When I came back to the house after picking up breakfast for us, Dylan was up waiting for me. He was one of my close friends and a better friend to Scar than Gigi ever was.
“You know, I know you like her. Hell, the whole fucking school can see it except for her. But I never thought you would fuck her over like this,” Dylan spat at me.
It made me angry. He was supposed to be on my side.
“I would never do anything to hurt her.”
Dylan gave me a sad smile. “Gigi walked out earlier, and she was fuming.”
There it was—my biggest fuckup still haunting me. My mistake was not going to look for Scarlett right away.
I let her get away, with hopes that she would get better, and I hadn’t seen her again. The sick fucking game we’d been playing since we were kids went on. This time I was hurt. I told Nick what happened. I didn’t know if she’d tried killing herself or was just so drunk she almost drowned, but I wouldn’t be there to protect her anymore.
She gave me her body, and then she turned her back on me. I needed to get my head in the game, so I let her go.
“Yo!”
I jumped when Quincy yelled in my ear. He shook his head. Yeah, I was aware my head was not in the game, and he could suck me off.
“You good, man?” Ollie asked me.
“I’m perfect,” I told him.
Quincy left us for his class while Ollie and I made our way to sociology. We both needed the credit, and this was the easiest class we could find.
“Hey, Gavin,” I heard a female purr, and then a hand snaked through my arm.
I looked down to see Annie and gave her a tense nod. Ollie snickered. He knew I didn’t like girls touching me unless I was fucking them.
“Are you guys heading to socio?”
Ollie chuckled.
Great. I’d had enough of her trying to talk to me after or before practice when the cheer squad was there, but this was going to suck. When we made it to the class, I was trying to figure out how to ditch Annie when Ollie pointed to the front of the class.
“Isn’t that the chick from the party?”
My head snapped up, and all I saw were blonde waves. Wild, curly, in a bun on top of her head. Majestic. Scarlett sat all prim and proper, her notebook laid before her and a pen on top of it while she stared at the front of the class as if it held all the answers to her problems.
I didn’t think; I reacted. You’d think we were like magnets all this time, pulling toward each other, never able to connect, just a frustrating gravity with a pull strong enough to keep it near but not enough to make you fuse. There were only two seats behind Scarlett, and Ollie said goodbye to Annie, because I forgot about her the moment I laid eyes on the one thing I’d wanted most since I was a kid.
The class started to fill up, and Scarlett had yet to turn around. I was itching for her to do it. I’d told her to stay away because it gutted me to admit I couldn’t. Not when she was here at my school. I was king, and if we kept crossing paths, she would find out just how much I ruled it.
The professor walked in, and he gave Ollie and me a nod. As I said, we were treated like kings. Class started, and not once did she turn around. Did she not feel me staring at her? Was she immune to my gaze? My touch? I could have sworn I’d seen something in the bathroom.
As soon as class ended, I got up, ignoring Ollie’s amused grin. I walked out and crossed her path as she got out of her aisle so she could crash into me. I was an asshole, but as I said, magnets.
“You should watch where you’re going, Davis.” My words came out in a harsh growl.
She looked up at me, and her eyes flashed. I couldn’t decipher her emotions. Women got easier to figure out the older I got, but never Scarlett.
She opened her mouth, but before she could say something, Annie was there holding on to me like a leech.
“Next class, let’s sit together.” She smiled at me, ignoring Scarlett.
“I was busy, Annie,” I said in a flat tone, not taking my eyes from Scar.
She looked at Annie and smiled at me, but it was cold.
“Excuse you, asshole.” She pushed past me.
There she is. My fearless girl.
I didn’t notice the grin that came to my lips until I turned my head, and Annie was glaring at me.
“Who is she?” she asked.
“None of your business. We fucked, babe. I didn’t ask you to be mine,” I told her before I walked out.
Ollie shook his head at me. “That was harsh.”
“She shouldn’t have interrupted me,” I said flatly.
“You’ve always been cold, Gav, but never cruel.” He said it like he was disappointed in me.
He was right. My head was messed up right now.
“Who is she to you?” he asked.
“Leave it,” I told him and walked away.
“Oh no, my man, you don’t get to say that shit. Look, I get it—you don’t like to talk about your life. I know your parents are cool; they show up to your games. You have friends, and you’re a solid guy. Man, I’ve watched you fuck your way through freshman and sophomore year. Then last year something changed. That girl, you looked at her like you were ready to consume her. I know you tapped Gigi in high school because that jersey chaser will brag to anyone who hears how she had you pussy-whipped and you ignored her.”
I interrupted him. “Are you done recapping my life?”
I knew my sins better than anyone. There had been a hole inside me that no amount of pussy had sated, a pain no amount of alcohol could make me forget. Except now. The moment I laid eyes on Scar again. All that pain went away.
“Look, man, all I’m saying is this is your chance to make it. Don’t blow it.”
“I won’t,” I vowed.
Ollie didn’t know it, but things had finally aligned this year, and I wouldn’t fail. Not this time.
Twelve
What were the odds that I got a class with Mr. Football God?
The number had to be slim, but karma was like, “Congrats, you’re the lucky winner. Strap on, bitch, and prepare for a ride.”
So, karma probably didn’t say that, but she thought it.
The first week had passed by, and so far, it seemed like sociology was the only class Gavin and I had together. Having no friends didn’t bother me. If I’d learned anything these past years, it was that being alone didn’t bother me; I didn’t fear my own company. My demons were ones I hadn’t conquered yet, but they were familiar and came with enough baggage that suffocated me, keeping me entertained.
I was sitting outside on one of the benches when I felt someone sit in front of me. I tensed because I knew it wasn’t any of my roommates. We had zero classes together since they had different majors. I slowly brought my head up, praying to God it wasn’t Gav.
“Fuck, Nick, you scared me.” I jumped in my seat.
My brother grinned at me and reached to steal one of my fries.
“How are you?”
I gave him an “are you for real” look. He had the decency to look sheepish.
“I’m fine, Nick. I made an appointment.”
I was diagnosed with depression a little bit after prom. The doctors gave my anger, my sadness, and my loneliness a name other than grieving. Nick put me in a facility where I’d had to stay for a month because he was scared. I’d tried to drown myself. It was something we never spoke of; it was like a dirty secret between us. I didn’t want to bring it up, and I think he was scared of what he would find out.