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“This whole time, you’ve been too pigheaded to realize the championship isn’t as important as you think it is… and I’ve been too weak or too scared or whatever, of losing you as a friend, to tell your parents. I guarantee Caroline would have dealt with this way better than either of us did.”
“I know,” I sigh. “Iknowthat. I messed up, okay?”
“You haven’t even hung out with her tonight. You’re acting like you’re drunk off your ass. I’m worried about you, Seb.”
Man, she really isn’t gonna let up, is she?
“Ifeeldrunk off my ass.” I sway on my feet, as if on cue. The room spins for a second and I inhale a deep breath. My brain is scrambled, fried, and toasted right now. Like maybe I do have a serious concussion. Even though that makes no sense. Because, like I said, I’ve been feeling some version of messed up for several months now. Since I was at my last school, for chrissakes. A concussion this bad does not last for this many months.
And after just a few pretty standard tackles tonight, it’s worse than ever—the night I was supposed to be celebrating the victory I’ve been battling all this stuff for in the first place. And I feel like an ass because everything Scarlett is saying is the truth.
And on top of it all, Caro walked over to me a few minutes earlier downstairs and I was getting a really weird vibe from her. I cannot mess things up with her right now, on top of everything else.
I rake both hands through my hair, dropping my head back. Then finally face Scarr again, stumbling off-kilter with just that one small movement. “I think Caro’s mad at me for something. And I have no clue what.”
Scarr shakes her head. Rolls her eyes. A-freakin’-gain. “You’re a shit-show, Murdoch.”
I force out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m—”
A wave of nausea hits me just then and I stumble for the bathroom.
I get there two seconds too late and splatter blue Gatorade all over my T-shirt. Which, silver lining—at least matches the all-blue color-scheme of the spare bedroom and adjoining bathroom. I pull it off and run it under cold water to get the worst of it out, then toss it onto the shower floor. I’ll just grab one of Xave’s T-shirts to wear later.
I fall onto the bed, exhausted and still nauseous and dizzy as a high-flying kite. Meanwhile, Scarr has mellowed out, now that she’s wrapped up her whole “chew Seb out for being a dumb-ass moron” mission. And she is an ace when it comes to dealing with other people’s drama. Not so much with her own, but that’s a whole other story.
So she manages to bring my stress down a little, at least. Assures me I’ll figure this out. Even gets me a glass of water and forces me to drink it. And I’m starting to feel a little less panicked about the situation.
Until there’s a knock on the door. And I know. I justknowit’s Caroline.
“Sebastian?”
Fuck my life.
This is gonna look so bad.
The door swings open and Caro’s standing there, her eyes going from me, lying shirtless on the bed, to Scarr, hovering over me.
I know what this looks like. Scarr knows, too. And freakin’ why? Seriously—whydo I have to have such crap luck all the time with this stuff? I mean, this is the third damn time this term I’ve been caught with my shirt off or my pants down—for all the wrong reasons.
Scarr reacts first. “Caroline… I swear this is not what—”
“Save it, Scarlett,” Caroline cuts her off. “I may be naïve, but I’m not a total idiot.”
I sit up, let my head fall back, my fingers pulling through my hair for probably the hundredth time tonight. “Shit.”
“Yeah. Shit,” Caroline echoes. And then a tear trails down her cheek and it fuckingkillsme.
“Caroline… I know what it—”
“Fuck you, Seb. Just…God!” She inhales a shaky breath. “I’m going home. You’ll have to find your own ride.” Her eyes flash to Scarlett. “I’m sure Scarlett would be more than happy togive you a ride.”
I have never seen Caroline be nasty. Even in response to the cruelest taunts, I’ve never seen her make a comment like that—meant to maim and hurt.
And it does hurt. It slays me that she thinks I would mess around like that. That she thinks I’m exactly the kind of guy I swore I never wanted to be.
Chapter Thirty
Caroline
