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“No.”
Manolo lifts his brows, clearly interested.
“I need something stronger.”
As my words sink in, a smile slowly works its way onto his lips. He shoves the girl from him as he gets to his feet. “What are we talking about?”
Five minutes later, walking down the stairs, the bag Manolo gave me is sitting heavy in my pocket. I’m so spaced out that I almost bump into Jade.
“Hey, I was worried, so I came looking for you.”
“Sorry, there was a line, so I went upstairs. You ready to go home?”
Jade watches me for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, sure, let’s go.”
Nixon and Yasmin decide to join us, so they drop us off at our building. Hand in hand, Jade and I make our way up to my apartment. Spencer’s probably at one party or another because the place is quiet.
“Wanna use the bathroom first?” I ask Jade, handing her my shirt.
“I’ll be back in a few.”
I watch her leave the room; my breath is stuck in my lungs as I wait to hear the sound of the door closing. My heart starts beating a mile a minute as I slip my hand into my pocket, pulling out the package Manolo gave me.
Little bottles clink together as I get them out along with the syringe. My gaze darts to the door. I can hear the water running in the bathroom.
Quickly, I undo the brace and remove my pants, shoving them away with my foot. My muscles are quivering with pain, and I hiss softly as I work to lift my leg onto the mattress. Opening the syringe, I stick it into the bottle, pulling the liquid into it. Gritting my teeth, I jab it into my thigh and inject it.
My heartbeat is the only sound I can hear as I pull it out and stare at my leg. My stomach recoils, the bile rising in my throat, but I push it back.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was the only solution I could come up with. If I come back after Thanksgiving and my leg isn’t doing better, Coach won’t let me play. And I have to play.
Ihaveto.
The sound of footsteps nearing snaps me out of my head.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Panicked, I look around, spotting my duffle bag peeking from under the bed, opened. I drop the bottles and syringe inside, shoving them under the mattress just as Jade appears in the doorway.
“Hey.” She watches me for a moment, and I feel the sweat coat my palms. Did she see something? The corner of her mouth lifts in a sad smile as her gaze drops to my leg. “You need any help with that?”
I run my shaky fingers through my hair and shake my head. “Nah, I’m good.”
Jade moves closer, sitting on the bed next to me. “Does it hurt? Want me to get you an ice pack? Pain meds?”
“It’s nothing I haven’t experienced before.” I grab the brace, slide it on, and secure the straps as I get up and go to my nightstand, picking up the pain med bottle from the drawer. Sliding two pills out, I pop them into my mouth. “I’m all good.”
“Are you sure I can—”
I move closer to her, pressing my fingers against her lips. “I’m sure. The only thing I need is you.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
JADE
“I see you’ve brought more company,” Dr. Hendriks says as she joins us in the hallway.
I don’t even bother looking over my shoulder. The hulking presence of my brother and my boyfriend—yeah, that one will take some getting used to—is too hard to miss.
