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“No! We didn’t fight. Actually, it’s the complete opposite, Colleen.” My legs were trembling. “We kissed and... well, ever since that day when the four of us had dinner downtown at the Japanese restaurant... we haven’t stopped... kissing.”

A moment of silence filled the room.

“Do you like her?” The question caught me off guard.

Maybe in my heart I was expecting a scolding, or a tantrum, but Colleen at the hospital wasn't the cousin who was always with me, she was just a frustrated and tired version due to thepain and impatience with everything. That one, asking me that question, was my real cousin.

“I think I love her…”

Colleen smiled.

“How cliché is it that we are both in love with two siblings?” She joked, making me laugh.

I grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug before she reminded me of the shoulder surgery when she complained of pain. I apologized.

“Ok, let's order some food, because I want more details on this!” she said, taking out her own cell phone. “In fact, I want all the details!”

It was good to have someone to talk to about it.

My afternoon with my cousin was incredible. It was something that, deep down, I had been needing for some time. At the end of the day, we had talked about everything, in addition to sharing a lot of laughs. Afterwards, I needed to go back to the gym for the second round of training. I ended up giving Zorah a ride, as she had gotten to the room a few hours earlier and the two of us arrived together, attracting a not-so-happy look from Veronica. I wanted to laugh, but I thought it was a little dangerous to mock the jealousy she clearly felt towards Zorah.

I approached my girl and stood in front of her.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Good….”Sarcasm, great!

She was on the floor, stretching. So I sat right next to her and let my shoulder touch hers.

“I told Colleen about…” I leaned closer and whispered: “Us.”

Veronica's big brown eyes almost doubled in size.

“Really?” I nodded in agreement. “And how… How do you feel about that?”

“Relieved... Happy.” My words were rewarded with a genuine smile from her.

“That's good, Ken.”

There was a feeling of peace about it and I felt like I could kiss Veronica at that exact moment, but Karlee called the team, forcing us to go to the center of the mat where we trained.

I woke up the next day with a curious text.

DEREK:There's a game today in Belinda, take Colleen, please.

The first thing I thought was “how does he have my number?”, but then my sleepy brain remembered that I had called him during Colleen's stay in the hospital. After having this information, I replied that I would try to take her to the game.

DEREK:Try hard, Winfrey! Thanks.

I read and reread the message and considered texting to fuck off, but I thought better of it and I just ignored his words. We would probably go as a team to cheer on Belinda's idiots and it would be more fun, like last time.

I laughed in disgust and got out of bed, getting ready for a morning run.

The chilly weather grew more noticeable each day, bringing thoughts of my hometown and my parents to mind. A wave of nostalgia hit me, and after finishing my run, I felt the urge to call my mom, but I didn’t have enough time. I came back from the run, jumped into the shower, and was soon on my way to the gym for another intense day of practice.

Sid and Jaz rode in Colleen's car with me. Luckily, Zorah had gotten a daily ride with Becker because they lived close to each other, otherwise I was sure my cousin would make me pick up her roommate.

We arrived at training and my eyes quickly caught the presence of Veronica talking to Troian. The two didn't look very happy, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with a problem between them, it just had to be a serious matter that they were talking about.