Complete Nothing (True Love #2)(31)

I pushed myself up on the crinkly paper, feeling prickly and hot. I hated lying, especially when I knew for certain I’d get caught. The second this guy touched my ankle he was going to know I was faking it. He was an expert on the human body and could probably tell in an instant whether muscles or tendons or bones were intact. I glanced over at Keegan, who was watching me intently. He was sooooo beautiful. True was a genius.

“Well, I’m a dancer,” I said.

“Oh yeah? What kind?” Keegan asked.

“Ballet is my focus,” I said. “But I take jazz and modern, too.”

“Cool,” Keegan said.

“It is, indeed, cool,” his father put in. “So what happened, exactly?”

“Um . . . well, I . . .”

My mind went blank. They both stared at me as my face burned brighter and brighter. What was I doing here again? Why was I wasting their time? I glanced over at the doctor’s laptop, where the screen saver had started up, scrolling pictures of his children. An action shot of Keegan on the football field appeared, him pulled back in QB stance, ready to hurl the ball.

Holy crap. Keegan Traylor. Of course! He was the starting quarterback for St. Joseph’s football team. Peter had mentioned him a few times—his stats, how he was probably overrated, how everyone was always talking about him playing ball at an Ivy League school.

Peter would die if Keegan and I got together. He’d seriously die. True Olympia was my new hero.

“Were you at rehearsal or . . . ?” Dr. Traylor prompted.

“Sorry,” I said, looking at Keegan and feeling suddenly in awe. How could anybody be that good-looking, athletic, and smart? It seemed impossible. “Uh . . . yes. We were practicing leaps on Monday night, and when I came down on this foot I felt something pop behind my ankle.” I cleared my throat and imagined the back of my leg throbbing. Tried to convey the pain through my expression. But acting had never been my thing. “I thought I could just walk it off, but over the past two days it hasn’t gotten any better.”

“I see,” Dr. Traylor said. “Well, let’s take a look. Scoot back for me.”

I did, the paper crackling loudly, conspicuously, beneath me, my palms going slick with sweat. Dr. Traylor lifted my foot gently in his hands, and he and his son both leaned in for a better look. I hoped Keegan didn’t notice my battered toenails and the calluses covering my toes. Side effects of spending hours a week in toe shoes.

Where was True and her diversion? I couldn’t take this much longer.

“Okay, point your toe for me?” Dr. Traylor said.

Come on, True. What are you doing out there?

“Um, okay.”

I pointed my toe.

“Does that hurt?” he asked, pressing the tendon on the back of my leg.

“Not . . . well, maybe a little. I—”

A door slammed out in the lobby, followed by a ridiculous crash. It sounded like a car had smashed through the wall or something. I gripped the table at my sides as Keegan and his dad looked at each other, alarmed. Someone was shouting and there were other random noises. Papers fluttering, a loud bang, people talking urgently.

“Dr. Traylor! Dr. Traylor! We need you out here!”

Both Keegan and his dad started for the door, but his father put a hand on his chest.

“Stay here. Let me see what’s up.” He looked at me. “I’ll be right back, Miss Catalfo.”

A nurse appeared just outside the doorway. “Dr. Traylor, there’s a young man in a wheelchair who appears to be in some distress.”

A young man in a wheelchair. Had True roped her friend Heath into helping us out today? If so, I could kiss them both.

The furrow in Dr. Traylor’s brow deepened. “Bring him to exam room one.”

Keegan peeked down the hall as his father and the nurse disappeared. I heard yet another slam and then he came back into the exam area, leaving the door open. Voices chattered in the next room, but the words were too muffled to hear. I tried to figure out if one of them was Heath’s until I realized I’d never actually heard him speak. He was pretty new at school—even newer than True—and we didn’t exactly hang out with the same crowd.

“Wow,” I said. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but that’s the most exciting it’s ever gotten around here,” Keegan replied. “I feel like I’m working in an ER.”

I laughed. This was my moment. It was time to try to snag Keegan Traylor. But this was not my strong point either—the flirting thing. It didn’t come naturally to me like it did for some people, and it wasn’t as if I’d had to wheedle my way into Peter’s heart. He’d simply come up to me and asked me out.

My heart ached right now, just thinking about that day. Finding Peter waiting outside the dressing room. How awkward and handsome he’d looked in that sport coat and tie. The way my heart had fallen all over itself when he’d looked at me and I’d realized that he was, in fact, there for me.

Tears suddenly prickled my eyes. I coughed and looked down at my feet.

“Are you okay?” Keegan asked, gently touching my arm.

I glanced at his hand. If I wanted Peter back, Keegan was my ticket. I just had to go for it.

Confidence, I told myself. Pretend you’re about to go onstage for your solo. Lift your chin, elongate your spine, and dance.