Lena’s POV

I noticed Cole’s absence immediately, not because I was looking for him, but because he was my supposed coach and he did not show up for practice and I didn’t see him anywhere in school.

At least, that was what I told myself and it was so because after what I had seen the day before—the sight of him standing so close to that misery woman and letting her touch him in ways that had burned myself into my memory without my permission—I had promised to distance myself from ...