And if he does, if he touches her, I’ll fucking kill him.
Jax watches me over Riley’s shoulder as I make my way to my locker, and as I see his eyes sparkle, I know he’s about to stir the pot. “Don’t know about that,” he says to Riley. “Seems your girl already has her pussy wet for someone else.”
A grunt tears from the back of my throat as I open my locker and glance back at Jax, his eyes already on me. “Call her his girl one more time and see what happens.”
Jax laughs, rubbing his hand over his bare chest. “Ooooh, getting attached, cousin?” he says, delight brimming in his eyes. “Tell me, whose fucking girl is she? Yours? You claiming that fine ass officially?”
My teeth grind together as I clench my jaw, venom pooling in my stare. Fucking asshole, he knows damn well I’m not about to claim her as my own, but the very thought of her belonging to someone else … fuck. I need to shake this.
Last night, up on that roof, touching her, feeling her body against mine … that was dangerous. Too fucking dangerous. The lines are blurring, and I can’t handle it. I’m spiraling out of control.
I turn back to my locker and reach for my things. Fuck this. I’ll shower at home. I barely get a chance to close my locker before Riley is there, his heavy arm draping over my shoulders. “Come on, man. We’re only fucking around. I know you’re into her, which is exactly why, after the races on Friday night when I fuck her into oblivion, I’ll share. We could tag team her like old times. Do you think she’ll be down for that?”
Rage shatters the little control I have left, and I grip my best friend and slam him up against my locker. “The fuck did you just say?” I roar.
“Chill, bro,” he laughs, his eyes darkening, knowing exactly where this is leading but doing absolutely nothing to defuse the situation. “Why does she have you so worked up? She can be our little secret. Suck you off while I fuck her from behind.”
My fist slams against his jaw and he shoves me back, anger bursting through me like never before, anger for not understanding what the fuck is happening with Brielle, anger for what happened to my sister, anger that she’s not fucking waking up, anger that my father is always away when my mother needs him by her side.
Riley hits me right back as our teammates crowd around, half of them urging us on while the other half try to pull us apart. He gets a clean shot to my gut, but I fire back with another, splitting his lip. “That all you got, asshole?” he spits. “Fucking hit me harder.”
I push him hard, my knuckles bleeding as we beat the shit out of each other, but with every punch, I feel that anger burning out of me until I’m able to relax enough for Hudson and Logan to tear me off him, both of us panting and covered in blood.
I get to my feet, keeping my stare on Riley and without saying a damn word, each of the boys finally get just how messed up I am over this girl, despite preaching that she means nothing to me. Riley nods and just like that, I storm back to my locker, grab my shit, and get the fuck out of here.
I’m home within five minutes, pushing through the front door and storming up to my room. I see her through my window, but I don’t stop to linger as I move through to the bathroom, the ride home doing nothing to ease the rage boiling through my system. Beating the shit out of Riley helped, and on some level, I think he pushed me on purpose. He’s been watching me all too closely this week, he knew I needed that outlet, and I don’t doubt that sooner or later, he’ll be wanting to talk it through. I hate that I used his face as a punching bag, hate that I split his lip, but that’s just how it’s always been between us. I can’t count the number of black eyes I’ve come home with over the past few years after Riley’s been fucked over by his parents once again.
Bracing myself against the counter, I hang my head, taking a few deep breaths before slowly looking up to find my reflection staring back at me. My eyes are wild, my hair a fucking mess, and there’s blood splattered across my face and uniform. I need to check myself. I need to find control before I break.
What I fucking need is to get this chick out of my head.
Yanking my bloodied uniform off, I toss it into the hamper, turning the hot water on full. It takes only a moment to heat, and I step into the harsh spray before bracing my hands against the cold tiles. Tipping my head forward, I let the hot water rush over me as I try to focus on calming myself.
She’s just the new girl, and sooner or later, Channing will be done with them and send them back to wherever the hell they came from, and I’ll be done. Addie is going to be okay. She’s going to wake up, and she’s going to breathe on her own, and then she’s going to come to me and demand I put Colby Jacobs in the ground, and I’ll do whatever the fuck I have to do to make it happen. I might lose everything, but at least I’ll feel like myself again.
Just when I think I’ve got myself under control, I step out of the shower and I wrap my towel around my waist, catching a glimpse of bright blue eyes staring back at me through the mirror.
The fuck?
Moving to the open doorway, I find Brielle perched on the end of my bed, concern flooding her heated stare, watching me as though she knows I’m straddling the line of insanity. Reaching up, I grip the frame of the bathroom door and stare back at her, letting her see the full rage that’s been plaguing me and hating how she doesn’t back down from it. “What the fuck are you doing in here?”
Brielle stands and moves across my room, getting closer with every step until she’s standing right before me, her eyes scanning over the light bruises decorating my skin. “You look like shit,” she tells me, her fingers flinching at her sides, trying to convince herself not to reach out and touch me.
The need for her to brush her fingers across my skin storms through me, knowing that just one touch from her will send a wave of relief settling through my chest. I crave it like never before, but I won’t dare beg for it. If anything, she needs to fuck off out of here because every moment alone with her only screws with me more.
I need to push her away. I need this girl out of my head. I can’t afford to throw everything I’ve worked for out the window, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen if I allow myself to let her in. I have a team to think about, a championship to win, colleges to impress, and none of that is going to happen if I’m obsessing over some girl, a girl who shouldn’t matter to me.
It’s only been a few days since I first saw her at that party, and already, I’m too fucking deep.
“What are you doing?” I question, my tone filled with venom. “We have one conversation on the roof and you suddenly think we’re friends?”
She flinches at my tone, her stare hardening. “What am I doing? What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she throws back at me. “I came to make sure you were alright because you stormed in here like a fucking bull, bleeding and out of control, and you want to give me this bullshit attitude? Absolutely not, Tanner Morgan. You don’t get to be so hot and cold with me, acting like we’re besties one minute then being a complete ass the next.”
My glare hardens and I lean into her, that familiar scent of her perfume or shampoo lingering in the air and making me high. I capture her stare and watch as she shrinks under it. “Get the fuck out.”