Chapter Twelve

The dull sound of the ball bouncing off the wall echoed through the empty court. Over and over, I threw it, caught it, and hit it again. My body was moving, but my mind was elsewhere, lost in a chaos of thoughts. Anne hadn’t shown up at school for two days, and even though I knew I should go to her house to check on her, something was stopping me: her father. That intimidating man who made me feel insignificant just by looking at me.

As I played, not fully concentrating, a failed pass caused the ball to bounce off the wall erratically and end up hitting me in the face. I swore as I brought my hand to my face, feeling the burn of the impact. I couldn’t deny that I was distracted, too worried about Anne and frustrated by what was happening with Jacob.