Semua Bab Too Big to Fit.: Bab 131 - Bab 140

Sydney Something changed the next morning. I stood in front of the mirror longer than I’d ever done, brushing my teeth while staring at my reflection like it might suddenly explain why my chest felt so…off. I took longer in the shower too. But as usual, an oversized shirt was my first pick as I pulled the blanket off my mirror. “I matter enough for him to choose me over you.” My own words echoed in my head, and something tightened quietly beneath my ribs. Only this time…it wasn’t out of fear. It was something different. Because somehow, it’d taken me about ten hours of sleep to realize I wasn’t so sure about how Brooklyn had reacted to what I said. I mean, the way her face had fallen was scary enough to tell me I’d hit somewhere. But God, her smile afterward? It sent a shiver down my spine. Oh and somehow, I texted Maeve one single line before I slept off, and that morning, her car was downstairs before I even had a chance to bite into rush through breakfast. “Yo

Tyler“Got it.”He gave one last approving look, then I watched him leave before turning towards the benches.Aaron tossed me a bottle of water.“Dude…” he laughed. “What the hell got into you today?”I twisted the cap loose.“You played like you had somewhere else to be.” The guys laughed, their voices echoing through the gym.I just ignored them, rolling the bottle between my palms.The whole day had been shit. Pretending I didn’t see Sydney, or hadn’t heard her laugh at something Maeve said, or notice the way she just walked past without sparing me a glance.Like any of this was normal.And I know.I know that’s what she asked for—space. But God…every single time I forced myself to look away instead of walking over, it felt like taking another punch to the gut.The veins in my temple throbbed.“I feel like we should be worried, though.” Dean’s voice pulled me back. “Little time out with his girlfriend and our captain’s planning to kill us all.”The benches erupted. Even Aaron hid

SydneyBy the time I stepped out of the library, the sky had already turned that soft orange. The kind that told me I’d stayed a little too long at school, mostly drowning the voices in my head, than purposely torturing myself with research papers.I adjusted my bag higher on my shoulder and headed toward the parking lot.My phone buzzed.“Girl, you better not still be there.” Maeve’s text read.A smile tugged at my lips, remembering how she’d practically rushed out of school to meet her Dad at home for what he called an emergency.Which meant leaving me alone with my thoughts. And that wicked thing that just kept screaming at me to get out of the library and go find Tyler.Pull him out of timeout or something.Because that one stupid question still refused to leave.And somehow…it felt like Brooklyn was winning.Just the idea of seeing her after yesterday made my stomach tighten.That smile…I almost shuddered.I didn’t even know what to think anymore.I took another step towards th

SydneySaturday came with a different kind of cold that had me pulling my thickest hoodie over my pyjamas. And somehow, I still managed to drag myself out of bed earlier than I ever did on a weekend.A little after nine.Maybe it was the cold. Maybe the conversation with Miss Christine replaying over and over until I’d eventually fallen asleep with my phone on my chest…Tyler’s text still glowing on the screen. Or maybe it was the music blasting through the walls from across the hallway.Brooklyn’s room.“Oh my gosh, look at this one. Try it on!”“What is it? A strip festival?” Brooklyn complained over the music. “It’s like a million degrees out there.”“Like it matters.” Tracy laughed. “You’ll probably spend the entire day locked inside Micheal’s car anyway.”What?“Eww, stop.” Andy shrieked.The three of them burst into laughter just as one song ended and another started.“Oh, I love this one!” Andy yelled, and immediately started singing along. Loud enough that even if I’d slamme

TylerThat had to be the third album already, but my body still felt like it had another three hours in it.The treadmill kept moving, and so did I. The next trap album blasting through my headphones loud enough to shake the thoughts out of my head.At least, that was the plan.I kept my eyes fixed on the timer as sweat rolled down my face, soaking my shirt and sticking strands of hair to my forehead.Focus. That was all I needed.Coach had said it, Mom had said it.And honestly, it felt like the right time to finally take their advice. The invitational was less than six weeks away, and as much as Dean pissed me off, he’d accidentally gotten one thing right.I needed to stop sulking like some ballerina.And that meant focusing on basketball, on school.On literally anything that wasn’t Sydney Walker.I reached forward and pushed the speed higher—the treadmill surged beneath me.Pain immediately shot through my calves.Good. Pain somewhere else that wasn’t in my head, so I didn’t hav