I TRIED TO GET Brady to pick me up, but unfortunately, he was visiting Jake at work. He offered to leave, but the last thing I want is for my best friend’s boyfriend to feel like I’m stealing even more of his time than I already do. So, I told him I’d stick it out and see him at the end of the day. Thank God it’s Friday, because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
It would be one thing if I knew why Grayson hates me so much. I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit racking my brain for anything I’ve done wrong, but nothing comes to mind. He’s the one who left without saying goodbye. He’s the one who vanished from my life and broke my heart in the process. Every promise we ever made, every dream we ever had, was gone along with him. I’ve never felt as alone as I did that day.
The cafeteria is crowded as I walk over to our table and sit down. Jace and Carter are already there, as usual. They must see how defeated I feel because they share a concerned look before Carter reaches over and places his hand on mine.
“Are you all right?”
I shrug. “I’m fine. Just over this week.”
He nods slowly and then smirks. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain moody quarterback, would it?”
“Don’t mention Grayson to me,” I snap. “Seriously, don’t.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. No need to bite my head off.”
I’m about to apologize when the rest of the table fills, including my two least favorite people. I hadn’t seen Grayson since he walked out of the bathroom with my favorite belonging. No part of me wanted to go back to second period, so I told the nurse I didn’t feel well and wanted to lie down. She sent someone to get my things, and I spent the rest of class there. With him being in all four of my classes, I’ve never considered changing my schedule so much in my life.
He takes the seat next to Kinsley, making me roll my eyes and focus on my phone. How am I supposed to have an appetite when I have that sitting in front of me? She giggles at something he says and slides her tray over to share with him. It’s sickening, and almost makes me feel bad for her. Almost. Anyone with eyes can see that he’s not actually interested. For some reason, he’s got this undying need to torment me, and he’s using her to do it.
A tap on my shoulder pulls my attention away. Lennon, a junior here and someone I know from dance, stands behind me. Her blonde hair and bright red lipstick are only a small part of what makes her gorgeous. She’s a little spitfire, both on and off the dance floor. She’s the only other person besides Brady who I’ll do a duet with. No one else can keep up.
“Hey, Lennon. What’s up?”
She smiles sweetly. “My dad is stuck in some business meeting today, and the chauffeur is sick. Do you think I could catch a ride with you and Brady to dance?”
I nod. “Of course, babes. Just meet me out front after school.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
She’s about to walk away when a familiar voice stops her. “And who might you be, beautiful?”
Her eyes land on Grayson and widen. However, before she has a chance to answer, I put my hand up.
“Don’t answer him, Len. He’s a pig.” To my relief, she laughs and walks away—taking my advice. I focus my attention solely on Grayson. “Leave her alone. She’s too good for you.”
He scoffs. “Whatever.” He turns to Kinsley. “Babe, let’s get out of here.”
I don’t miss the evil glint in her eye as she stands and walks away with his arm draped over her shoulders. If I had eaten anything at all, it would have come back up after seeing that. I’d rather him be with anyone but her, and the problem is, I think he knows that.
“He’s got balls, hitting on Lennon Bradwell like that,” Jace remarks. “Her dad would have his head on a silver platter by nightfall.”
Carter snickers. “I don’t think he knows anything about her. Might have been fun to watch if jealous Judy over here didn’t ruin it for us.”
I groan. “I’m not jealous. She just has the recital to focus on. It needs to be perfect. No distractions.”
“Sure. We’ll go with that,” he quips then turns to Jace. “I wonder if he was this much a player in Campton.”
In a single second, all the air gets sucked out of my lungs. “Campton?” I croak. “As in, an hour away, Campton?”
Jace nods. “Do you know of any others?”
Red lights go off in my head as I get up from the table and march out of the cafeteria. I know chasing them down is a bad idea, but I can’t help it. Thankfully, I find them in the hallway, not far from Grayson’s locker. I go directly up to them and narrow my eyes on Kinsley.
“Leave.”
She crosses her arms. “No.”
Grayson must know something is up because he presses a kiss to her forehead and then pushes her away. “Go, babe. I’ll find you after.”
Kinsley glares at me as she walks away. Once she is gone, all my anger is aimed directly on Grayson.
“Campton?” I shout. “All this time, you were in fucking Campton?” He closes his locker and leans against it but doesn’t say anything. “Do you know how hard I tried to find you? How many times I looked for you and came up empty? You left me! I came back from my grandmother’s house, and you were fucking gone! And now I find out you were only an hour away?” I press my hands against his chest. “I couldn’t fucking find you!”
He grabs my wrists and shoves me off him. “I didn’t want to be found, especially not by you. Ever think of that?”
It’s like a punch directly to the gut, because no, I hadn’t thought of that. Why would I? He was my best friend. The two of us were inseparable. No part of me considered the fact that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
Before I give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry, I shake my head and take a step back. “Fuck you, Grayson.”
“In your dreams.”
I don’t justify him with an answer as I walk away, knowing I can only hold back my emotions for so long. The part of me that was once hard as stone is breaking in his presence. I need to learn how to control myself before I let him destroy everything I worked so hard to attain.
THE MUSIC FILLS THE studio as I throw myself into every move. All the anger, the sadness, the pent-up frustrations—I let it all out in the best way I know how. Losing myself in the song, I hardly notice anyone around me. The dance is everything I need right now, and as the beat fades away, I collapse to the floor, breathing heavily but feeling less like a glass squeezed to the breaking point.
“If I ever become half the dancer you are, I’ll be so happy,” Lennon says with a sigh.
I sit up and chuckle. “Shut up. You’re amazing. Don’t even.”
“Maybe so, but you’re something else. The way you tell a story with your body, it’s everything a dancer aspires to be.”
“She’s right,” Brady says as he helps me off the floor. “Though I know you well enough to know that had more to do with personal issues and less to do with the choreography.”