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JACE
Everyone’s off at Emerson’s house. I’m not. I’m home. We lost. By one fucking point. Fuck the party. And fuck Mila for wearing that fucker’s jersey to the game.
My game.
Mom and Dad went to bed long ago. They’re off early tomorrow on some mini vacation. Again. Not that I blame them. If I worked as hard as they do and finally had some money saved for traveling, I would too.
The controller in my hand vibrates as I get shot. They get me again, and I die. I curse and throw my Xbox controller on my bed. It bounces off and lands with a thump on the floor. I can’t even play Fortnite without thinking about Mila and all the shit that happened tonight. I throw myself back against my mattress and run my hands through my hair.
I’m blaming her for our loss. Grady was pissed when he saw her wearing Asher’s jersey. But when Asher pointed to Mila and tapped his chest, it set Grady off. He was enraged. I’d never seen him like that before. He had it out for Asher, and he sacked him harder than needed. More than once.
It surprised me. He’d been so happy to drive Mila to school all week, boasting to me about it every day. Like they have some little secret club that I’m not a part of. I told him to stop spending time with her, that she’s dating Asher Rossi. He didn’t believe me.
But seeing her wearing Asher’s jersey, that pushed him over the edge. Hell, it pushed me, Hunter, and Roman over the edge too. Mila distracted all of us from the game.
Roman slipped up after he watched her in the stands. It was easy to spot her wearing the navy blue of the Kings.
Hunter ran two seconds late after looking over at her. It almost cost us the play, but he caught the ball only to be sacked at the same time.
They were angry and pissed. I was too.
Until we left the locker room to see James Hart, assistant football coach to the Lakeview Kings, Mila’s dad and my neighbor, kissing Asher’s mom. Asher’s mom was making out with Mila’s dad.
My mouth had dropped open. I’d realized my mistake too late.
Hunter shoved me. “You said she was fucking him. Looks like, from here, that she’s gonna be his new sister. They don’t look like they’re together. What did you see?”
What did I see? She touched him…she pulled him to the house…they were laughing. That’s it. Looking back on it, I’d assumed there was more to it, but it was an innocent exchange. There was nothing to suggest she was with him. I’d fucked up.
“I thought there was something.”
Hunter had believed me when I told him that she was fucking a King. He said didn’t want anything to do with Mila when he found out, which made me ecstatic. I didn’t have to worry about how he felt about her and the pact.
As soon as Mila got into the car with her dad and the Rossi’s, Hunter turned to me, his nostrils flared. He gritted his teeth and let out a strangled sound. “I’m…fuck!” Hunter shoved me again, and I stumbled back a step.
“Fuck, Jace, I’m so mad right now. I believed you when you said she was fucking him. I was happy Mila was back, you knew that. And you put that shit in my head. You fucking lied. Was it because you didn’t want me to have her? Were you that worried I would break the pact again? Just like you and Roman had?”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. Was it because, deep down, I knew he would break the pact? That he would choose her over me?
Did I want her to choose me, and with Hunter and Roman out of the picture, did I think I would have a chance?
I didn’t know if I’d wanted to believe she was with Asher to stop the others from forming something with her again, or if I’d really believed it was true.
“I’m going to Emerson’s party. I don’t want to see you right now.”
Hunter didn’t give me a chance to explain. He walked away from me before I could even come up with something. What could I say?
Roman grumbled something and left with him.
Grady drove me home. He didn’t speak to me the whole way. I tried, but he wouldn’t talk to me. As soon as we got back, he changed and left for the party.
In one night, I upset my two best friends and my brother, all because I thought I saw something that turned out not to be true.
I’m relieved Asher and Mila aren’t a thing. But why the fuck did she wear his jersey? To teach me a lesson for calling her out on it at school? When she’d laughed in my face that day, I should’ve realized something didn’t add up. Mila isn’t the type of girl to take my shit, and she didn’t even correct me.
Have I pushed her too far? I hadn’t been able to see past my anger long enough to see what’s been going on in front of my eyes.
My phone goes off, and I sit up. Rolling over the messy sheets, I pick it up from my side table. I expect it to be from Roman or Hunter. They normally call me this late if they need me. But I’m surprised to see her name there.
