“You know what?” she asks, aggressively digging through the messenger bag slung across her chest. “Here.”
The muscles of my stomach contract from the impact of her fist punching it. Looking down, I see she has her own shirt balled in her grasp.
“I didn’t think any of these existed anymore, but I guess I was wrong.” The pressure to my gut increases as she digs her knuckles into me harder, until I work her fingers loose enough to free the white cotton. “You doubt I was bullied in high school? Think it was something I just made up for funsies?”
Her gray eyes are hard as steel, her glare unwavering. Bile crawls up the back of my throat at the cutting edge to her tone.
“Well, try going to school and seeing hundreds of people wearing those.”
Her eyes narrow and drop to the shirt I hold limply between us, silently daring me to look.
Swallowing down what feels like a chunk of turf lodged in my throat, I pinch the material at the shoulders and let it fall open.
What is that?
Is that…
Fuck! Swollen eyes pinched closed, cheeks ruddy and wet, mouth caught open in a wail—it’s a giant picture of Kay’s crying face with the words Train-Wreck Crybaby printed above it.
Who the fuck would make this into a shirt?
You really are a special kind of asshole, aren’t you, Nova?
I look up, another apology on my tongue, this one soul-deep—but like she’s been doing to me all week, Kay is gone.
#Chapter17
Yesterday I did something I never do—I skipped class.
In my defense, I did have a mini breakdown, and if I’d stayed, I wouldn’t have comprehended anything anyway.
Still, I ran—literally—from both Mason and the very real, very big feelings I still have for him. I love him. I love him the way Bette loves E, but unlike my amazing sister-in-law, I don’t have the strength to weather the storm coming for us.
So, I did what I do best—run and hide.
First, I went to The Barracks. Of course I went to the gym. It’s my second home, and I feel safe there. Plus, there are things to distract me there, to take my mind off all the things I don’t want to think about.
Mason.
My broken heart.
Instagram.
Unwanted packages with reminders of a past I wish I could forget.
Calls and questions from Jordan about what to do about…all of it.
E freaking out.
JT virtually holding my hand.
Mason.
Mason.
Mason.
Why are you fighting him? He wants you back. He apologized, told you he loves you. Holy shit! *pulls shirt from behind back* Did you see this? Did you? Did you? *slides hand under the writing like Vanna White* This boy couldn’t get you more if he were plucked out of one of Tessa’s romance novels.
I look down and curse both my inner cheerleader and myself at the sight of the black cotton covering my chest. Yes, I’m wearing the shirt, the same one that brought on my breakdown, the same one that is like the antidote to the poison Liam dropped on my doorstep.
After tumbling until I almost couldn’t move then joining in to help coach the Marshals, I came back to the Taylors’. Unable to be alone or anywhere Mason would know to look for me, I spent hours talking with both Taylor siblings.
As I drifted off to sleep, wearing the shirt, I had pieced together enough of the old Kay to believe I could do it, to believe I could be with Mason.
Then I woke and was reminded exactly why I need to stay away.
#Chapter18
TightestEndParker85: Hold up, time out. *stop sign emoji* Is this real life? @CasaNova87 are you really dating my sloppy seconds? #IHadHerFirst
*side-by-side picture of Liam and Kay smiling from when they dated and a snapshot of Mason in his football gear during a game looking upset*
UofJ411: *wide-eyed emoji* *mind blown emoji* #IHaveSoManyQuestions #CasanovaWatch #CasanovasGirl
*REPOSTED—side-by-side picture of Liam and Kay smiling from when they dated and a snapshot of Mason in his football gear during a game looking upset—TightestEndParker85: Hold up, time out. *stop sign emoji* Is this real life? @CasaNova87 are you really dating my sloppy seconds? #IHadHerFirst*
@Lagerlefsebookblog: And the plot thickens #SomeonePassThePopcorn #CasanovaWatch #CasanovasGirl
@Lala_powergirl: Was the U of J just her safety school or something? Looks like @CasaNova87’s girl has a thing for Nittany Lions #WhereDoYourLoyaltiesLie #CasanovaWatch #CasanovasGirl
@Lonniegallahan: I know ESPN is going to cover the game, but does anyone think this might be better broadcasted on E!? #ISmellDrama #ScoringMoreThanTouchdowns #CasanovaWatch #CasanovasGirl
TightestEndParker85: Hey @UofJ411 I have so many stories #ICouldWriteABook
*boomerang of Liam waggling his eyebrows with a smarmy smirk*
@TheQueenB: This has GOT TO BE good #ImAllEars
@UofJ411: Do tell #WeAreListening
#Chapter19
“Still no progress on the Kay front?” Alex and I claim seats in the den as soon as we return from our walkthrough practice.
Snapshots from yesterday flash through my mind.
Kay trying to run away.
Kay telling me to let her go. Yeah, right. That is so not happening.
Kay crying, each tear like acid on my soul.
And the one that has haunted me through all my waking hours and followed me into my dreams: Kay crumpled on the floor.
“I talked to her yesterday.” Sure, the conversation didn’t go at all like I’d hoped, but after days of avoidance, it was one step forward before what feels like all the steps back.
“What did she say about the shirt?” Trav asks, and all I can think is, Which one?
Grayson was the only person I showed the shirt Kay shoved at me. I don’t know why I haven’t shared it with anyone else, but a part of me feels like I would be betraying her if I did so without her permission.
If the beaming smile on Trav’s face is anything to go by, he’s feeling uber-proud of himself for having been the one to help me find the Etsy shop I used to commission the shirts I had made. Once I have Kay back, I will be making fun of
