Angel gripped the edge of the bar and gritted his teeth. “I heard about the run. But they’re in a group.”

“That’s why I’m calling you,” Angel definitely heard a door slam that time. “She called me this morning. Conveniently, everyone else cancelled at the last moment. So she’s up there with him now. Alone. I don’t think he ever intended for there to be anyone else. I think he planned it this way.”

Everything after the word alone was muddled. Angel hadn’t heard a word of it. The tension he’d been feeling for the past weeks peaked and he felt ready to explode. Every muscle in his body was on edge. He spoke through his teeth. “Did she say where?”

“No, only that it was the same park you took her to in the fall.”

The park couldn’t be too crowded on a day like this and he knew the car that ass**le drove. He’d find them and when he did Angel was going to relieve all the pent up tension he’d been building up since he broke up with Sarah. He felt ready to kill.

“I’ll find her.”

After hanging up Angel stormed past Eric and Romero. He heard Alex ask them, “What’s with him?”

He was almost at his car when Eric called after him. “Hey, Angel. What’s up? Where you going?”

“Gotta go find, Sarah,” He reached for door handle on his car.

“What’s the matter?” Romero asked.

Angel turned just before getting in the car. “That pervert Rudy has her up at Mount Soledad, all by herself.”

He saw Eric and Romero run to Eric’s car just as he gunned the engine started. The image of Rudy walking away with Sarah at school and the snide way he’d looked at Angel fueled his already murderous temper and he stepped on the gas.

*

After running for about four miles, the coach slowed down and stopped near a grassy area. They’d been running along a trail that wound along the side of the road. At times the trail veered a bit far from the road but they were always within eyesight of it. Sarah hadn’t seen a car drive by the entire time they ran.

Coach Rudy grabbed the bottles of water out of his back pack and handed one to Sarah. In between heavy breathing he reminded her not to drink too fast or too much. Sarah walked over to a giant boulder off the side of the trail and leaned against it. She was glad for the cold weather, now the cool air felt good in her nose.

He walked over and joined her on the boulder. His thigh touched her leg when he leaned on the rock. “How’s the ankle feeling?”

“Good,” Sarah looked down and wiggled it. “I was a little nervous but it feels fine.”

The coach took a sip of his water “Can I ask you something personal?”

Sarah put her foot down and turned to him. “Go ahead.”

“You’re boyfriend last semester; he seemed pretty crazy about you. Just wondering what in the world would make him let you go?”

He must’ve seen the hurt in her eyes because he put his hand on her leg. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring you down, I was just curious.”

Sarah shook her head and stared at her feet. “No, it’s okay. It’s just been hard, but I’m getting over it.”

The coach patted her leg then rubbed it gently. “Was he your first?”

Sarah looked up at him.

“I mean first love.”

She hadn’t really thought of it that way. But he was. No other boy had even come close to the way she felt about Angel. And she had an aching feeling that no one ever would.

She nodded and turned her attention to her water. “It was my fault.” She took a small sip. “I was really stupid.”

Sarah stood up. The pain was still so raw she was afraid she might get all sentimental. But the coach grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

“Come here. It’s okay.” He spoke softly. His words were kind and his touch felt warm. Except for the night of the awful scene, and the day she went to see her mom, all the times she’d cried for Angel she’d done it alone in her room. Sydney was usually on the other end of the phone but she still couldn’t help feeling alone.

She sat back down next to him. He kept her hand in his and spoke to her looking directly in her eyes. “Listen you don’t have to talk about it. But you’re a beautiful girl not just on the outside and I hope you know that there are plenty of guys out there that would be dying to be with someone like you.”

Sarah wasn’t sure about that. She didn’t care either. There was only one guy she wanted to be with but she knew the coach meant well. The lump in her throat was getting heavier with every word he said. She could feel her eyes welling up. Damn it. That was exactly what she didn’t want. Especially not today, the day she was supposed to getting away from all the sorrow. She gulped hard trying to hold it together.

“Can I hug you?”

Sarah leaned against his chest without answering. And he put his strong arms around her. She felt him kiss the top of her head and somehow it felt right. It’s what Sydney would’ve done. The tears ran down her cheek as she took in the clean smell of his shirt.

She pulled away a little to face him and he wiped the tears from her face. “Do you have any idea how special you are?”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Sarah knew he was just trying to make her feel better but it made her uncomfortable. The level of tenderness in his eyes had changed a bit. He kissed her forehead softly and then the corner of her eye.