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“Seth,” I start while stepping towards him.
“Just leave me the fuck alone, Rachel,” Seth sneers. “I can’t believe you would do this to me, and with my rival for fuck’s sake.”
“Seth, I still care about you,” I say quickly, reaching for him.
Seth bats my hands away. “Like I can honestly believe that.”
I still, feeling as if I’ve been slapped. Tears prickle my eyes while I stare at Seth, looking disgusted. “I do, Seth. I love all of you. I didn’t go all the way. I wanted to wait and talk with you and Hunter. Maybe-” I force a smile before continuing, “maybe Alex can join our group.”
“No!” Seth roars. “No! No! No!”
“Seth-”
“Leave me the fuck alone!” Seth shouts, lunging forward and resuming his jog. “I can’t stand to be around you right now.”
My shoulders slump while I watch Seth run down the sidewalk towards town. I want to tell him he shouldn’t be running that fast. His leg is still healing, but I don’t think he’ll listen to me right now. To him, I’m just as bad as Alex. Actually, probably even worse.
I know I definitely feel like it.
Turning around, I force myself towards the apartment, hoping Lucas is on the couch and willing to hug and cuddle with me. I open the door and stop when I see Hunter standing in the kitchen. His eyes turn to me, immediately landing on my neck. His eyes widen while his mouth opens, taking a sharp intake of breath.
“Hunter,” I start, kicking the door closed.
He holds up his hands, turning away from me. “Not now, Rachel.”
I stop, my hands slowly lowering.
“I can’t believe,” he inhales deeply before letting it out, “you’ve been with Alex, haven’t you?”
Hunter refuses to look at me, so I’m forced to say, “Yes.”
He sighs, turning his back to me and trudging towards his room.
“Hunter, let’s talk about-”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Rachel!” Hunter shouts, pushing his door open and keeping his back to me. “I don’t want to hear it. Whatever excuses you have, I don’t want to hear them.”
I sniff. Tears stream down my face while I watch Hunter enter his room, slamming the door closed. There has to be something I can do to fix this. I just don’t know what.
18
HUNTER
Iscowlatthelock while spinning the dial back and forth. This is already my third attempt, and the stupid fucking thing won’t open. Rachel’s tearful gaze has haunted me for the past couple of weeks, and the apartment has been so tense, I don’t think even a steak knife could cut through it. Lucas is the only one kissing Rachel’s ass. I guess Alex is his friend, so he’s a bit more lenient about Rachel fooling around with him.
Me, not so much.
“God, fucking damn it!” I shout while slamming my fist into the locker when it doesn’t open.
Several gazes swivel in my direction and I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and focus.Just get the door open, Hunter,I tell myself,that’s all you have to do. And then you can sit your fat ass on the bench and watch the idiots lose another fucking game.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have been so upset if Rachel had just told me she was interested in Alex.She did,a dark voice whispers to me.She told you the night of the party— when Alex kissed her.I roll my eyes. Okay, fine. She did tell me. Maybe I want to be angry with her. Aren’t Lucas, Seth, and myself enough for her? Why does she need another guy? And why does it have to be Alex of all people? Alex is Seth’s ultimate arch nemesis. If Seth was Batman, then Alex would be the Joker. If Seth was Superman, then Alex would be his kryptonite, or Lex Luther. Most likely some terrible concoction of both.
Thinking of Seth makes me wince. The bro has had an especially terrible year. Never mind the whole Rachel hooking up with Alex thing, the poor guy has been replaced on the track team and stands to lose his scholarship in January if he isn’t able to run. No, not just run. Run impossibly fast. He’ll have to beat one of the Freshmen, who have been training harder than him this whole semester.
I know I would be brimming with rage if I was him.
These past few weeks have been filled with him slamming doors, kicking his muddy shoes off wherever he wants, leaving dirty dishes in the sink and his stinking underwear in the bathroom. I’m assuming these childish antics have everything to do with Rachel. I know how much she likes the place clean. I would feel sorry for her, but I don’t.
