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Hana came over after my beam routine and gave me a small hug.

"That leap was good."

Which felt like winning the lottery coming from her.

On bars, I wobbled a little on my dismount. Then I took two steps out of my vault. But neither mistake was enough to derail me.

Whenever I started feeling stressed, I'd glance at Rove. He'd give me a nod or a small smile. At one point he even clapped me on the shoulder and said, "You got this, Red."

It was enough to remind me that he believed in me.

I finished with a 52 all-around. Right in line with Sloane and Eva.

Adrenaline still buzzed beneath my skin. I'd kept up.

Only two people from Vanta didn't qualify for Nationals and would need to compete at another meet.

Vanta looked neither impressed nor disappointed by the results.

I supposed that was a good thing.

Overall, it was better than I'd ever dared hope.

So when I met my parents out in the parking lot afterward, it was a genuinely happy reunion.

“You looked incredible out there, sweetie!” My mom pulled me in for a hug, but not before I caught the tears swimming in her eyes.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said, my face pressed up against her dark auburn hair, her familiar jasmine perfume hitting me so hard I felt a lump burn in my throat.

I’d missed her so much.

“Good job, Scar. I’m proud of you.” My dad pulled me into an even tighter hug than my mom, and I couldn’t breathe for a second. When he finally let me go, I nearly gasped for air and found myself chuckling as he reached out to pat my shoulder. “It was cool to watch you do those routines today.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“They weren’t bad,” Jamie suddenly piped in.

I turned to look at my little sister, finding her in a zebra-striped tank top, black shorts, and a hot pink cardigan. Her hair was up in two space buns, and she wore the usual disinterested look on her face with the faintest trace of a reluctant smile.

I grinned and reached out to hug her too.

“Gosh, I missed you,” I said.

“It hasn’t been that long,” she replied, giving me the vaguest of embraces in return.

I was so happy to be seeing my family that even Jamie’s mood couldn’t put a damper on things.

“Thanks for coming,” I said, taking in the sight of them once again and hating that we lived hours away from each other now.

“Always,” my mom said. “So, are you coming for dinner? I know we usually go out after a meet, but because you aren’t usually home, I thought we could have a meal at our house tonight.”

“That sounds great.”

I turned around, scanning the crowded parking lot for the Vanta Elite team. I spotted Rove standing beside the van, his gaze sweeping over the rows of cars and clusters of teams. Then he found me.

I waved him over.

Recognition dawned quickly on his face, and then he was jogging toward us.