Burnout (The Holland Brothers Book 1)

“This was a bad idea,” I say as Brogan and I walk into the gym. My stomach is in knots and my palms are sweaty.

He places both hands on my shoulders from behind like he’s stopping me from turning around and leaving. The thought has crossed my mind. What the hell am I doing here? She’s getting ready to compete. The last thing she needs is a distraction. Which is exactly what I feel like. The chump that showed up uninvited. She might not even want to see me.

“Just stick to the plan, Casanova,” he says. “It’s a great plan.”

“You’re only saying that because you came up with it.”

He beams proudly.

I wanted to go talk to her last night, not show up at her meet unannounced like some sort of creeper. I can’t believe I let him talk me into going along with this.

I shrug out of his hold and take a seat. The gym has bleachers on one side. It’s a small crowd, but the events are far enough away that I feel safe from her spotting me right away.

I scan the room until I find Avery. She’s standing in the farthest corner of the gym, warming up next to the vault. My pulse races.

What if she’s changed her mind? I hurt her. I could see it on her face. Avery is fierce. She’s strong. She might have already decided I’m not the kind of guy she wants to put her energy into.

“You didn’t need to tag along,” I say as I bounce my leg.

“No way I was going to miss this,” Brogan says. “You pouring out your heart to a girl? These are going to be once-in-a-lifetime memories that I can taunt you with until the end of time.”

I glare at him, but he’s not paying me any attention. His gaze is intently locked on the floor. “Plus, gymnasts are hot.”

The first event is bars. Avery isn’t among the six members of the Valley team competing. She stands on the sidelines cheering for the first couple of routines, then takes off her warmup jacket and moves to the sideline. She jumps in place, then does high knees, and jogs the sideline, stopping each time one of her teammates finishes on bar so she can congratulate them.

When the rotation is over and Valley moves to vault, her expression changes. I can see the concentration on her face and nearly feel her nerves.

“Knox!” someone calls my name.

I glance down to see Hope smiling and waving to me. She says something to the woman behind her and then they start up the bleachers toward us.

“Hope.” I smile easily at the teenager in front of me. “Hey. Good to see you.”

“You too.”

The woman comes to stand close to her. She has Hope’s same hair color and straight nose.

“This is my mom,” she says and then to her, “This is Avery’s boyfriend, Knox.”

Brogan chuckles quietly and mutters under his breath, “He wishes.”

“Nice to meet you.” I tip my head to the mom. Hope takes a seat next to me and her mom next to her.

Hope leans over to me. “It’s easier than explaining to her what you actually are. Which is what currently?” There’s steel in her voice that lets me know she stands firmly with Avery.

Brogan leans over. “I like you, kid. I’m Knox’s brother, Brogan.”

Hope lifts a hand in a wave to him and then blushes. Looks like I might be her second favorite Holland now.

“This is her first time competing on vault since last season,” Hope says as she stares out toward where Avery is still warming up.

“Nice,” Brogan says, clapping with the crowd. “She’s got this.”

I don’t tear my gaze away from Avery when the first of her team members begin their vault rotation. The first girl must nail it because everyone around us cheers loudly.

A woman that I assume is her coach talks to her while they wait for the judges. I’m sweating more than I did before my own races.

Avery is third in the vault rotation. The closer it gets to her turn, the more confident she looks. I feel like I’m gonna throw up. When she takes her position at the end of the track, she lets her head fall side to side, gaze locked straight ahead. She folds her toes underneath her foot and stretches each one. When she’s ready, she raises her arms and smiles at the judges. Her shoulders lift and fall with a big breath and then she takes off, sprinting forward. She raises her arms, does a round-off into a back handspring before pushing off the vault with her hands and twisting in the air over it. Or at least that’s what it looks like. It all happens so fast it’s hard to pick out the individual skills.

I let out a sigh of relief as Avery sticks it, but it’s short-lived because almost immediately I can tell something is off. Her smile is strained and the way she holds herself as she raises her hands for the judges is just…wrong.

I open my mouth to ask Hope as Avery crumbles to the mat.

“What happened?” It looked perfect, but something must have gone wrong.

“I don’t know. Maybe her knee.”

My heart pounds in my chest and my stomach twists. No, no, no. She’s worked too hard to have this kind of setback. The gym goes quiet until Tristan and another guy help her off the floor. Concerned applause follows her as they take her out of the main area through a door on the other side of the gym.

“I’m gonna…” I start to say to Brogan.

“Go,” he says.

It doesn’t occur to me that she might not be excited to see me, especially now, until I’m hovering in the doorway.

Avery is lying back on a makeshift exam table while a guy in a blue polo shirt and khakis looks over her knee. My lungs finally let in a little air at the sight of her. I can’t see her face. She has both hands up over her eyes.

My heart is in my throat when she lets her head fall to the side and looks right at me. She blinks away the tears in her eyes. “Knox?”