the choice • charlie conway

chapter one

sadie

"Guys, how are we already sophomores?" I hear through the facetime call on my phone as I finish packing up my bags for school.

"It's easy El. When you first get to high school, you become a freshman and go through your freshman year. After school ends, you have summer break. And when you come back to school, you're a sophomore!"

"Morgan, you know that's not what I meant."

"Well you asked, and I answered."

"Both of you quit it." I say with a laugh, as my two best friends giggle on the other ends of the call.

"Would you rather us talk about the sprints at tryouts tomorrow?" Ella asks with a smirk.

"No Ella, anything but that." Morgan groans. "I'm already nervous for who Hofmann is going to add. I wish he would just play the fourteen of us coming back. I'm sure we'd do fine. Plus, you're back now. We'd be even more fine."

"Relax Morg!" I call from the other side of my room, while I finish folding and putting away all of the clothes I didn't pick to wear tomorrow that are thrown across my floor. "As long as he doesn't take Maya, we should be fine. He takes talent. She doesn't have very much of that."

"Except trying to steal people's boyfriends... aka Adam." Morgan adds, and I hear Ella start laughing.

I also hear my ringtone go off, signaling that someone is calling me. I run over to see who it is, and instantly smile when I see "Char🤍" displayed across my screen.

"Speaking of boyfriends, Charlie is calling. I gotta go."

"Don't have too much fun!" Ella teases, a smirk growing on her face. Oh she's going to regret that.

"Who was having too much fun at her boyfriend's party last weekend and ditched us for said boyfriend to make out in his room the entire time after being two drinks in?"

"Sadie Elizabeth Ross, I am going to-"

I give her my signature wave and press answer on Charlie's call, ending the one I had with Ella and Morgan.

The call connects and I don't see anything besides a black screen. "Hello?"

"Hi."

He's very quiet, but the fact that it's almost midnight definitely helps his case. However, I swear I hear a hint of sadness in his voice. "Char, are you okay?"

"What if I don't make it?" he asks with a sniffle.

"Don't make what Char?"

"Varsity."

I feel my heart break into a million different pieces. "You will Char. Of course you will. Why would you even think that you wouldn't?"

"Because... because I'm not good enough."

He thinks he's not going to make varsity hockey? The captain and soul of the Ducks thinks he isn't good enough for varsity hockey.

Now I'm suddenly starting to learn just how toxic some sports teams are at Eden Hall, and how lucky I am that me and my friends haven't experienced this.