brother, combined with a tidal wave of uncertainty, had.
Sam held her hands up, fingers splayed, making an arch. “I can see the headlines now: ‘Woodhaven High’s track stars take over the trackandprom court.’”
The thoughts overwhelmed my senses and my heart started to race.
We made our way into the locker room. The smell of flowery deodorant and perfume invaded my nostrils. A wave of dizziness rammed into me.
Head spinning, I reached out for the locker door in front of me.
“Whoa.” Sam’s smile faded from her face, and her brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”
Black spots prickled at my vision. I couldn’t catch my breath, and my fingers were trembling. My heart hammered so hard it was like I’d just finished sprinting a ten-second-flat 100-meter dash.
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Reaching out with my hand, I made my way to the bench in front of the row of lockers and collapsed onto it.
“Grace,” a voice echoed in my ear. It sounded like it was far away as if I were in a tunnel.