“Two fucking years.” I force the words out between gritted teeth. “And you think you can just walk in here like nothing ever happened?”
The smile slips from her face, and her features turn to stone. “I think I’ll do whatever I want. I’m not the same girl who ran away before. So, why don’t we establish some ground rules now.”
“Ground rules?” I’m vaguely aware that I’m staring at her like she’s my last meal.
It’s tempting to reach out and feel the warmth of her skin. Test if she’s still human beneath that military-grade armor. But it would be like reaching into a steel trap. She really isn’t the same girl who left without a second thought, and she proves it with her parting shot.
“Yes.” She places her palms against my chest and shoves me back. “It’s pretty simple, even for you, Landon. All you have to do is stay the hell out of my way.”
2
Kailani
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.
Shit.
My fingers dig into my temples as I tilt my head up toward the ceiling, willing the nerves to disappear. It’s like when you get a bloody nose, and you just want to make it go away. Except, in this case, it’s my fear bleeding out of my brain. My breath hisses between my teeth, edging near panic as I repeat the mantra inside my head.
No weakness. Never let them see you as weak again.
“Kailani, are you in here?” Coach Lopez yells.
Crap. I wipe the moisture leaking from the corner of my eyes and suck in a deep breath, pinching my arm hard to focus on the pain. Pull it together, Kail.
“I’ll be out in just a second,” I call from the changing room.
Realistically, it takes me a full minute to plaster on a badge of courage before I can show my face. Coach Lopez accepted my assurances I could do this, and I won’t let myself fail, no matter how much I’m screaming on the inside.
I’ve already overcome the biggest hurdle. It’s the end of my first day back, and I’ve managed to survive the angry whispers and death glares directed my way at every turn. True to Audrey’s decree, nobody dared to speak directly to me apart from Courtney. To everyone else, I’m insignificant, and they want me to know it. So much so that when I returned to my locker at lunch, there were another twenty insults etched into the metal. There were also two handwritten notes warning me I’d better leave now before something really bad happens. You’d think for a bunch of trust fund kids with nothing else to do, they could be more creative.
I meet Coach Lopez in the locker room with a bright, indestructible smile. Fake it till you make it, or whatever.
“You ready for this?” She studies me as though she’s looking for cracks.
“I was born ready.” More accurately, I was reborn in the flames of my destruction.
Coach nods. “You’ve earned this, Kail. You’re the best dancer in the class, and I have faith in you. Just be careful, okay?”
“You’re probably not allowed to tell me they’re vultures who will eat me alive the first chance they get, are you?”
She chuckles softly and shakes her head. “No, but I’m allowed to think it.”
I shake out the rest of my nervous energy through my fingertips and glance at the door leading to the rec field. While the weather is still nice, Coach Lopez said she’ll let us practice outside to enjoy it as long as we can. Everyone is out there right now. The cheer team. The footballers. All the people from the party who laughed and shared photos of the worst night of my life. The keyboard warriors and bullies, and worst of all, Landon. I already know he’ll be just across the field while his girlfriend and her gang of devoted followers stare me down directly.
This moment is everything I’ve been working toward for the past two years while I’ve quietly rebuilt my crumbled foundation. It’s not quite rock solid, but this is the only chance I’ll have. It’s senior year, and if I want revenge, it’s now or never.
“I’ll follow your lead,” I tell coach.
We walk to the door together. When she pushes it open, sunshine blasts in from the other side, warming my skin under the red skirt and black leotard. But sunlight can’t touch the glacier beneath my rib cage. That landscape froze over the night I met the real Landon Blackwood.