Thankfully, Mom and Stephen seem to have sorted things out and it’s once again peaceful in our house. Neither of them has tried talking to me, possibly because I keep myself hidden away as much as possible, but I know that conversation is coming. Stephen was too angry to just let it rest. And we all know that at some point, he’s going to have to reappear and we’re going to have to deal with what happens next.
But I’m putting all of that aside because this weekend is about me. It’s about me and my dream.
28
Ruby
The weekend is everything I hoped it would be and more. The second I climbed onto the bus—driven by Miss Kelly who miraculously appeared in the hope of national success—with my best friend by my side and the rest of the squad, I put everything to do with Ashton freaking Fury behind me.
It was time to focus.
We sailed through prelims on Friday afternoon, and although the semis this evening were tighter, we won with a clear margin.
“We’re almost there, girls,” Chelsea says, lifting her fruit juice in the air before us.
We got back to the hotel thirty minutes ago and Kelly has given us strict instructions not to even try to find alcohol and to be in bed not a second after midnight. She then proceeded to get dressed up and fucked off, so I don’t really think she cares all that much. I sure hope not as I pour vodka into my glass and take a sip.
We’re all hanging out on the loungers around the pool, riding high on our success from this afternoon and trying to relax before we do it all over again in the finals tomorrow.
The finals. Tingles race through my body at the thought. The varsity finals.
I fight to contain my smile, not wanting to sit here looking like a mental case but I can’t hide it when my lips curl.
“You okay?” Harley asks with a laugh when she notices the expression on my face.
“Can you believe we’re in the varsity finals tomorrow?”
“No,” she breathes. “I can’t.” She glances over at the JV team on the other side of the pool. They lost their semi-final. I’m not overly surprised. They don’t have Chelsea pushing them at every turn.
A couple of the JV girls notice my attention. We all used to be good friends. After all, we’ve all grown up together but since Harley and I got chosen for varsity, we’ve been given the cold shoulder by most of them. I get it, they want to be where we are but once we get this weekend over with, we’re going to be auditioning for next year’s varsity squad so they’re going to need to get over themselves if they want a place—assuming I get a say of course.
Someone turns up a song on the wireless speaker and a few of the girls grab us and start dancing.
“Come on, we’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves,” Harley says, grabbing my hand and pulling me from my lounger.
She pulls me into her body and then pushes out again. My head spins with the vodka and I laugh at her antics, feeling light for the first time in well... months.
We dance, laugh, and generally just act like idiots with the rest of the squad.
“I need to pee,” I shout in her ear, releasing my hold on her and stepping away.
“I’ll get more drinks.”
I make my way inside the hotel, the music getting quieter with each step I take. I breathe a sigh of relief, enjoying the peace for a few minutes.
Thankfully, there’s no one else in the bathroom allowing me a little time to myself to process everything that’s happened today and what we’ve got coming tomorrow.
Still, I can’t keep my smile from my face. We’ve got a real shot at winning tomorrow, I know we have. But I don’t want to get carried away with myself. There are still a lot of things that could go wrong, now isn’t the time to get complacent.
Someone comes and goes while I sit there but I don’t make any attempt to move. But I know I need to get back out before Harley comes looking.
I can’t help but smile as I stare at myself in the mirror. I look like my old self again. The sparkle is back in my eyes. That doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about him or what happened but having this weekend to focus on has helped me to shove it all into a box to deal with later.
I touch up my lipstick and wipe some stray makeup from under my eyes before adjusting my skirt and leaving the bathroom.
The vodka that the girls have been topping off my drinks with is starting to take effect and my head spins, the fresh air as I step out of the hotel doesn’t help the situation. I think I might be done for the night if I want to stand any chance of being on form for the finals tomorrow.
I walk past the bushes with the sound of the squad laughing and joking in the distance but just as I’m about to round the corner to join them once more, there’s some rustling behind me. I twist to look over my shoulder but I don’t get a chance to move before a solid chest presses against my back and a strong arm wraps around my waist, pinning one of my arms to my side, while a huge hand covers my mouth to stop me from screaming. I try to anyway, but the sound is muffled as I try to kick and elbow whoever it is.
My attempts are futile, I make no contact with the asshole who thinks this is a good idea.
My heart pounds in my chest and I continue to try to scream as we disappear into the dark undergrowth behind the hotel.
“Keep fighting, little one. You know it only makes me want you more.”
Ashton.
He spins me and presses my back against a tree.
“You fucking asshole,” I spit at him. “Why are you here?”
We might be in the dark with only the moon helping us see, but I can’t miss the darkness of his eyes, or the fact that both show lingering evidence of him fighting.
“What happened?” I ask, hating that I sound like I care as I reach out and run my fingertip gently across the healing cut on his bottom lip.
“Just exorcising some demons.”
“Via your fists. Don’t tell me. Axel.”
“Yeah, him and a few others. But they don’t matter.” He leans into me, his hard length pressing against my stomach. His hand skims up my side until his fingers wrap around my throat, flexing a little as if to tell me something.
“You shouldn’t be here.” My voice is hard but my insides are having a freaking party at having him so close, at having his scent in my nose.
“Maybe not,” he says, his nose running up my cheek. “But I’m here anyway.”
“You should leave.” I try to stay strong but with his lips so close to mine, it’s getting harder and harder.
I force myself to remember how he rejected me before we left Seattle, trying to focus on the pain, not how good things had been between us.
“You don’t mean that, little one,” he says, lips so close they brush mine. The scent of him mixes with the alcohol on his breath.
“You’ve been drinking.”
“So have you. I hope your coach doesn’t know what you’re slipping in your drinks.”
“Our coach doesn’t give a shit.”
The hand that isn’t around my throat finds the bottom of my hoodie and slips under, finding the smooth skin of my stomach.
“You looked so hot in your little uniform up on that stage earlier.”
I gasp. “Y-you were watching?”