Page 40 of I Don't Need Your Love

“Am I?” he whispers back.

I slowly lift my eyes to his and notice that there are so many emotions swimming in there. He always puts on this cool and confident appearance, like nothing can hurt him because he’stheRyder Bennett. But right now? I see a lot of raw emotions. A lot of pain, too. Just like I saw the other day when he mentioned my parents loving me. What has happened in his life to cause all that pain?

“Carly, I know I’ve hurt you many times in the past—”

The door to the girls’ locker room bursts open and the rest of the team piles out. I gently push Ryder away from me because the last thing I want is for anyone to see…whatever that was.Whatwas it, exactly? I don’t have time to try to make sense of it because the team ushers Ryder and me toward the bleachers.

Coach Moreno is there waiting for us, along with Addie. We settle down at our designated spot on the bleachers, the team chattering excitedly about the game and our performance. Well, they are. I wrap my arms around myself at the chill and turn my head toward Ryder. He’s at the other end of the row, talking to one of the freshmen on the team.

“You okay?” Addie, who sits next to me, asks.

“He’s just messing with me.”

“Huh?”

I blink away from Ryder and glance at Addie. “What?”

“I was asking if you’re nervous about the performance.”

“Oh! Yeah, I’m super nervous. I hope I don’t puke.”

She squints at me. “What did you think I was asking about?” Her eyes trek toward Ryder. “Or should I saywho?”

I tear my gaze away and shake my head. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? Because you look bothered. And you shouldn’t be bothered before our debut. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s just hard for me to figure out what his intentions are. I know he likes to mess with me, and he’s a player. He’s never serious about anything.”

“Okay…?”

I shake my head. “Never mind.” I put on a smile. “Don’t worry, I’m good. Pumped for the performance. We are going to kick some major butt.”

She grins. “You bet we are.”

“Carly!” someone calls from behind me. It sounds like my mom. I stand and look out at the people on the bleachers. And then I notice my mom and dad waving at me.

A huge smile tugs my lips as I wave back. It feels so good that they’re here to see me dance, especially my dad. Blake has a game tonight and he assured my parents he was okay with them coming to support me. I insisted they go to his game because they’ll be at my dance competition in two weeks, but he insisted as well because this is my first performance. I thought my dad would choose to go to Blake’s game because of how he feels about my dance, but he chose to come support me. That means so much to me.

They’re sitting next to Raven, Sophie, and Caleb. They also wave and wish me and Addie lots of luck on our performance. We wave back and I blow kisses at them.

I sit back down and smile at Addie. “I’m totally ready now.”

“Me, too! Did you see my grandfather?”

“Oh my gosh, no! He made it?”

“He’s there.” She points to a spot in the front, where an older man in a suit and tie sits. Nathaniel Bradshaw looks out of place because football games don’t seem to be his thing, but there’s asense of peace on his face, like this is the only place he wants to be right now. It’s so sweet that he came to support Addie.

He has graying brown hair and intense brown eyes, the same shade as Addie’s. I don’t know him well or anything, but I can tell that he’s a much happier person now that his granddaughter is in his life.

“It’s so awesome that he made it,” I tell Addie.

She nods with some tears in her eyes. “It makes me feel so good that he came. And I feel my parents here, too. Maybe that’s weird…”

“Of course it’s not weird!” I take her hand and squeeze it. “I know they’re here and that they’re super proud of you.”

She quickly wipes away a tear threatening to roll down her cheek. “Thanks.”