Love Lives and Lies

Fall Sophomore Year- 1

Chapter 19

I spent the last month of summer making sure my injury was fully healed before volleyball season. The last thing I need is a setback to keep me off the court. Chase became a sort of workout buddy for me. We weren't always there at the same time, but when we were, he would spot for me on free weights or we would do an ab workout together.

Chase is pretty cool I have to admit. He's super down to earth and is about as into working out as I am. He's been a good friend to me the past few weeks and he kept me grounded when I was freaking out about the recovery process for my injury.

I'm back at school for volleyball hell week though and this year is going to be my year. I didn't work this hard this summer to not have it show on the court.

I play rightside hitter and I'm also the backup setter for when we scrimmage in practices. My dream since eighth grade was to be a setter and I finally had that chance last year as a freshman. We never run a second setter except during practice or if our starting setter is injured, so it's a low stakes position for me. This year though, I'm going to get the starting rightside spot on the court. Last year I shared it with a sophomore and it was nice to get around half the playing time, but I think I'll have her beat this year.

I show up to the first day of practice warmed up and ready to go. I have Clarissa and Lizzy by my side and it looks like they put some work in this summer too.

Coach has us run the mile as our first trial. I'm not much of a long distance runner, but it doesn't bother me. I'll smoke everyone on the sprints. I slide in just under the nine minute mark.

Up next is our weigh in. I'm about eight pounds heavier than I was last year, but I can guarantee it's all straight muscle.

Our next task is to max out on some lifts in the weight room. My squat is the best on the team and the rest are pretty high up there as well. Coach is definitely impressed with what I've accomplished this summer.

We finish the day with team bonding activities where we share what we did over the summer and bring something in for show and tell. I talk about my box jump mishap and show off my scar and the picture of it before I had the stitches put in. Not everyone enjoys my choice of show and tell, but it's better than talking about my horrendous break up.

Clarissa, Lizzy, and I are rooming in a triple this year, so we're officially roommates. We're sitting around setting up things around the common room when Clarissa asks the question I was hoping to avoid, "So how's Theo?"

Lizzy literally drops what she's doing and comes over to listen. I didn't tell any of my college friends about the breakup because my feelings were too raw to talk about it. Now I'm starting to regret it because the wound is opening up all over again.

"We decided to take a break while he's abroad," I say nonchalantly, hoping they'll drop the conversation. It's not really a lie so much as it's stretching the truth.

"What do you mean 'a break'?" Clarissa asks.

"Theo just...or we...I mean I..." I start to say, but I can feel the tears start to set in.

Lizzy notices and pulls me down next to her on the couch. "Shh, you don't have to say anything else, Ava. When or if you're ready to talk about it, we'll be here for you."

"Thanks guys. It all just feels so fresh still even though it's been almost two months. We weren't even dating that long, so I don't understand why it's affecting me so much."

"He was your first boyfriend," Clarissa chimes in. "It's always hard to get over your first."

"I like to think I got under my first," Lizzy jokes and I give her a light shove.

I'm thankful she cleared the air a bit though. It was getting pretty heavy in here talking about Theo.

"So what else is new?" Clarissa asks. "Any other boys in your life?"

"Just Cody and Chase," I sigh.

"You mean your best friend Cody? Did something happen there?" Lizzy chimes in.

"Gosh, no," I scoff. Cody would never."

"But what about you? Do you want Cody?" Lizzy wiggles her eyebrows at me.

"I mean..." I start to say, but I'm too scared to fully admit my feelings for Cody to them. "He's my best friend. I know he doesn't feel that way about me."

Lizzy sighs at my nonanswer but Clarissa moves the conversation along. "What about this Chase guy? You've never mentioned him before."

I go into the story about how Chase and I met. I talk about our workouts together and how we chat every so often.

"Sounds like a catch to me," Clarissa beams. "What does he look like?"

"He's super tall. Probably six foot five. He's got wavy brown hair and brown eyes. His nose is a little crooked. He says he broke it in a basketball game when he was eleven. He's super built...like crazy jacked. I saw him lift up his shirt once and I swear his abs have abs," I laugh.

"So why aren't we going for Chase then?" Lizzy asks.

"I mean aside from the fact that he's shown no interest in me whatsoever aside from being workout buddies, I'm just not ready to date yet after Theo."

"I totally understand," Clarissa says, putting her hand on my knee. "You'll get there eventually. And who knows, maybe you and Theo will have a second chance when he's back from Scotland. You never know."

I really hope so. Theo and I just click and it works with us. I want to show him that I mean it when I say I miss him and I'll be there for him when he gets back. I'll do this friendship thing for as long as I can, but I make no guarantees when he's back in front of me.