AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Paige sits on the couch behind me while I kick Carter's ass in Madden. Each time I score a touchdown, he either throws his controller at the ground or he throws one of the sofa pillows at me. Meanwhile, Paige is busy working on her essay, but every now and then she glances over at the screen.
"Damn, Carter," she teases. "You really suck at this game."
He rolls his eyes and flips me off before looking at her. "Yeah, well. I've spent my life becoming skilled at other things. Jace may be good with his fingers, but I'm better with my tongue."
Paige giggles in a way that makes me see red. "Problem solved, then. Play with your tongue."
"Okay." He stands up and puts out his hand. "Let's go."
I know they're kidding. Deep down, I know that he would never go anywhere near her. But I can't help the monster that creeps up inside of me and tells me that I'm not good enough. I wasn't good enough for her before, and I'm not good enough for her now. Maybe dating Carter would be better for her. He's not stumbling his way through life.
"I'll be right back," I tell them as soon as the pressure becomes just too much.
Neither one of them is really paying attention, but I didn't expect them to. I go into my bedroom and make quick work of getting ahold of my pills. I pop two into my mouth and swallow them down with the beer I've been drinking for the past half hour.
Breathe, Jace. Fucking breathe.
I hide my stash underneath the bottom drawer of my nightstand and run my fingers through my hair as I try to find my chill. After a couple minutes passes, and I can feel the pills starting to kick in, Paige appears at my door.
"You good?" she asks.
I nod. "Just had to get new batteries for the controller, but I can't find where I put them."
It's a pretty good lie for coming up with it on the spot, and while Carter would probably see right through it, Paige doesn't. She smiles at me, and the two of us go back out into the living room.
While I wait for Carter to change the game to WWE, I look at the essay Paige is working on. It's already got seven pages, and it looks like she's about to start working on the eighth.
"What the hell are you writing, a dictionary?"
She looks down at me and pats me on top of the head. "Not everyone hires nerds to do their schoolwork for them, Jacey."
I groan and rest my head against the couch next to her. "That was one time."
"No, that was for one whole year. There is a difference."
"Yeah, yeah. Put that down and have some fun for once."
She shakes her head. "I can't. It's due tomorrow morning at nine."
My nose crinkles in disgust. "You signed up for a class at nine in the morning? Why do you hate yourself so much?"
"That's nothing," she says without taking her eyes off her computer. "My first class on Wednesdays is at seven in the morning."
"Ouch!" Carter chimes in. "And you live off campus, don't you?"
Nodding, her fingers continue to move across the keyboard. "That's what I get for transferring in the middle of the year. No dorms available and only certain class availability."
"That sucks."
The conversation seems to come to an end, but the gears in my brain keep turning. It's a horrible idea, and not one I should even be thinking about, but fuck if I don't want it. Maybe then I'd actually sleep at night.
"You could sleep here on Tuesdays," I suggest.
Carter's brows raise, and that actually makes Paige take her attention off her essay and puts it on me. "Seriously?"
I shrug, trying to play it off like it's no big deal. "Yeah, I mean it would be better than having to wake up at five-thirty just to get here in time."
She looks like she's actually considering it, and I all but hold my breath as I wait for an answer. Finally, she purses her lips. "I guess it would make sense. You really don't mind?"
