"You okay?" Lynn pivoted in her chair and glanced back at her sister who was shuffling behind her.

"All good," Lexi responded as she fiddled with her phone. Lynn wasn't exactly beaming, let alone smiling, but that was the happiest Lexi had seen her since the accident.

"Alright it's sunny outside, so all of the fall athletes should be outside, which means we'll have the whole fitness center to ourselves," Lynn was relieved for that.

"That's great Lynny," Lexi forced a smile as they headed into the locker room to change.

She wasn't having the best day, well that was an understatement. Erick wasn't speaking to her. She wished he would just yell and scream, anything would be better than his disappointed looks and silence.

He was the one she could vent to when she felt helpless about her sister's injuries and silence. He had become one of her closest friends, and about the only person she could talk to about the accident, and now he was pissed at her. The worst part was she needed to vent about how guilty and upset she was, but the two people she wanted to tell were either mad at her or couldn't know.

"Um Lex?" Lynn waved her hand in front of her sister who had completely zoned out.

"Sorry. What?" Lexi shook her head back into reality.

"This door is really heavy and I can't get it open. Can you help me out? Are you sure you're okay?" Lynn wheeled into the fitness center and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah I'm totally—are you fricken kidding me?" Lexi cursed as she saw what, or rather who, Lynn had seen.

Lynn watched as the guy who'd picked her up off the ground after she fell in the hallway carried weights across the room toward one of the machines. She still didn't know who he was and frankly hadn't seen him since that day in the hallway.

"What's wrong?" she pulled herself out of her own head as she realized Lexi hadn't reacted well to this stranger.

"That's Cole," Lexi stated flatly.

"Cole that you almost went to Homecoming with, but decided not to because he didn't pay enough attention to you Cole?" Lynn clarified.

"You know me a little too well. It's freaky and makes me sound insecure, which for the record I am not," Lexi eyed her sister warily as she fluffed her hair, but if she was honest with herself she was glad her sister was still reading her. Lynn reading Lexi's insecurities that made her desire attention was a glimmer of normal.

"It's a gift. So that's Cole? How did I not know who he was?" Lynn watched his back muscles flex beneath his cut off shirt as he stretched. His headphones prevented him from noticing they were even there.

"He's new this year. Made friends with most of his teammates, you know how football guys are, but pretty distant guy. Broody, intense, and...well... hot," Lexi shook her head in irritation.

"Very hot," Lynn agreed.

"But who wants a guy that cold? Not me. Let's get to work," Lexi wheeled Lynn over to the pull up bar.

"You're kidding right? How am I supposed to get up there?" Lynn craned her neck to look up at the bar several feet above her head.

"Obviously I'm going to help you up there. We're working on your arm strength so you can get in your chair by yourself until you can walk again," Lexi rambled as she glanced over at Cole who, to her frustration, still hadn't even realized they were there.

"Lexi don't," Lynn grimaced as the small smile fell off her face. She'd tried to tell Lexi to knock it off with the false hope, but her point wasn't getting through her sister's determined and ignorant skull.

"Sorry," Lexi wasn't sure who she was trying to convince that everything would one day go back to normal, her sister or herself.

Lynn was determined to be optimistic about these workouts and make them work so she shook off the knot in the pit of her stomach.

"Alright toss me up there," Lynn reached her arms out toward her sister like a little kid who wanted to be picked up.

Lexi hooked her arms under Lynn's and heaved, but Lynn wasn't anywhere near the bar before the two of them fell in a heap on the floor.

"Well aren't we graceful?" Lynn chuckled as she rolled off of Lexi.

"Maybe I didn't really think this through," Lexi smiled at her sister's laughter. It was a great sound that she hadn't heard in far too long. Maybe things were looking up.

"Now what do we do?" Lynn asked and watched as Lexi's eyebrows raised mischievously. Before she could question the source of the look Lexi was up and walking across the room.

"Hey Cole where's the rest of your team?" Lexi walked over to lean against the wall in front of the bench press Cole was using.

"Out on the field," he stated simply after pulling out one of his ear buds, making it clear she was interrupting him. Not the response she was expecting, but Lexi was nothing if not persistent.

"Well I'm lucky you're in here. Can you do me a little favor?" her hip popped out as she nonchalantly flipped her hair down to put it in a ponytail and popped back up, long brown waves settling around her face.

"And what would that be?" he raised his eyebrows at her in a way that let her know, unlike all the other guys who'd been on the receiving end of her flirting, he knew exactly what she was doing.

"I'm sure you don't know, but I have a twin sister, and we're working on her physical therapy because of her paralysis," Lexi paused, still hating the taste of the word on her tongue, "and I can't lift her up to the pull up bar on my own. Can you help us?" Lexi rested a hand on his shoulder before slowly and subtly brushing it down his arm as she returned it to her side.

Cole seemed unaffected by the move that normally had guys' eyes widening in interest. He glanced over his shoulder and saw where Lynn was sitting on the ground motioning at Lexi, clearly annoyed that her sister was asking for his help.

Without a word he stood up and walked over to Lynn, leaving Lexi to trail behind him.

"I'm really sorry she bothered you. I'm sure Lexi and I can figure this out, and you seem busy," Lynn assured him as he continued to walk toward her until she was craning her neck from her place on the ground just to look up at him.

"Is me having to pick you up going to become a habit?" he asked simply, and in her opinion rudely, as he squatted down in front of her. There was nothing flirtatious or funny about his comment.

"You really think I'm putting us in these situations on purpose? Having cold strangers pick me up is both embarrassing and not at the top of my bucket list whether you believe it or not," Lynn had always been a people pleaser, but she borrowed a spine from Lexi when she needed it.

"And everyone always said you were so nice. Guess you really can't trust the rumor mill can you?" his eyes were such a pale blue they were practically grey as they flashed beneath his dark trimmed hair.

"Guess you can't," she shrugged. Normally Lynn would feel horrible if she knew she'd offended someone, but she just didn't care what anyone thought anymore.

Surprise flashed across his face before it was lost in his usual stoicism. He stood up, walked behind her, and lifted her up and onto his shoulders in one swift motion.

She tried to grab hold of his short hair as the fear of falling hit her.

"What are you doing? You're going to drop me on my head," she panicked.

"Oh toughen up. I'm not going to drop you."

She could practically hear his eyes roll. "Toughen up" was about the last thing anyone ever said to her.

"Grab the bar. I don't have all day," his words had her looking up at the bar that was now only inches above her head.

"I got it," she adjusted her hands to solidify her grip. He slid her off his shoulders and walked away, not saying another word to either of them.

"Thank you," Lynn called after him, but he only gave a curt nod in return. She turned to Lexi and whispered, "well that was weird."

"What a jerk," Lexi shook her head in distaste as she shot a cold look his way, but they weren't even on his radar anymore as he continued his weight lifting routine. The last thing he needed was a girl pining for his attention or one who made him feel the need to be sympathetic.

"I mean he did help me," Lynn pointed out.

"Hello did you hear the way he talked to you? That was insensitive and rude," Lexi whispered as Lynn started to do some pull ups.

If she was being honest, Lynn didn't mind the insensitivity. In fact it was refreshing compared to everyone else who always filtered what they said around her.

Cole was broody and cold alright, and Lexi was too stubborn to give up on a challenge.

Well well well what do you think of Cole?  Can Lexi catch him or is it futile?  Don't forget to hit that star!