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“First, it was a goodthing. Then it was nothing. Now it’s fucked.”
“Details,” Nick demands.
I’m about to start explaining when a substitute walks in and hooks up a TV so we can watch some sort of wellness propaganda that tells how we’re eating wrong and not exercising enough and suck at life.
Thankfully, the substitute doesn’t seem to care what we do, so Trevor turns halfway around while Nick leans over the side of his desk.
“Okay. Now, what’s going on?” Trev asks.
I let out a groan and give them the cliff notes version of the last few months leading up to what happened this weekend—skirting around the whole being sexually assaulted thing, because I do not want to get into that.
“He and Joel got into a fistfight?” Nick asks. “But I saw them talking this earlier.”
“They’re okay now. I made sure of that—well, Miles did—I needed them to be okay. Even if I feel fucking awful.”
Trevor squeezes my arm. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way.”
“Me either,” Nick says. “Obviously, I’ve been there.”
Nick gives me a knowing smile. He went through hell with his girlfriend, Leigh. But they’re together now and crazy happy.
The nonsense we were watching ends, and the sub tells us we can talk quietly until the end of class but not to leave our seats.Thank God.
“Hey,” Nick says, hitting my arm. “You remember what I told you at the beginning of the year? Real love?”
I let out a sigh. Of course he’d bring this up. He’s stupidly happy and wants everyone else to be too.
We were in the weight room together not long after Aaron started dating Caity and I was bummed. Nick went through a bunch of examples of why Aaron was obviously in love with me and told me not to give up.
It was reassuring at the time. Now? Not so much.
“Something about Aaron and me and real love.”
“What you have is real love. Forever love. Because of that, it’ll never be over between you two—no matter what happens.”
I glare at him. “Seriously, Nick? Twist the knife.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not trying to. What I’m saying, Rae,” he says softly, “is that he might need to get his shit together and you two have a lot to work through, but I fully believe you will. You’ll find your way through it. If anyone can, it’s you two.”
I let out a long sigh. “I hope so.”
“And until then, we’ve got your back,” Trev says. “I’ll be your personal body guard if you want,” he says, giving me his signature shit-eating grin.
“I don’t think I need that. But will you switch seats with me in math? Please?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Thank you.”
We chat for a while about lighter topics, like Trevor’s latest hookup, until class ends. The boys flank me walking out of class and Trevor throws his arm over my shoulder, making me laugh. Then, as I walk down the hall, I almost collide with Miles.
“Hey, thought you might like an escort to class,” he says, giving me a soft smile.
I jump into his arms and he squeezes me tightly.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Anytime,” he says. Then he slings his arm around my shoulders and guides us to our business class. It’s a quiet walk, but I can tell there’s something on his mind.
