Jase levelled me with a hard look. “Why are they even here?”
“Because you told Asher to invite them to the party…”
“Whatever. I just don’t want her thinking this means something.”
“Why would Felicity think—”
“Hailee, jackass. Keep up.”
“You’re in a delightful mood this morning.”
“I’m just sick of this shit with Thatcher. Him finding out about Hailee was the worst thing that could have happened. Now I have to pretend to actually give a shit about her.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think she’s going to get the wrong idea any time soon.”
Hailee wasn’t like most girls. She didn’t see signs that weren’t there. If anything, the years of back and forth with Jason had hardened her. Now she was wary of others; always questioning people’s motives. In fact, they were far more alike than either of them realized. Except where Jason’s cool exterior had rubbed off on her, she’d failed to make so much as a dent in his tough shell.
“Rivals Week.” His voice was flat. “I usually live for this shit, but something’s different this year.”
He didn’t need to tell me. I’d felt it ever since we walked into school on the first day of the semester. Maybe it was our impending final season as Raiders, the expectation of bringing home State. Or maybe it was the distance growing between us as our lives started to take different paths. I wanted college. I wanted a college career playing football. But I didn’t want it the way Jase did. And over the summer, as the days until senior year had crept closer, the pit in my stomach had grown and grown until I felt pulled in two.
Part of me was still Cameron Chase, number fourteen, star wide receiver for the Rixon Raiders, waiting for the nod from a Division One team. But the other part didn’t know who he was anymore. He was scared of the unknown; of what his family’s future looked like if he left. And the two parts of me no longer married up.
“At least they’re coming to our backyard. We don’t have to worry about them pulling any stunts at their place on game night.”
A couple of years back, in our sophomore year and Jason’s first year as first string QB, we’d drawn the Eagles at their place. It was a dog fight; both teams battling it out for the win. Tensions were high and tempers frayed. Jase had got into it with two of their defensive ends after they kept playing dirty—repeatedly holding him and trying to grab his face mask—and an all-out brawl had happened on the field.
Jase clenched his fist against his thigh, his leg tapping against the patio. “I want to destroy him. I want to—”
“Breakfast is served.” Asher’s voice pierced the air and Jase shoved out of his chair, stalking inside.
He was losing it. But Rivals Week was always a big week on our calendar. Coach Hasson had already warned us to stay out of East this coming week, a warning we all knew had filtered down from Principal Finnigan. That didn’t mean Thatcher and his guys wouldn’t come at us though, and now he knew about Hailee, there was every likelihood she would be at the top of his shit list.
I went back inside, the scene of Asher and Jase eating breakfast with Hailee and Felicity, without trying to kill each other, was one of the weirdest things I’d ever witnessed.
“Dude, you need to try the bacon. The girl knows how to cook.” Asher grabbed another piece off the plate and shoved it into his mouth, grinning over at Felicity.
“Must you be such a pig?” She scolded him and he actually blushed. Asher Bennet’s cheeks turned beet red.
What the fuck was happening right now?
“This looks great, Felicity, thanks,” I said, dropping onto the stool beside Hailee. She tensed, not looking at me as she pushed scrambled egg around her plate.
“Not hungry?” I asked, fighting a smirk.
“Piss off,” she grumbled, resuming her plate art.
“So,” Felicity piped up, completely oblivious to the various degrees of tensions lingering over us. “Rivals Week? How’re you feeling about the big game Friday?”
Jase stared at her like she’d grown a second head while Asher chuckled. “You’re becoming quite the fan, aren’t you, Fee?”
“Fee?” She almost choked over the word.
“What?” He shrugged. “I figured you need a nickname now we’re all friends.”
Fee didn’t look convinced. “Why is it,” she said, her eyes sliding to Jase again. What was it with her and my best friend? “I never know whether to believe a thing that comes out of your mouth?”
“Because you shouldn’t trust a Raider,” Hailee spoke up.
“Now, now, Hails,” Asher said smugly. “I didn’t lie about the party, did I?”
“This has been fun and all,” Sarcasm dripped from Jase’s voice. “But are the two of you planning to get the fuck out of here anytime soon?”
Silence fell over the Bennet’s breakfast counter. Felicity lowered her eyes, chewing her lip anxiously. But Hailee didn’t look surprised. In fact, she looked oddly relieved as she met his icy stare with her own. “It would be my pleasure.” She rose from her stool quickly, the metal legs scraping across the tiles, and snapped at Felicity. “Coming?”
“I… uh, yeah. Bye.” Hailee’s friend gave us a small wave and they both fled from the kitchen.
“You’re a dick,” Asher ground out, shoving his plate away from him.
“And you only just realized this?” Jase shot back, continuing to eat his breakfast like he hadn’t just dismissed his step-sister and her friend away from the table like naughty children.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hailee
I marched out of Asher’s house with Flick trailing after me. God, my step-brother was an asshole. He couldn’t just be civil for ten fucking minutes while we ate breakfast. The breakfast my best friend had made for him no less.
Bastard.
“Hails, will you just slow down a second?”
“I need to get away from here, Flick.” Anger propelled me forward until I was stomping down the Bennet’s driveway, arms swinging by my sides, breaths coming in sharp bursts. “This, coming here, it was a bad idea.”
“He’s a jerk, you’re right. But Asher is—”
I whirled around, glaring at her. “Please don’t tell me you’re developing a crush on Asher Bennet, the same Asher I know for a fact has slept with the entire girls track team.” Probably all at once knowing him.
“No, I don’t like him. Jeez, can you just breathe for a second?” She smoothed her hair back, composing herself. “I just think he’s funny and he likes us.”
“He likes us now, Flick. Now. After Thatcher discovered who I am. Don’t you get how messed up that is? If we’d have never gone to that party with Toby and Jude do you really think we’d be here now?”
“Well... no.” Her shoulders sank in defeat, hurt glittering in her eyes as they darted to the ground.
I felt like a mean bitch, but she was too quick to see the good in Asher. Too blinded by the promise of parties at his house and being sweet-talked by him in the cafeteria. Flick hadn’t been the brunt of their jokes and mean pranks for the last five and a half years, but she had been right there beside me to witness it. So the fact she was ready to overlook that, made it all seem trivial somehow. As if none of it really mattered because they were Raiders. And if they extended you an invitation into their inner circle, you took it, regardless of whatever bullshit had come before.