Chapter 48: Chosen Sisters

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Nolan did not leave Thomas’s office until eight-thirty that night.

After regular training ended, he stayed behind with Thomas and the defensive coordinator for a separate strategy meeting. The coaches walked him through Santa Ana’s defensive film, pausing on tendencies, tells, and the moments when the Saints’ front stopped looking human.

On the way out, Thomas invited Nolan home for dinner.

Nolan declined.

He had more important work tonight.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, Amy and Naomi were waiting outside.

"It is already night," Amy said quickly. "Sarah is still on the field doing cheer drills. Coach Grace is serious this time."

"And?" Nolan asked.

He was not surprised. Football was not the only team preparing for competition. Volleyball was ramping up too, and cheer had its own calendar. Spirit Nationals were coming next month at the Anaheim Convention Center, drawing squads from all over the country.

Between Spirit Nationals, the National High School Cheerleading Championship, and other elite competitions, the cheer world had plenty of its own pressure.

"We thought maybe we should ask Coach Grace to ease up," Naomi said. "This started from a misunderstanding."

"That was not a misunderstanding," Nolan said. "Someone needed to put her in check."

Amy and Naomi were sheltered rich girls at heart. Kind, a little soft, and not built like Nolan.

When they passed the stadium, Sarah and her two followers were still out there under Grace’s watch.

"Asshole!" Sarah shouted the moment she saw Nolan. Her voice nearly cracked. "I am going to make you pay for this."

As far as she was concerned, her suffering existed because Nolan had reported her.

Nolan changed direction and walked toward her.

The height difference was absurd. Sarah barely reached his chest. Faced with him up close, she backed away on instinct.

"Cheer hard for me next game," Nolan said, smiling. "Understood?"

"No."

Sarah refused instantly.

Not next game. Not in this lifetime.

"Sarah," Grace warned.

"If I cheer, it will be for someone else," Sarah said, suddenly less confident.

Nolan nodded and silently mouthed, "Then enjoy overtime."

"Wait." Sarah grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Fine. I will do it. I will cheer for you until my throat dies. I swear."

"Thank you."

Nolan offered nothing else.

Sarah realized too late that he had played her again. He had never intended to help. Her vision almost went black with anger. She stamped one foot, then dropped into a crouch, shoulders trembling as if she were about to cry.

After a moment, Grace sighed.

"Stop acting. He is gone."

Sarah lifted her head at once.

Nolan had already reached the edge of the stadium with Amy and Naomi.

’Why?’

’Why did this not work?’

All her life, boys her age had reacted predictably. If she asked, they hurried to do it. If one resisted, she smiled and said the thing he wanted to hear. If that failed, she cried. Once she cried, most boys panicked, forgot what she had done wrong, and tried to fix everything.

It was a perfect system.

’Why did Nolan refuse to follow it?’

Sarah watched his back and felt, for the first time in a while, that she had met a boy from a different category.

...

Amy drove. Naomi took the passenger seat. Nolan sat in back as the Porsche cut through Los Angeles.

The roof was down, and the city sounded closer that way: traffic, wind, tires, voices flashing past in pieces. The open cabin made the world feel less like scenery and more like something pressing against the skin.

The only flaw was Amy’s driving.

She was gentle. Too gentle. Even a high-end 1990s Porsche with real power became almost domestic in her hands.

When they reached the motel, Nolan stepped out.

"You live here?" Amy asked, looking toward the building with uncertain eyes.

"Family trouble," Nolan said. He did not hide it. Most students still did not know the full shape of his collapse.

"Then... see you later," Amy said, gathering courage.

"Of course."

Nolan crossed the motel courtyard and climbed to the second floor.

Halfway up, he smelled beef searing properly. Katherine the kitchen scientist had apparently made progress.

"We were waiting for you," Katherine said as she came out of the room.

She looped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

Moonlight caught the small silver ring on her left hand. The old pull-tab had been melted down and recast into a five-dollar aluminum ring.

Katherine was rarely this open where others might see.

Mia was clearly not home.

Inside, dinner waited. Nolan had once said the main course at that little Italian restaurant did not suit him, but Katherine had absorbed the lesson and reworked her own version.

He caught a new scent.

Rosemary.

Katherine had added rosemary.

She talked first about the concert, reminding him of the date. It would fall after the Santa Ana game, assuming the schedule held.

"How was volleyball?" Nolan asked between bites.

"Good," Katherine said, tapping the end of her fork twice against the table.

"Mia? Running again?"

Nolan had noticed her strange behavior over the last few days. Mia had been deliberately creating space for him and Katherine.

"She called this afternoon," Katherine said. "Lisa took her to discuss the script. From the way she sounded, they may have met potential buyers. She is not back yet, so I assume they are having dinner."

With Lisa present, Nolan felt better about it.

They had nearly finished eating when Mia’s voice floated in from outside.

She was humming "Que Sera, Sera," bright and loose, the old song’s fatalistic cheer matching her mood almost too well.

The door had been left slightly open. Mia pushed it in.

Compared with her usual dark clothes and flat shoes, she looked transformed. A vivid rose-colored dress, slim heels, four or five shopping bags in hand. Coach, Givenchy, Versace. Her face was warm from wine, and she looked alive in a way Nolan had not seen for a long time.

"Did the script sell?" Katherine asked immediately.

Mia shook her head.

"Not yet. Lisa took me to meet a few producers this afternoon. We talked."

Nolan looked at the bags.

"And these?"

Mia let them drop to the floor, then fell backward onto the bed with a glowing smile.

"I hereby announce that Lisa Virgil is now my sister in everything but paperwork."

One day.

’Lisa had bought Mia in one day?’

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