Chapter 85

“You don’t get to put your life on hold for this,” she’d said briskly. “Luca will be fine.”

“Eventually, maybe,” Tav had tried, but it hadn’t passed muster, and Mam had shoved his PE kit at him before telling him she’d check he’d been to school.

Thu-duh, thu-duh, thu-duh―

Frankly, school was a waste of time already. And being here, being on the track when Luca was in hospital…

But for the first time in days, Tav’s hammering heart wasn’t fear. It wasn’t rage at Jack Collins, or nauseating terror at what he was going to find at the hospital. It was just the rhythm, the track, the pounding of his shoes off the grass, the burn in his muscles. It was something a little bit like…normal.

Luca—Luca was going to be fine. He was. Tav knew that, but it still felt unnatural to not be at the hospital. He hadn’t been lucid the last few times Tav had been, and before that he’d just been out for the count. It felt weird to be here. Weird to be running when Luca…