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When he opens them again, they lock onto Sarah and the pained expression is too similar to the look I saw on Hannah’s face when she confronted me about Sarah – when I didn’t believe her. I mutter a curse under my breath. Hannah was right.Shit. I’m such an idiot!How could I have taken someone else’s word over hers. What the hell am I doing with my life? I don’t want to be here. I want to be with Hannah.
I wrench my arm out of Sarah’s grip, shooting her a filthy look, before stepping toward Joel with my hands raised. “Listen, man. She told me you guys had broken–”
My head snaps back as Joel’s fist connects with my nose. Stars dance across my vision and I drop down to my knees, bringing my hand up to my face.
“Payback’s a bitch,” Joel snarls, standing over me shaking his hand.
“Jeez, man,” I gingerly bring my fingers to the bridge of my nose which is throbbing like crazy. After spitting out some blood that’s run into my mouth, I look up at him. “I think you broke my nose.”
“That’s for the footy field.” His left hand packs just as much heat as his right as it connects with my right eye. “That’s for sneaking around with my girlfriend.”
“Leave him alone, Joel.” Sarah crouches down next to me, but I shrug her off. She pouts, crossing her arms across her body. “Oli?”
I groan as I try to stand up. My brain feels like it’s going to explode out of my skull as I put two and two together.Hannah was right. Sarah’s been playing the both of us.
Caley hands me a tea towel filled with ice, which I press up against the side of my face. A small crowd has formed around us, and I look around at the unfamiliar faces wishing to see only one.
“You need to get out of here, Joel.” Sarah wraps her arm around my waist, smirking at the guy who messed up my face. “I’m over all the bullshit drama and playing second fiddle to your asshole of a dad. Maybe next time you’ll appreciate me more. Like Oli does.”
I shake my head, wincing at the pain. “Hannah was right,” I mutter.
“What?” Sarah looks up at me, eyes wide.
“Hannah was right,” I repeat, raising my voice so she can hear me over the music. “You are a bitch.”
The crowd around us lets out a chorus of “ooohs,” nudging and smirking at one another as I watch Sarah’s cheeks redden. I wrench myself out of her reach and storm out of the party.
Pacing back and forth on the nature strip, my thoughts are consumed with my best friend. She tried to warn me, and I treated her like shit. All because I was trying to push aside my feelings for her. But where had that gotten me? Bloody, sore; drunk, and stranded at a party on the other side of town on her eighteenth birthday. There’s a horrible ache in my chest, and I rub at my breastbone trying to relieve it. Why am I such an idiot? I should’ve been there with her. I should have been thereforher.
Cautiously, I pull the damp tea towel away, checking to see if my nose has stopped bleeding. It has. I gently prod the swollen mess, wincing again at the pain. I can’t tell if it’s broken, but it’s definitely going to take some time to heal. I look down at my favourite grey sweatshirt to find it covered in blood and now I’m pissed. I’m going to have to chuck it. It was a Christmas gift from Hannah two years ago.
I glance down at my watch. It’s eleven thirty. Calculating it will take me at least half an hour to walk to her house from here, I groan. I wouldn’t make it in time to see her on her eighteenth birthday. Taking a deep breath, I pull out my phone and dial Jake’s number.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asks when I climb into his car ten minutes later.
“It’s a long story.”
I’m so amped up about getting to Hannah’s before midnight I don’t even think twice about being in a vehicle. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything.
“Did you bring it with you?”
Jake nods in the direction of the backseat, and I reach over and grab the present.
“Can you drop me at Hannah’s?”
My brother raises his eyebrows as he pulls away from the curb. “I thought you were out with Sarah tonight.”
“I was.”
“So, what happened?”
I groan. “Her boyfriend Joel West happened.”
“The kid you punched in the face at school?” he asks.
I nod.
Jake whistles. “Shit.”
