When class was over as much as she told herself to not look back but she couldn’t resist. She glanced back to where he’d been sitting but he was gone. He apparently wasn’t planning on even speaking to her. She bit her lip. Though she felt it coming she forced it away. She was done crying for Angel Moreno.

The rest of the day was fairly painless. When she showed up to track practice Coach Rudy was overjoyed to hear she was trying out for the team. He said it was a mere formality, she was already in.

No one was happier to see her though than Sofia. And Sarah had gotten a little choked up when she’d hugged her so hard she thought she’d never let go. Sarah explained briefly that she would be around for a little longer but told her she had every intention of going back to Arizona as soon as her circumstances changed.

The next couple of days were even worse. Angel didn’t show up to her physics class and by the end of the third day his name wasn’t being called during roll call. He’d obviously changed his schedule. It was a slap in the face but she sucked it up. At least she didn’t have to deal with seeing him in class every day.

Sydney was getting increasingly annoyed with Angel’s continued inflexibility. That weekend she told Sydney about Angel changing his schedule and to her surprise she broke down and sobbed. Sydney was livid.

“Fuck him, Lynni, he’s an ass**le.”

Could she have been that off about Angel? It amazed her now that somewhere in her warped mind she’d actually thought Syd and Angel could be friends someday.

“I’m just waiting for my mom to be out so I can come home,” she sniffed. “It’s all I want.”

“Don’t put your life on hold though, Lynn. It may be a while. Enjoy yourself, go out. Seriously, have fun.”

Sarah couldn’t even imagine having fun. She could barely concentrate on just getting through the day without having some kind of emotional breakdown.

*

Things took a turn on Monday during practice. As if her emotional turmoil wasn’t enough she now had to deal with physical pain. During a routine warm up run Sarah stepped in a hole and went down hard. She felt her ankle crunch and knew it was bad. Sofia was immediately by her side, but she barely managed to stand.

Coach Rudy came over as soon as he was aware.

“Don’t try to walk on it, Sarah. You’ll make it worse. We have to get ice on this fast.”

Before Sarah knew what was happening she was in his arms and he was carrying her toward the gym. Sarah put her arms around his neck for support. Some of the kids snickered as they walked past them. She felt a little uncomfortable until she moved her foot the wrong way and the stabbing pain in her ankle made her forget everything. She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced, willing the pain to go away.

When the coach was satisfied they’d iced it enough he carried her to his car and gave her a ride home. Sarah was a little surprised he’d called practice early on her account but was glad she was going home.

Coach Rudy seemed really concerned about Sarah’s ankle. He gave her some paperwork he had in his office on proper care of a sprained ankle and talked about the do’s and don’ts on the way home. Then the subject turned to what Sarah had dreaded.

“So, when will you know for sure how long you’ll be here? I mean, can we count on you for the whole season?”

Sarah had always been very vague about her situation but he never pried. She had a feeling he sensed it was a sore subject. But she felt bad that he was so enthused about her being on the team and she couldn’t give him a concrete answer. She didn’t want him to think she wasn’t taking the team seriously.

“My mom’s in jail,” She stared out the window afraid to see his expression. Aside from her family and Sydney, Angel was the only person she’d ever told.

“Hmm, I see,” he said. “So, you’re waiting to see when she’ll be out?”

His demeanor surprised her. She thought maybe he’d be uncomfortable and change the subject or something but she may as well say her mom was at the mall. She turned to look at him.

“Yeah, we won’t know anything for a few weeks. So, I really can’t say,” She glanced down at her hands. “I do want to be on the team, though.”

She really did. Since her mom had made her promise to stay in California it was one of the things she’d focused on to stay positive. Running was her passion and she planned on using it as therapy.

“Oh, I know you do. I can see it when you’re running.” He pulled into her driveway and turned the car off. “There’s a skill for everything. A lot of people think in track you just run, but it’s not just about running. It’s about knowing when to turn the wheels on and when to save them. You have it, Sarah. I saw it the first time I saw you relay.”

He was smiling at her with genuine pride. Like a big brother. It made her feel good. Her coach back home had said the same thing. She smiled back at him. “Thanks.”

“Hey.” He waited until she was looking at him again. His expression had changed, he was concerned coach again. “I have a brother that’s been in and out of jail, Sarah. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It took me a while to understand that but what he’s done does not reflect on the person that I am.”

Sarah thought about it. She’d never been ashamed of her mom, but the thought of anyone speaking badly about her enraged her. The less people knew the less ammunition they had against her.

Sarah nodded. “I know. But some people just wouldn’t get it. I don’t even get it.” She turned and made herself as comfortable as she could without moving her ankle. “All I know is she took money from her boss, for years. She offered to pay it back. I didn’t even know you could go to jail for that kind of stuff. You would think because she was a single mom, they could’ve just made her pay it back and given her probation or something.”