Page 161 of Vying Girls

‘I’m not! What were you arguing about?’

‘Varsity, Tilda! She’s just kicked me off becausesomeonetold her about my heart flip-out.’ She looks at me with wet, wounded eyes. ‘You fucking promised.’

‘Yeah, I did. I did! I didn’t say anything, not to anyone.’

‘Right. So it was who?Skylar?’

‘Well—maybe.’

‘She doesn’t even know I play hockey, Tilda! Why would she bother?!’

I scrub damp hair out my face, shaking my head helplessly. ‘Nic—I don’t know.’

She looks past my shoulder into the trees, the tops of them bending in the wind, their howling mournful. There’s so much running through her eyes, a whorl of emotions scaring me with their intensity.

‘Nic, I swear—’

She tosses her stick at my feet and runs into the forest.

‘Nic!Fuck.’

I glance back in the direction of the pitch, knowing Coach will have my head if I don’t return. Guts writhing with a frantic kind of anxiety, I pick up Nic’s stick and make my way back.

Coach’s head is turned away as she bellows at the team. I slip onto the bench, quickly bringing up Nic’s number on my phone.

‘Tilda, you better get out herenow!’

I nod rapidly, wiping raindrops off the screen with shaking fingers.

Please don’t let this mess things up,I type out.

I want to say more, a whole lot more, but Coach shouts for me again.

I shove open the door to the lodge, gasping from the force of the rain I’ve just jogged through. Haz glances at me from where she’s stirring something on the hob. The look in her eyes is just as accusing as Nic’s had been.

I wipe my face, shaking out water on the floor. ‘Have you seen Nic?’

‘No.’ She turns away, slamming a wooden spoon on the side of the saucepan as she crosses to the fridge. ‘Fucking good job I’ve not.’

I watch her warily, still catching my breath. ‘Why do you say that?’

‘Dunno. Why do I?’ Her voice is barely audible over the extractor fan. ‘I’ll leave that one to you.’

I step up to her, trying to look into her eyes. ‘Just tell me, please.’

She adds something to the pot and carries on stirring. ‘Is it true?’

‘What?’

‘That Nic had a heart crash out the other night. That you helped her, which meant you must have left the house at some point in the night. Snuck out,again.’

‘Which part are you mad at?’

‘Fucking all of it, Tilda! All me and Elly are trying to do is keep you safe, but it’s like you don’t want to be. And Nic—’ She stops, jaw clenched. ‘Tell me what happened.’

‘Tell me how you know first.’

‘Skylar.’