Chapter 41 Ch. 26.2
He nodded once, his face unreadable, then turned to the nurse. “Is she cleared to go?”
Ethan stiffened.
“She needs to be monitored for a little longer,” one of the medics said, careful. "Perhaps you should take her for some check up."
"Let's go" her father said.
They left the tent in silence. Zara had a water bottle clutched tight in one hand, the strap of her duffel bag slipping off her shoulder. Her father walked two steps ahead like he wasn’t really with her—just escorting a stranger through the crowd. She didn’t look up. She could feel the stares. Hear the whispers.
“…isn’t her dad the Olympic coach?”
“Yeah. Santiago Castillo. He’s the one that trained Ethan Moreau. The 800m kid who broke the national record last year.”
“…but his own daughter just passed out on the field and he didn’t even show up to her race until she was unconscious.”
“Maybe if he wasn’t so obsessed with his golden boy—”
“She’s always been better than him anyway. Her dad just never saw it.”
She kept walking. Head down. Heart still tight in her chest.
Noah appeared near the barrier, eyes wide, hands flailing a little as he tried to catch her attention.
“Z—Zara! Hey—wait, are you okay? I tried to get—can we talk—”
But she barely glanced at him. Just shook her head and kept walking. He hesitated like he wanted to follow, but then her dad turned slightly, his face cold enough to freeze lava. Noah didn’t move again.
Zara climbed into the passenger seat without a word. The car smelled like air freshener and old coffee. Her dad got in and started the engine like this was just another ride home from a dentist appointment.
She leaned her head against the window and finally looked at her phone.
Big mistake.
#ZaraCastillo
#RegionalFinals
#HeartbreakAtTenMeters
Clips were everywhere. Her body collapsing. The thud when she hit the ground. The way the oxygen mask was strapped to her face. Her fingers twitching. The stretcher. Her dad standing stiff while Ethan held her hand.
“CHAMPION FALLS SHORT — HEARTBREAK AT REGIONALS”
“DAUGHTER OF OLYMPIC COACH FAILS TO QUALIFY”
“WHERE WAS HER FATHER?”
She turned the phone over and faced the window again. The comments were louder than any cheering she had ever received and it got on her nerves too much.
They got home late afternoon. The sun was still out but the house felt dark.
Zara opened the front door, walked past the living room and up the stairs without removing her shoes. She heard her dad sigh downstairs but didn’t care enough to turn back. In her room, she dropped her bag on the floor with a dull thud and walked to her dresser. Her hands gripped the edge.
She looked in the mirror at her red rimmed eyes, ran a hand through her hair in frustration and let out a huff.
Then she blinked twice to confirm she wasn't seeing things, and froze.
There was someone standing behind her in the mirror.
She whirled around, her mouth opened to scream but it was too late as a hand clamped over her mouth.
“Shhh!” a voice hissed.
She almost bit him. Until she realized who it was.
“Ethan?” she mumbled under his palm.
He nodded and slowly removed his hand. She stepped back like he burned.
“What the hell—how did you even get in here?”
He pointed vaguely toward the window. “You left it unlocked.”
“You climbed into my room?” she hissed. “That’s creepy, you know that right?”
“Yeah, well, I’m full of surprises,” he said, moving to sit on the edge of her bed. “Besides, I wanted to make sure you weren’t... like dead.”
She crossed her arms. “Well, now that I’m not dead and can’t compete, maybe you’ll stop whatever freaky thing you’re doing to me.”
“I’m not doing anything,” he said quickly. “Seriously. Repeating that to you is getting draining."
She raised a brow. “Right? Why are you in my room? Why do you care?”
“Because you collapsed.”
"And how's it any of your business?" She hissed.
He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a knock came at the door.
Her eyes widened.
“Crap. My dad.”
“Hide,” she whisper-yelled.
He blinked. “Where?”
She pointed to her wardrobe. “Go!”
He slipped off the bed and pulled the door open just as her dad knocked again, voice calm. “Zara?”
“One sec!”
She shoved Ethan inside and closed the door just as her father stepped in.
He looked around the room like he could sense the awkward tension. His eyes narrowed a bit but didn’t linger.
“You ran well,” he said stiffly.
She stayed near her dresser. “Didn’t finish though, so I guess that’s up for debate.”
He nodded like he didn’t know what to say. Then cleared his throat.
“What would you like to eat?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You should eat something.”
“I’m good.”
“I’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment for you.”
“Don’t bother,” she said quickly. “It’s not that serious.”
His jaw clenched. “You passed out mid-race.”
“Yeah. And woke up.”
Silence.
Finally, he gave a shallow nod. “Rest up. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
"Okay," she said, watching him leave and close the door behind him.
She exhaled sharply and yanked open the wardrobe door.
Ethan stumbled out with a grimace, coughing slightly.
"What?"
“It’s cramped in there.”
“Then maybe don’t break into girls’ rooms.”
"Yeah well, it'll be under consideration," he smirked.
She rolled her eyes. “You should go.”
He tilted his head. “You sure you’re okay?”
“No.”
He waited like he expected her to say something more or miraculously open up to him. When she said nothing else, he nodded and moved back to the window.
“You have a death wish,” she said as he pushed it open.
“I know.”
He glanced over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry you didn't make the qualifiers."
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Well now, I can slack off and no one's going to hound me, right? The season's over for me."
“I’ll see you soon, Zara," he said before disappearing through the window.,
She didn’t reply but walked over to the window, expecting to hear a thud as he dropped to the ground. When she heard nothing, she peered outside but he was gone.