Page 5 of Through the Storm

I roll my eyes and set the bar down. “Wow. Bold accusation from someone who asked his sister to put star stickers all over his back this morning.”

Mateo glares at me. “Dude. Not cool. It’s for my bacne.”

“Are you seriously calling it bacne?”

“You’re cranky. You’re never cranky,” Leo points out, eyebrow raised. He’s trying hard as fuck to read my mind.

“I’m focused.”

Mateo studies me a second longer. These two know me better than most people. Even though I grew up in Boston, we’ve always been close. We’ve spent every holiday and vacation together. They would come to visit in the winter, and I would get dropped off here for the summer.

Now we even go to the same college, Rose Bay U. They’re on the hockey team, and I’m the starting quarterback.

We’ve shared rooms, shared trouble, shared everything. And I don’t like the way they’re looking at me.

“You never push yourself like this,” Mateo says.

“I’m switching it up.”

“You hate switching it up.”

I shrug. “Growth.”

Leo and Mateo exchange a look.

“Everything’s fine,” I say lightly.

I grab my water and check my phone out of habit.

Nothing.

Which is exactly what I expected.

So why does disappointment still hit me anyway?

I shove the phone back into my bag and turn… and find Wyatt leaning against the rack, arms crossed, like he’s been there the whole time. Calm and observant. Like a giant fucking Yoda.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey.” I take a drink, hoping it’ll save me from whatever conversation he’s planning.

His dark eyes flick over me. He spots the rest timer I’ve ignored twice now.

“You’re being reckless. You never are.”

I scoff. “Didn’t realize this was a wellness check.”

Wyatt tilts his head. “You’re not just blowing off steam.”

“It’s literally steam.” I gesture to myself. “From my pores.”

He doesn’t even crack a small smile. “This was your call,” he says quietly.

I scrub a hand over my face. “I know.”

He studies me for half a second longer, like he’s confirming something to himself. And that’s it. He doesn’t give me a lecture. He just leaves me with the unsettling sense of being clearly seen.

Wyatt exhales through his nose. “You’re miserable. Why don’t you just talk to her?”