Page 35 of Losing an Edge

“I’m not hurt.”

“Bullshit.” The light changed, and he eased into the intersection. “Maybe you don’t realize you do it, but you turn it on too much when you want people to think everything’s fine. Try to shine too bright. You’ve been doing it for months. Since you cut things off with Guy, according to Mom. When you were injured.”

“I just didn’t want anyone to worry too much about my ankle. It wasn’t like it was a serious enough injury to end my career or anything. No reason to let everyone get all worked up.”

“And stop it with trying to convince us your ankle was the problem, all right?”

I chewed on my lower lip. How much had they figured out? Corinne wouldn’t have dug into my medical records, would she? That was unethical. And illegal. My doctors couldn’t tell her anything without my permission.

“If you don’t think it was my ankle, what do you think it was?”

Sooner than expected, he was turning the truck into the parking lot at the hospital. He found a space near the Women’s Center and came to a stop before speaking again. “I wish you’d tell me what it was. All I know is I think it has a lot more to do with what’s going on inside you than with anything physical.”

There wasn’t a thing to say to that. If I even bothered trying to respond, he was bound to hear the truth, no matter what words I tried to feed him. I stared down at my hands in my lap.

“So I’m right,” he said after a moment.

I shrugged.

“Is it helping to have Sara around to talk to? Is that why you wanted to come here?”

“I came because I wanted to skate with Anthony.”

“Mm hmm.” Cam turned off the engine and put his keys in his pocket. “So is 501 your rebound, then? You’re with him so you can land on your feet after having your heart broken?”

“Guy didn’t break my heart.” More like my soul. “And I’m not with Levi, anyway. I told him I needed some space.”

“Why’d you do that? I finally came to terms with the idea, and you give him the heave-ho?”

“I’m not ready,” I said, evading reality. Because the reason I’d pushed Levi away had very little to do with me and even less to do with Levi. It had everything to do with Guy.

Cam stared at me the way he always had, where it felt like he was trying to see through all my smiles and laughter to reach what lay underneath. “I think you are ready,” he said after a near-painful moment. “I think the problem is you’re scared.”

He had no idea just how right he was.