Page 58 of Cheap Shot

I eyed them, suspicion building in my gut.

“I’m just curious,” Sadie pressed.

“You never did tell us why you moved here,” Ella added. “At least, not the full story.”

And I wasn’t going to unpack all of that here, in the middle of campus.

“Is that why Reid Bayman came and got you from the party?” Sadie asked.

“Wh-what?” I stuttered. I never told them all of the details of what happened at the party. Just that Jay drugged my drink, and I called a friend to come get me.

“A bunch of people saw him carrying you out,” Sadie challenged. “Why didn’t you just tell us?”

I looked at Ella, Cassie, and Krystal. They all knew and hadn’t said anything? Were they waiting for me to tell them or just waiting for the right moment to gang up on me?

“Why are you keeping a whole part of yourself a secret?” Krystal asked quietly. She seemed hurt, and I wasn’t sure what to say to make her, or any of them, understand.

“Did you think we would use you?” Cassie asked before dropping her eyes to the ground.

“Guys, no. It’s just a really hard thing for me to talk about.” I really didn’t want to be having this discussion out in the open when there were so many other students out walking to dinner and the dorms.

“I thought we were close.” Ella’s voice dropped.

This was a setup. I could feel it now. They planned this. Planned to walk by this poster just so they could bring it up. Did they even want to go to the football game or was that just Sadie’s way of making the transition feel natural?

I felt stuck. Boxed in and cornered. I knew my reaction was over the top and that not wanting Ethan as a known part of my life might seem weird to them, but they didn’t know the full story. That was my fault too. I never told them.

My shoulders fell. “Is it wrong that I wanted a fresh start? That I wanted to move to a place where no one knew me or my past or my family so I could be my own person? I didn’t tell you guys things because it’s painful and I’ve been trying to move on. I don’t want to live with the reminders of what happened. I liked that with you guys, I could be myself. There were no expectations or assumptions.” I sighed. “It’s not like I know everything about any of you guys. We’re still getting to know each other, and eventually, I would have told you guys about my brother, but for once in my life, I wanted to just be me. Not Ethan Clarkson’s little sister.”

“If that’s what you wanted, why move here?” Sadie asked again.

I snapped. “Because it was my only option. Or the only one I could live with. It was either move back home and go to a local college or transfer here where Ethan would be close by if I needed him.”

Not that he’d been there when I really did need his help.

Ella and Cassie had the decency to look uncomfortable. Sadie was still watching me through narrowed eyes, but Krystal stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have ambushed you like this.”

I pulled out of her embrace and looked at each of them. “This was planned?”

She nodded, confirming what I’d suspected, and it was a punch straight through my heart.

“Why?” I asked. “Why was it so important to get me to admit that Ethan is my brother?”

They all shared a look. And Sadie rubbed her arm, finally looking embarrassed.

This couldn’t be happening again. Not with them. I thought they were really my friends. That they were genuinely interested in getting to know me. Not just used me. “You what? Want me to set one of you up with him? Introduce you all to the team?”

Cassie and Sadie shared a flicker of a glance, and I knew.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I wanted to break down and cry. “How long?”

Ella was the only one to respond. “How long what?”

“How long have you guys known? How long has this been the plan?”

Sadie stared at the ground. “I knew when you moved in. The RA told me.”

I huffed and shook my head. “So, this whole time? Was it just luck that I came out and asked to hang out with you?”