Fadeaway by E. Vickers (sight word readers TXT) 📕

I give it a squeeze, and it bursts like a water balloon.

And that’s when Jenna walks in.

I pull up my waistband and spin around. She’s heading straight for me and making a face, but I hope it’s from Hulk-ball smell and not because she noticed what I was doing.

“We need to talk.”

“Okay,” I say, walking away from the mirror and loading some plates onto a bar. “Spot me so I can finish up.”

In reality, my arms are fresh and I haven’t benched at all yet—it’s been mostly legs and core so far. But Jenna doesn’t need to know that. She lifts the weights and sets them in place like they’re nothing, and I’m not sure whether I’m turned on or intimidated by how ripped she is. Probably both.

“I’ll make it quick,” she says. “It smells like balls in here.”

“Hulk’s balls,” I say, swinging myself down onto the bench.

She nods. “That’s about right. So, anyway, we need to talk about your boy Jake.”

I wasn’t expecting that, and I nearly drop the bar across my chest. Jenna catches it right before it crushes me, but I recover quickly. “Thanks,” I say. “I got it now. I just wasn’t ready.”

But I’m still shaky. I haven’t actually talked about Jake to anybody since he sent that text.

“Here’s the deal,” Jenna says. “I’m the admin on that ‘Find Jake’ page, and I gotta talk to somebody about it. Half of what comes in is totally useless, and the other half is about drugs.”

This time I’m ready. And, okay, it’s not as much of a surprise.

“What kind of comments? What kind of drugs?”

Jenna shrugs. “All kinds.”

Referring to both the drugs and the comments, I guess. “So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying it sure seems like he had a problem, and since we’re filtering those comments out, I don’t think the police know. Did you tell them?”

My arms and chest burn as I do another rep, and another, and another.

“I’ll take that as a no. And I’m guessing by the way you’re sweating that you knew. Or you suspected, anyway.”

I let the bar fall back onto the stand with a loud clang, then sit up to face her. “What difference does it make? The police went through his whole house. If there was anything to find, they found it, and they know what they’re working with. I’m not going to snitch on my best friend when they already know. If there’s anything to know.”

Jenna nods. “So you won’t mind if I pass this stuff along to them.”

“Do what you gotta do,” I say. I don’t mean it, but I also know it doesn’t matter what I say. Jenna’s going to do what she wants anyway. Not sure why she’s even asking.

“You messed up in this with him?” she asks, looking a little like she actually cares.

“Nah,” I say. “I never touch the stuff.”

She straddles the other end of the bench, and we’re facing each other, like it’s another damned police interview, except this officer is way hotter. And closer.

“What do you think happened to him?”

That’s all anybody’s been asking for weeks. The people who really care aren’t throwing the question out there in the halls, but everybody else talks about Jake disappearing like it’s a plot twist in a movie or something.

I decide to be straight with her. Mostly.

“I think he lived and breathed basketball for so long that when it was over, he snapped. I don’t know if he’s hiding away in the woods or trying out for the Harlem Globetrotters or what. But bottom line: nobody has found a body. Because he’s out there. I have to believe he’s out there, and he’ll find the way back when he’s ready.”

“Okay. Let’s say you’re right and he’s out there. You don’t think he was abducted?”

I grab the bottom of my T-shirt and wipe the sweat from my face, just in case she wants to check out the washboard. “Nope. Hard to see Jake being held anywhere against his will.”

“And you don’t think drugs have anything to do with it?”

I think drugs have everything to do with it. But I can talk myself out of it every time. And I know that even if Jake did get himself messed up in that, there wouldn’t be a damn thing anybody else could do for him unless he wanted to quit.

“Why are you so interested in whether Jake was on something? You asking all this for a friend?”

She bites her lip. “Maybe.”

I’ve heard the rumors about Jenna. How her dad came up a few pills short in the pharmacy once and she hasn’t been behind the counter since. How she passed out in the woods behind Seth’s house at a party last summer.

So I look her in the eye, try my best to tell my truth. “He promised he’d never touch the stuff. We both knew the only way drugs don’t ruin you is if you never let them in.”

Jenna looks away, and— Oh, shit. I rethink my words and realize how judgmental they sound. I know my choice not to start has to be an easier one than quitting. I’m about to try to tell her that when her face changes. Now she’s looking in the mirror, smirking.

“Thanks for the morality lesson, Kolt. By the way, your ass is bleeding.”

I stand up and twist to see a small red circle where I pinched earlier. Great.

“You were looking, huh?” I say, and she reaches around to give me an attaboy slap.

“Take care of that thing. It’s not so bad.”

Then she stands up and walks away.

I grab a towel and dry off before running to catch her in the hall.

“So what are you going to do about Jake?” I ask. “About all the stuff coming in on the ‘Find Jake’ page?”

Jenna shrugs, like we got too close to something real. Like she’ll never let it happen again. “I’m going to do exactly what you said.” She steps forward and tucks one fingertip inside the waistband of