Stepping Out of Me

25

LANCE

Lance sat on his bed as he waited on a reply from Kiera. He texted her right after he got home because of what happened. It was the next morning and he still hadn't heard back from her.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Lance took up his stuff and headed out. He and the other members received a message from coach that they would be hearing about the scholarship today. After months, no years of playing basketball, his hard work was about to pay off.

As Lance entered the school, he spotted Kiera placing books into her locker. Quickly, he bounded over to her and leaned on the neighbouring locker. "Hey, what happened last night?"

He immediately noticed the look on Kiera's face. It was the same one she wore a lot when she first got here. She was trying to cover up how she was really feeling. "So things didn't go well with your dad."

"You think?" she replied bluntly.

Lance felt a pang in his chest at her choice of words. "Are you mad at me too?" he chuckled.

Kiera sighed. "No," She closed her locker and they walked off together. "I'm just so tired of being policed by him." Kiera revealed. "He took my phone and asked the neighbours to keep an eye on me. The only reason he didn't take back my car keys was because I needed it for school."

Lance couldn't help but feel like it was somewhat his fault. He normally left her house early when he'd visit after school. He just got so carried away in spending time with her that he fell asleep.

"We'll still see each other at school. And we can hang out anywhere else." He reassured her then quickly changed the subject. "I heard back from coach, and he said we'd be receiving an email today that tells us who got the scholarships."

Kiera looked over at him as they walked up the stairs. "Oh, make sure you tell me later." She replied. Lance could see that she was still a bit down from what she mentioned earlier, but it wasn't a big deal to him. "Though I'm sure you were chosen."

Lance smiled. "Yep," he replied. "I'll see you later." He watched as Kiera walked into her class then made his way to his class.

* * *

Lance quickly signed into his email that night. His heart pounded in his chest as it loaded. Right after it was done he looked at the top spot. When he didn't see one, Lance refreshed the page. Then he refreshed it again. And another time. Still there was no email from the university.

Before he could process what happened Lance's phone buzzed on his table. It was from Dylan. From his message in the group chat Lance could feel his excitement. He got the scholarship. Then a quick text came from Kyle who congratulated him and revealed that another guy in the class also got an email.

Lance closed the chat and sat back in his chair. His heart was racing just as before and his hands trembled as he abruptly shut the laptop. He felt his eyes watering but before he could do anything there was a knock on his door.

"I heard that they sent the e-" Halle began but stopped when she noticed her brother.

Lance glanced away from her and wiped a hand across his face. "Yea, I didn't get one."

"Lance..." Halle began as she walked into the room. "I'm sorry."

Lance felt a comforting hand on his upper back. He slumped over his desk and rested his head in his hands. Silent tears fell from his eyes as Halle rubbed his back. She kept saying things but he didn't hear her. All he could hear was a voice in his head screaming that he failed. After everything he went through, he still couldn't do it.