“Okay. Mystery solved for now. But I’m going to watch them closely over the next few months. There’s something off, and I will get to the bottom of it. But let’s hear what’s happening with you,” Coco said, turning to face me.
“Well. I quit cheer.” I sucked in a long breath after I said it.
“You did?” Maura asked. “Finally. You hated it for so long. It’s about time.”
“Hell, Alec cheating on you might be the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” Gigi said.
“What did your mom say?” Coco asked, and the concern in her eyes made me laugh. Turns out, everyone feared my mother.
I loved that my best friends weren’t surprised that I’d quit cheer. They were aware that I hadn’t been happy doing it for a while.
Because they listened.
Because they knew me.
“She’s currently not speaking to me. And my dad and I leave this weekend for Clem’s race up north. Of course, Mama claims she has a board meeting for NCL or something. It’s the state meet. Clementine made it as a freshman. I can’t believe she’s missing it.”
“Clem is going to take over the world before she graduates from high school,” Ivy said as she continued to write in the book. “What about Alec? Have you talked to him again?”
“He’s coming over in a half hour. He wants to talk. And I do too. I need him to know that I don’t hate him, but I also don’t want to get back together. Ever.”
“Fucking finally.” Coco fist-bumped the sky. “You’ve outgrown that kid. He was never good enough for you.”
“Ty said he’s pretty broken up about it,” Ivy said. “But I don’t think you should get back with him either.”
I nodded. We continued talking and laughing until the doorbell rang, and they all hopped up to leave. I made my way upstairs and slipped on my jacket. I didn’t want to talk to Alec in the house where Mama could eavesdrop. I stepped outside, and we dropped to sit on our porch swing.
“Hey,” he said, turning to face me. “I haven’t seen you much at school. I’d almost think you’re avoiding me.”
“I kind of am. It’s a little awkward, right?”
“It doesn’t have to be, Addy. We can get past this. It’ll just take some time.” He pulled his hoody up over his head as the wind bustled around us.
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to get past it, Alec. I’m not even that mad at you anymore. I think our moms sort of forced this whole thing on us. We just didn’t know anything different. But I think maybe you have something with Karina and you should give that a try. You keep going back to her, so there must be a reason.”
“What? I don’t want to be with Karina. I want to be with you. What are you saying? You don’t want to get back together? Ever? You can’t mean that.” He grabbed my hands and held them in his.
I nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I think this has run its course. I want to move on, and I think you should do the same. We’re not going to be best friends at first, because there’s obviously some hurt there. But eventually, I think we’ll get past it. We have a history.”
“You’re not making any sense, Addy. My mom told me you quit cheer. This is all because you’re upset with me. And I get it. I fucked up. I should have told you that my parents were fighting. I’ve heard my mom threaten to file for divorce a few times. I don’t know what’s up with them. But I lost myself for a bit. I know I screwed up. You have to forgive me.”
“That’s the thing. I do forgive you. This isn’t about me being mad at you. It’s about me figuring out what I want for the first time in my life.”
“Oh, so now you’re quitting cheer and you’re quitting me?” He pulled his hands away in a huff.
“You don’t get to be the victim in this, Alec. You quit us long before I did.”
“I never quit us. I just messed up. I thought with my dick and not my head. That’s what guys do sometimes.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Oh my gosh, he was taking a page out of the Savannah Edington handbook. Justifying his actions. I thought about what Jett had said, and he was right. Alec never took responsibility for his actions.
He was an entitled little prick.
“Well, not the guys that I want to date. Listen, I don’t want to fight with you, I really don’t. But I’m done, Alec. I’m moving on. And you should do the same.” I pushed to my feet and he reached for my hand.
And I felt absolutely nothing for him.
“Addy, please. We’re going to State together next year. You know we’re going to end up together, so why torture us during our senior year. I love you. This is our time.”
Our time? Didn’t he just have sex with Karina a week ago?
Was it not our time then?
I pulled my hand away. “I don’t know how to make this more clear for you? We’re done. I’m done. Maybe we’ll find our new normal as friends down the road, but for now, I think it’s best that we both do our own thing.”
He tried to grab my hand again. “So, you don’t care if I fuck Karina a hundred more times, huh?”
I yanked my hand away. “There’s no need to be cruel. But honestly, no. You can fuck whoever you want, Alec. And I can do the same.”
“You dated me for three years and never put out. And now, what? You’re going to fuck around on me?” Alec said, reaching for my hand again.
The door flew open and my father stood there staring at us. “It’s time for dinner, Ladybug. It’s time to say goodbye, Alec.” His tone was stern, and his eyes were hard as he stared at my ex-boyfriend.
Oh my god.
Had my father overheard our conversation?
So much for making peace with Alec. We had a long way to go before we’d find a friendship, and at the moment I couldn’t imagine things ever being normal with Alec Taulson again.
I was claiming my life back.
And it felt damn good.
Chapter Twelve
Jett
My motorcycle rumbled down the dirt road, and I passed the white VW Bug before pulling over and parking my bike. It had been almost a month since the first time I’d brought Adelaide out here, and the girl had come every day since. I gave her a hard time about it, but honestly, I didn’t mind at all. We mostly talked about school, and life, and sometimes we both just did our own thing and didn’t say much. She was working on her damn college essay for TU and still hadn’t made a dent in it. I knew she was going through a lot, but she claimed she’d never felt better.