I’ve been in her office before for leadership-related stuff, but never like this.
“Have a seat,” she says, indicating the chairs on the other side of her desk.
I settle in, my back ramrod straight, my heart pounding so hard I swear it’s going to break free and fly out of my chest.
“Beck completely denied you had any involvement in their altercation,” Mrs. Adney says, getting right down to business as she leans back in her desk chair. “Liam didn’t say a word. But I’ll have you know, I’m not blind, Addison. I see everything that happens on this campus, as does the rest of my staff. And while you’re not in trouble, I would advise you not to put yourself in situations where two boys could end up fighting over you. Not that you have any control over their actions. I’m definitely not blaming you for any of this.”
I say nothing. To deny it would be a lie. To protest would get me nowhere.
“I would also advise you to watch who you’re spending your time with,” she continues. “I cannot divulge any information, but sometimes, things aren’t what they seem.”
My shocked gaze finds hers. Which one is she talking about?
I can only assume she’s referring to Liam.
“Are they in trouble?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“They’ll both be suspended for three days. No football practice this week, and no game this Friday,” she announces, resting her arms on top of her desk, her hands clasped. “You have a volleyball game tomorrow, correct?”
I nod, terrified she’s going to suspend me, so I can’t play.
“I look forward to watching you and the rest of the team.” She levels me with a look. “Now go on. Get to practice.”
I’m speechless as I grab my backpack and stand, eager to get out of there.
“Thank you,” I rasp before I walk out of her office, hurrying back into the front lobby.
Disappointment crashes over me when I realize Beck is already gone.
Practice feels endless. If people aren’t asking me questions about the fight, they’re sending me questioning looks. The whispering among clustered groups when we take water breaks, the way they glance over their shoulders in my direction, tells me they’re talking about what happened between Liam and Beck.
Talk about embarrassing. This is not how I expected things to play out.
Tori and Emma are practically bursting with the need to ask me what happened, but I told them I would talk to them about it after practice. No way am I going to share details about what went down between the boys in front of our entire volleyball team.
Though maybe that would ensure the truth will be spread versus stupid rumors.
What I really want is for all of this to disappear. I don’t want people knowing Liam and Beck were literally fighting over me. It’s so embarrassing. Plus, I feel bad about coming in between them.
Did I ruin their friendship completely?
Regret and worry hang over me like a dark, heavy cloud, and I feel terrible. Distracted. I keep making mistakes throughout practice, dumb errors I would normally never make. By the end of our two-hour practice, I’m angry with myself.
Disappointed too.
“Let’s grab dinner,” Tori suggests as we’re exiting the gym.
“I can’t,” I protest. “My mom said I had to come straight home.”
That doesn’t sound so bad. I could hide away in my room and crawl into bed, bury myself under the covers. But my friends want to know what’s going on, and I want to tell them.
I need to talk about it with someone, and I know I can trust them to keep everything quiet.
“Oh, come on. I was hoping you’d give us all the deets,” Tori says.
“Yeah, you need to tell us what happened,” Emma adds.
Sighing, I pull my phone out and send a quick text, asking if I can stay after practice to talk with Emma and Tori.
Mom: You sure you aren’t spending time with Beck Callahan?
I think of what I said to Beck earlier, how I would lie and say I was hanging out with my friends.
Mom knows me better than I realized.
Me: I’m with Emma and Tori. Really.
“Take a selfie with me,” I tell my friends, and they crowd around me, staring into the camera as I snap a quick photo and send it to my mother.
Mom: Fine. Come straight home when you’re done.
Me: I will. Promise.
Mom: Be home by eight.
Me: Okay.
“I can go,” I say.
“Yay!” Tori claps.
“You sure you don’t want to go to the football field first?” Emma asks us with a little pout on her face.
Tori rolls her eyes. “Uh, no, Emma. I’m sure that’s the last place Addie wants to be, right?” She looks at me, her gaze imploring.
I nod. “Yeah, no. Though I get it if you guys want to go down to the field and see your boys.”
“Is your boy going to be there?” Tori asks me.
You mean Beck, is what I want to ask, but I keep my mouth shut.
“They were both suspended,” I admit, glancing around to make sure no one else is near us as we walk toward the parking lot. “For three days.”
“Holy shit,” Tori breathes.
“That’s crazy. Were they really fighting over you, Addie?” Emma sounds skeptical as always.
Why does she doubt everything that comes out of my mouth? Why does she treat Tori and I like such garbage all the time? And worse…
Why do we let her get away with it?
I’m so used to always rushing to her defense, or dealing with her bad moods, I guess it’s become a habit.
A group of girls are suddenly behind us, all of them suspiciously quiet, and I can’t help but wondering if they’re trying to spy on our conversation. “I’ll tell you later.”
We end up going to a burger place on the lake—a solid choice since no one comes to this place after school, considering it’s so far. There are a few people from our school who work at the restaurant, but none of them are on duty right now, so we’re good.
I can speak freely.
Once we’re settled at a table outside and we’ve placed our order, I launch into my story about what happened in the library. I don’t spare a single detail and the more Tori gasps and makes those wide-eyed shocked faces, the more into it I get.
“Liam sounds like an asshole,” Tori says when I’m finished. “He actually told you to shut up? No wonder Beck rushed to your defense.”
“Yeah, and what’s up with him doing that anyway?” Emma asks, playing with the wrapper from her straw. “What does he care how Liam talks to you?”
“Emma,” Tori says, disappointment tinging her voice. “It wasn’t cool, how Liam treated her. Of course Beck is going to defend her. Besides, they’ve been friends for a long time.”
Oh, we are definitely more than friends now, is what I want to say.
But I don’t.
“Liam was totally rude. I don’t want to be with a guy who treats me like that,” I add. My mother always told me a boy should respect me. She really hammered that home after what happened between Jos and Diego. At least Diego eventually redeemed himself in my parents’ eyes. “And while I didn’t mean for them to get in a fight and get suspended, I’m sort of glad it happened, only because Liam showed me who he really is.”