Chapter 254

When Dad shows up for Parents’ Week, I excuse myself to the bathroom and hyperventilate.

He looks so bad … like, really, really bad.

“He’s going to die,” I whisper when Zack comes in and curves his arms around me, holding me from behind in the ladies’ restroom while fat tears drip down my face, and my body shakes with a sudden rush of adrenaline. Find a cure, save him, it screams, but how can I? What can I do? “Zack, he’s going to die.”

“Nothing is for certain, Marnye,” he tells me, his strong voice pulling me back from the edge just enough that I manage to turn around in his arms. He’s got his jersey on again, and I’m back in my uniform for one of the most important games of the year.

Tonight, there are going to be scouts in the audience. And one of them’s from Bornstead.

So far as I know, it’s possible each one of these five assholes is considering going to the same college as me. Somehow, that makes things even harder. If they all applied to my schoo