NORA

"Well done in the meet!" the coaches clap when we've all gathered in front of them on the field. "Today you get to choose between yoga, light weightlifting, or light jogging and stretching. No hard workouts today, you hear me? Now get going!"

"Yoga?" Olive throws her arm across my shoulders.

"Yoga," I smile back and follow most of the girls to the stretching room that joins the weight room. "I'm in serious need of some relaxation."

Olive smiles sympathetically. I called her late last night and told her everything. She was there for me four years ago, so it's only fitting she knows what's going on now.

One of the girls puts her phone on speaker and picks out relaxing music. We all roll out mats and do our own thing.

After practice is over, I take my time leaving. I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone, and so I trail to the parking lot far behind my peers. I'm so deep in my thoughts, looking at the ground as I walk, that I don't even notice the person leaning against my car before I'm standing right in front of them.

Tyler is wearing gray sweatpants and a blue tank top that shows off his muscled arms and chest. I try not to drool. Just because he's hot doesn't mean I want to look at him, especially now.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, my tone less than welcoming. I hate that it was him who saw me fall apart. He's the last person I want to see me at my weakest moments.

"Well, see, I had practice too," he smirks.

"Ha-ha." I narrow my eyes at him. "Move."

He steps aside so that I can throw my bag in my car. When I turn back around, he's standing in front of me, too close. My eyes flicker to his knuckles, which seem to be bruised and raw. What the hell happened to him? I wonder briefly before deciding I don't really care.

"What do you want?" I snap. I can't deal with him right now.

"To check you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Why would you care? I want to ask but hold my tongue.

He raises a brow. "I'm not stupid, you know."

"I didn't know, actually," I sneer at him, hoping he'll leave, "but thanks for letting me know."

He closes his eyes and seems to be praying for patience. "When did it happen?"

"When did what happen?" I avert my gaze, knowing my eyes will give me away.

He gives me a look that says 'stop playing dumb'. "When did he leave?"

"Why do you care?" I shoot back. For four years he hasn't cared one bit about my business, so why start now?

"Because..." he looks uncomfortable, "it was that summer, wasn't it?"

"So what if it was?" I cross my arms defensively. "You didn't care then, why would you care now?"

"I—" He opens his mouth, then closes it. He seems to be battling for the right words. "I didn't know."

"Well, duh," I say, "I wanted it that way."

It was a terrible summer. I cried for most of it, both because of Tyler and my father. I'm just lucky I had Caleb there comforting me, as well as all of my friends. Freshman year was even harder, both with Tyler treating me like crap, dad ghosting us, and then Caleb moving away halfway through the year.

"Because I was an ass to you," he nods.

"No shit, Sherlock," I roll my eyes. "Ready to tell me why?"

He scratches the back of his neck, looking really uncomfortable, but doesn't say anything.

"Didn't think so," I scowl and move closer to push him out of my way but he catches my wrists in his hands and our eyes meet. We're so close.

His cool breath fans my face, smelling like mint. I can't help but notice every shade of brown in his eyes, every eyelash. And suddenly I'm out of words to say, my heart uncontrollably picking up speed.

"Nora, I..." His eyes are full of conflicting emotions, as if he's fighting an internal battle. His eyes flicker to my mouth before coming to rest on my eyes again. His grip on my wrists loosen.

And the next thing I know, he's pushed me back against the car and pressed his lips against mine.

I'm in such a shock that I don't react for moment. But then my body moves as if on it's own. My fingers tighten around the material of his shirt, pulling him closer. He groans and his fingers fist my hair, angling my head back for better access.

My heart beats like crazy. Everywhere he touches, my skin lights up. His body is pressed tight against mine, searing hot.

He bites my bottom lip, and I gasp. He uses it to his advantage and slips his tongue in my mouth and our tongues clash, both fighting for dominance.

Then my brain finally picks up. What the hell? My eyes widen and I push him away. He staggers back a few steps, taken by surprise.

My cheeks heat up and I gape at him. Oh my god.  "What the fuck?"

He looks just as shocked as I'm feeling. "Uh," he scratches the back of his neck, "I don't know." And then he turns around and disappears behind the corner and out of my sight.

I'm left staring after him, my brain trying to come up with an explanation. My heart is still hammering against my chest. What. The. Hell. I lean against my car for a good twenty minutes before getting my bearings and driving home.

---

TYLER

"Dude, you okay?" Evan asks me as I climb into the passenger's seat and he leaves the parking lot with tiers squealing.

"Yeah, man, why wouldn't I be?" I say but my mind is somewhere else completely. I don't know what just come over me. She was just standing there, trying to scowl me into oblivion, those big brown eyes fixed on me, and instead of walking away like I should've, I kissed her. Actually kissed her, just like that. And against all odds, she kissed me back.

"You in there?" Evan waves a hand in front of my face and I snap out of my bemused thoughts to spare him a look.

"What?"

"I asked what's with you," he frowns, his gaze flicking between the road and me. "I've been trying to get your attention for a while now."

"I—" I pause. She really kissed me back?

He levels me with a look. "Out with it, Chambers."

"I just kissed her," I blink repeatedly.

"Who?" he seems confused as to why that would affect me in the slightest. "Ava? Jenna—no, it was Jenny, or Jennifer—heck, whatever, you know who I mean."

"Hell no," I sneer at the names of the two girls I've been hooking up with recently. "They've become too clingy. Time to call it quits."

He laughs approvingly and fist pumps me. "So who are you talking about, then? And why the heck has one kiss gotten you all messed up? I mean, unless it was your dick she was kissing..."he trails off with a smirk.

I wince. "Nora."

"What?" his foot fumbles with the gas pedal and he turns to look at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "You kissed Sanders? The Nora Sanders? Black hair, brown eyes, feisty and hates your guts Nora?"

I nod, feeling like I've been driven over by a truck. What the fuck is happening to me? Why am I acting like this because of one kiss? I've kissed plenty of girls before and they've never affected me this way.

"Dude!" he hollers. "And she didn't answer with a fist to your face?"

I shake my head. "Nah, man, she..." I have a hard time saying it since I still don't quite believe it.

Evan searches my face and then his brows shoot up in surprise. "She kissed you back?"

"Yeah," is all I can say, still in shock. Sure, she also pushed me away, but not before she answered the kiss with the same fervor I did.

"Whoa" Evan looks astonished.

"Yeah," I say again. 

"Damn," he brings a hand through his hair, for once at a lost for words.

"Yeah."

He gives me a side look. "You're not going to want to talk about it, are you?" he scrunches up his nose in disgust. "Like girls do. 'Oooh he like shoved his tongue in my mouth and it made me feel like all giddy down there and'—Owh!"

I punch him in the shoulder— hard— and glower at him. "No way in hell. Just drive me to work, you fucking pansy."

He grins widely but keeps his mouth shut as he turns a corner. Fucking hell.

---

NORA

I spend the rest of Monday thinking about that kiss. Or rather, trying not to think about it. But it's hard. It just keeps playing in my mind on repeat.

I don't get why he would kiss me. I mean, he hates me. He wants nothing to do with me. And why the heck did I kiss him back? I do not like him like that, hell, I don't like him like anything at all!

My body just responded like that because I miss that contact with someone, I reason. It was nothing more. Just a natural reaction. Completely normal. He is crazy hot, after all. And apparently a very good kisser. I would be crazy not to have enjoyed it. On a purely physical level, of course.

I'm only pulled from my confusing thoughts in the evening when mom comes home from her three-day trip. I'm currently in the kitchen, picking at a plate of lasagna that got cold an hour ago. I don't seem to have an appetite today.

"Hey, honey," she smiles at me as she sets down her suitcase. "How's everything been while I've been gone?"

"Uh, about that..." I wave her to a seat across from me. She looks at me worriedly but does sit down.

"What's wrong? Is it Madison? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," I quickly reassure. "She's actually in her room doing her homework right now."

My mom visibly relaxes. "Oh, good. Then what is it?"

"Mom..." I start, thinking of how I should break the news. I guess there's not really a good way, so best just to say it. "I saw dad."

Mom's face pales and her brown eyes widen. "What? Where? When?"

"At my track meet," I tell her. "He was there supporting his new daughter."

My mom frowns. "But... they live in Phoenix."

"Not anymore, it seems," I give a dry laugh. "They've moved to Cali. Her shirt read Carnel. That's a school about an hour away. We've had multiple meets with them over the years."

"I..." she doesn't seem to know what to say. "Did you talk to him?"

"Not there, no," I admit. "But he came over yesterday morning."

"He did what?" mom stands up, looking livid. "How dare he? He—"

"Mom, chill," I tell her. "Mads wasn't home, she doesn't know he's back. Or, not back but, well, you know."

"What did he say? Did you let him in?"

"No, of course not! That piece of trash is not setting his foot in this house as long as I'm here."

Moms looks at me a little surprised. I guess she hadn't realized how much rage I'd held in all these years.

"He said he wanted to see Mads."

"No!" mom immediately yells. "He's not screwing her up!"

"That's what I said," I try to calm her down. "I slammed the door on his face."

She smiles a little and comes around the table to hug me. "Are you okay?"

I shrug. "Not really."

She squeezes my shoulder. "I'm so sorry you got in the middle of this mess in the first place."

"It's okay," I tell her. "I can handle it."

"I know you can," she smiles at me, "you're strong. But still."

"Mom, what are we going to do about him? About Mads? Is she wants to see him..." I don't think there's much we can do in that situation. She's fifteen, she'll find a way if she wants to.

Mom drags her hands across the face. "I don't know. I need to talk to her."

"Do you...do you know if they've kept in contact?" I ask, a bit afraid of the answer. If he'd stayed in touch with her, while completely abandoning me...

She frowns. "Not that I know of. Not after she answered that letter. She was angry and hurt."

"Yeah," I say quietly.

Mom sighs heavily. "I guess I'll have to go get this over with. Go to sleep, honey," she kisses the top of my head and then climbs the stairs. I hear a knock and then a door opening and closing.

I stare at my lasagna. With a resigned sigh, I shovel the rest of it in my mouth, knowing I'll pay for it tomorrow if I go to bed with an empty stomach. I put the plate in the dishwasher and head to my room.

It takes me a long while to fall asleep. Mom and Mads talked for an hour, and I can't help but wonder how my sister took the news. She was always closer with dad, his favorite little princess. Whereas he'd never be satisfied if I didn't come first place in meets or get a perfect score on a test, he'd always be happy for her accomplishments. Nothing I ever did was good enough. Everything she did was.

Before he left, I practiced with the sole purpose of winning. I trained like crazy, running from one practice to another, not resting enough. Because I had to be the best. After he left, I found the love for running again. I still thrive to be the best, yes, but I don't mentally punish myself for a week for coming in second place. I don't run just for medals. I run because it's my passion.

At half past one there's a soft knock on my door. Seems like I'm not the only one who isn't getting any sleep tonight.

"Come in!" I call. The door opens and Mads steps in, closing the door after her.

"Hey," I sit up. She moves across the room and sits down at the edge of the bed. Her eyes are red and puffy. She's been crying. I wait for her to talk.

She takes a deep breath and looks at me. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I drag a hand through my hair. "I didn't know how. Or if I should."

Her eyes flare. "If you should?"

"Yeah. Because he's bad news. And I didn't want him to hurt you."

"You had no right keeping it from me."

"You're right," I admit. She has every right to know. "But listen, I wasn't thinking straight myself, okay? I mean, think about how it was for me. I suddenly saw him in my track meet, of all places, and he was there for someone else. And he didn't talk to me then. I didn't know what was going on. I was confused, and angry, and hurt."

"I get that," she amends, "but what about yesterday? By the time he showed up, you'd had a night to think about it. And you just sent him away. Did you think for a minute how I'd feel? That I might want to see him?"

I frown. "Yes, of course I did!"

She flinches. "Then why did you kick him out?"

"Because..." I grasp for the words, "he will only hurt you more! He already left us, Mads. He might have moved back to Cali, but he's still got his other family. Why do you think he didn't contact us the moment they moved here, huh? Why did it take seeing me to remember our existence? He's not coming back."

"You don't know what he's going to do," my sister snaps angrily. I can see tears building in her eyes again. "Because you didn't listen to him. You never listen. You just do as you please, not caring who gets hurt in the process."

I open my mouth to argue, but she gets up.

"I can't believe you did that. Next time he comes over, if I'm not at home, you'd better tell me. Better yet, give him my number."

"Wha—" I start but she turns her back on me and marches out. I stare after her in shock. I've never seen her like that before. She's normally so quiet and sweet. I don't think I've never seen her snap at anybody.

I can't believe she actually believes the human dirt bag might want us back. I don't know why they moved an hour away, but I'm sure it has nothing to do with him wanting to be closer to us. There's no way he's leaving his new precious family. No way. And the faster she accepts that, the better.

I lay back on my bed, fuming. He just had to come back and ruin everything.