*Noah*I throw myself into practice, pushing myself so hard that even Coach doesn’t manage to find a single point of criticism. The exercise and drills do enough to distract me from the shit show that happened yesterday, but the second I take a break, everything comes rushing back. I don’t know what happened and when everything changed, but Jane’s sudden flip into distancing herself from me was so unexpected that it just left me feeling stranded. She wouldn’t even speak to me. How was I supposed to fix something if I didn’t even know what was broken?“It just sounds like things got heated, man,” Oli points out as we finish up the last drill section. “You think?” I ask gruffly. “I just wish I knew what happened. One of the worst things is that she ended up defending some random friend of hers instead of just listening to me, or telling me what the problem was. I knew that bastard was trouble.”Oli shakes his head. “Come on, Noah. You know Jane. You know that she doe

*Jane*Time has gone by so fast that I barely blink and Noah is on another tour. But this time round, things are better. We're three days into our second attempt at making things work long-distance and already we’re making sure we don’t leave any room for further misunderstandings. Noah’s been true to his word, making sure that I know I’m a priority in his life and that I never feel like my presence in it is somehow detracting from his future career prospects. He even takes videos of some of the practices and games to send to me. For my part, I make sure I keep the communication line as open as I can. I want him to know that I support him in everything he does and that I’m here for him. He has yet to fully take me up on that offer when it comes to talking about that slimeball of a coach, but I get the feeling that he appreciates the offer all the same.Things are starting to feel a little bit more stable now, even though there is that tiny spark of doubt that waits fo

*Noah*Whichever god out there is responsible for the misunderstandings Jane and I have had over the course of this month alone is one sadistic son of a bitch. I try to run after her, hoping to catch her before she makes the elevator, but I’m too late by a matter of seconds, my hand narrowly missing being caught in the closing doors. I’m in a towel, anyway. Not like I could’ve followed her out into the parking lot, even though I'm so out of my mind with desperation that I might actually have considered it.No way are things going to end with Jane thinking I betrayed her this way. There are so many emotions ranging from sheer panic to anger to fear, all vying for control, that it takes me a second to come up with a plan. But when I do, I go for it. I run back into my room, looking for my phone. Jessica’s still lying in my bed, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. I have no idea how she got here, or how she knew when to plan this, but I know one thing—I’m pissed the

*Jane*I shake my head, his refusal to let me apologize only causing me to start crying again. “It’s not okay,” I say. “Noah, I'm sorry that I didn’t believe you. I didn’t even give you a chance to explain yourself.”“Jane, it looked pretty suspicious from your viewpoint, plus how were you supposed to know my ex was capable of doing something like that? I don’t blame you for jumping to the conclusion you did.” He takes my face in his hands, wiping my tears away. “I’m just glad you gave me a chance to clear it up.”I consider leaving it there. I consider telling him I’m glad everything is sorted and distracting him with make-up sex now and just forgetting about the deeper reason behind why I freaked out the way that I did. But I know that I love him too much to risk the real reason creeping up again and potentially sabotaging this relationship. I ready myself, putting my hands over his.“Noah, there’s more to this whole story.” His brow knits in confusion but he lets

*Jane*“I kept my end of the deal, Rach. It’s morning and I know Oli’s not there anymore, so open up.” I knock on the door of our dorm room again. I’d stupidly forgotten to take my key with me and left it here last night when I went out to see Noah. Then, of course certain things happened that wiped my mind completely so there was no chance of remembering anything as practical as taking my room key with me. But it is late enough in the morning for me not to feel too bad about waking Rachel up. I hear some groggy reply from inside before something crashes down and then finally, she opens up the door looking disheveled and completely unprepared for the class she has in fifteen minutes. “Hey,” she greets.“Uh, hi,” I answer, following her inside. The place is still covered with the burnt-out candles, flowers and food containers she used last night for her welcome celebration with Oli, but I don’t mention it, knowing her well enough to trust she’ll sort it out once sh