Unsteady by Peyton Corinne

Author:Peyton Corinne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2024-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Sadie

It’s Friday night and I have a shift at the café that I’m already late for.

Practice was awful. I angrily ran through the jumps for my long program, sloppy the first handful of times because all I could think about was Rhys.

He texted after our mishap on the quad, but I’d ignored it at first, focused solely on the weekend’s schedule: work, practice, and Oliver’s game.

I planned to message him back after Oliver’s game, to apologize for getting so upset—because the truth was that Oliver didn’t care, not enough for this to bother him. I was the one who was hurt and I should have been honest with Rhys about it.

But then, Friday night came, and we never made it to Oliver’s game.

Instead, I spent the night hunting down my father, who’d stolen my car while we were packing Oliver’s gear bag and getting Liam dressed after his bath. Oliver missed his game, Liam became more aware of exactly how terrifying his father could be, and I called every bar within fifteen miles until I found him.

I had to hitch a ride in a too-expensive taxi, fight off grabby hands from drunk older men in a seedy dive bar, and grapple with my own father for my car keys.

So Rhys’s text sat unanswered, and the self-hatred swallowed me whole until I made a decision: bringing Rhys Koteskiy into the mess of my life was something I wasn’t willing to do.

I texted a quick, I don’t think we should do this anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to block him, but left the rest of his messages unread and unopened.

It has been a week of absolute hell since then, avoiding Rhys at every turn and focusing solely on school, work, skating, and my family.

Tonight, my coach kept me late after practice, running me ragged with new additions to level up my short program.

Then, because of my academic probation, he had me do my homework in front of him, sitting in his cramped office until well past my clock-in time for work. I knew Ro would cover me, but it made me sick with anxiety. Being at the rink late meant I hadn’t had time to see my brothers before work, and I had to trust that Ms. B, our elderly neighbor, would hold down the fort until I clocked out.

I know that Coach Kelley is very aware of that fact, of my other responsibilities, but I can’t hate him for pushing me to be my best.

He’s only like this because he believes in me. He’s the only one who does.

Even though I hate how much I have to work, I love weekends at Brew Haven. Especially Friday and Saturday nights, when the shop stays open late for open mic nights.

Some people sing or play the guitar, some do poetry or excerpt readings—we’ve even had a stand-up comic before, which, while cringy, was definitely a fun distraction while washing dishes.

Tonight is the first open mic night of the school year, so we’re expecting a semi-small crowd.

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