It was hard to watch her be that way. Her anorexia snuck up on me, and in hindsight, it was so obvious that I still blamed myself for not recognizing she had a problem before it was nearly too late. The damage her decisions had done to her body was life threatening. “What are you up to this afternoon?”
“Aside from getting the apartment unpacked and organized, nothing. I didn’t realize how much stuff we had, but since he moved out of the Omega House, his mother has sent us boxes of his things. Too bad none of it was cookware.” She made a face as she looked at the things she’d gathered. “You don’t need any of this, do you?”
I looked at the stuff and shook my head. “Nah, take it.” I took a deep breath and continued the topic. “So, how did Dillon’s Omega brothers take it when he moved out? He had just been promoted to Micha’s right hand.”
“They understood, and it’s not like they miss him. He’s still hanging out there more than I’d like, but the Olympic training is going to take too much of his time, so I’m not too worried.” She let out a sigh and turned her head to look up at the clock. “Don’t you have practice?”
“Yeah, I do. I need to get something to eat and run. I didn’t expect to find my apartment being burgled.” I went to the fridge and found some lunch meat and bread. I slapped a sandwich together and wrapped it in a napkin to take along with me.
Clara got to her feet. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Seth, but it’s probably for the best.”
“I said we were taking a break.”
“Couples take breaks. You weren’t even dating. I just don’t want you to be too upset when he moves on. He’s a known player, and you deserve better. He probably knows it too.” She gave me a wink and pulled me close for a hug. “I love you, Avery. Don’t forget I’m just a phone call away, and I can be here in two seconds if needed.”
“Same to you. And I love you too.” I finished the hug, took her heavy basket, and carried it out. Clara locked the door behind us, and I put the basket into Dillon’s truck for her.
“I miss our car,” she said, making a grumpy face as she looked over at the Accord our parents paid for us to share. I had gotten to keep it since Dillon already had a truck they could use.
I thought I’d try and make her feel better. “But at least you got a hot boyfriend to go along with those new wheels.”
“Yeah, I’m really lucky. Screw the car. I don’t need it.” She lifted her chin and waved her hand dismissively as she got in the truck. She was so small behind the wheel, like a kid trying to drive a semi, but she cranked it up and drove away as if she had been driving it for years.
I let out a breath and went to my car to drive myself to practice.
When I arrived, I got dressed in the locker room and met up with the team on the field. We worked through some drills and worked on our next play. I tried to pay attention but spent most of the first hour waiting for our male counterparts to show up. Mostly their team captain, Seth.
The girls’ and guys’ rugby practices overlapped more and more each week, but that was only because we were inching closer to the championships and our coaches were pushing us harder than ever.
Rugby had been my way into college, but I didn’t see it as a future. I enjoyed it, but I hoped there would come a time when I could move on with my life and carry the fond memories of the field with me.
I had other things I wanted to take away from college, and the biggest one of them led the team as they finally took the practice field.
Everyone had warned me about Seth, not only Clara, but there was something about him that fascinated me and made my heart race every time I laid eyes on him.
I took a deep breath and pushed those feelings down, knowing they were probably right. Even my own sister had problems with him, and well, I had seen just how inconsiderate he could be.
Things had been going great between us, and I loved spending time with him, but the closer we got, the more I had a chance to see what people were talking about.
Not only did Seth have a temper when things didn’t go his way, but he had a hard time doing the right thing. It was bad enough he cheated on Layla and treated her badly—from what I’d been told—but he had let me down too. I hadn’t told a soul, and not even Seth knew what had me shying away.
Just after our date two weeks ago, when Seth had taken me to the movies, we left the theater to go to a party at the Omega House. Things were going fine until I left him for five minutes to find a bathroom.
Sure, we had turned some heads upon our arrival, and I was super excited to be there with him, hoping that everyone would see that we were taking the next steps at becoming the latest hot couple at Providence University. But I had not expected anyone to have a problem with me.
I had been so foolish that night, fluffing out my usually flat, blonde hair, and adding a little extra lip gloss to impress him. When I returned, I found Seth standing at the keg, talking to one of his friends.
The guy, who I thought was named Ben or some three-letter name I had decided wasn’t important enough to remember, was cracking jokes, and the two of them were laughing. “Dude, isn’t that tomboy rugby chick you’re seeing like a lesbian or bi? I didn’t think she liked boys.”
Seth shook his head and laughed. “Who’s talking about boys? I’m a man.” He gave the guy a jab in the arm. “Besides, maybe I’ll get lucky and get a threesome with her and one of her hot friends. Talk about some hot action.”
They laughed it up together and chugged their drinks.
I turned and held back a minute so Seth wouldn’t know I overheard him, and when it was time to take me home, he didn’t know why I was so upset. “Come on,” he said. “Smile for me. You’ve been acting weird since we got to the party. I left because I thought you wanted us to be alone. I know I want to.” His voice softened a bit, but he had that look in his eyes like he had a lot more on his mind.
“It’s not that,” I said. “I’m just tired.”
Seth let out a heavy sigh. “Well, you said your sister isn’t home, so maybe I could come in for a while? I could tuck you in for the night.” He gave me a smoldering grin, and as much as I had wanted the night to end with us together, I just couldn’t bring myself to forgive what he’d said.
“No, I think I need to sleep.”
He pulled into the parking lot of my apartment and stopped the Jeep. “Come on, Avery. You said we’d have the place alone. I really thought that you liked me.”
“I do. I guess I’m a lot more exhausted than I thought. It must have been the movie.”
Seth looked puzzled. “The movie was awesome. I thought you’d like that kind of show. It was all action.”
“Why would you think that? Because I’m a tomboy?” I looked away, unable to meet his eyes.
I finally glanced over after a minute of silence, and he gave me a strange look. “No, because of the lead actor. I know how girls like that guy. Layla was in love with him. She even followed him on social media.”
I let out a breath. How could he be so clueless? And comparing me to Layla was not winning him any points either. “I’ll call you later.” I opened the door to get out, and when I did, he jumped out of his side and came around to walk me to the door.