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Maybelle fidgeted with her hands on her lap before she whispered, “I just— we just don’t know anything about each other, Trey. We are honestly more strangers than we are friends.”
He could feel the knife she stabbed through his heart, making the wound bigger, spilling with all the hope he had gripped onto the whole last year watching her sleep.
“That’s not true.” Trey grabbed for her fidgeting hands, but she pulled them away.
“Yes, it is, Trey. We have barely had a chance to get to know one another since I woke up due to you living here and even with our time before the accident you said, word for word, that our friendship had just beenblossoming. We don’t know each other.” She stated hurt and grief shaking her voice and twisting that knife in his chest.
“No, Maybelle, you don’t understand,” Trey said frantically in a last-ditch effort, “We— I have been waiting for this, for us.” His voice was hiccupping like a prepubescent teen, but he couldn’t help it. Trey had been so patient, so hopeful, so ready to finally have his chance with the girl of his dreams and it was falling apart right in front of him.
“No Trey, I don’t think you understand. It’s not the same for me because I don’t remember waiting. You are beautiful, god,you’re amazing from what I can tell from the last few weeks. But that is all it has been for me, a few weeks.”
Trey stared at her, Maybelle refused to meet his eyes, so he took advantage and studied her face. She wasn’t going to budge; this is what she wanted, and the woman was too damn stubborn to listen or allow for any alternatives, but he was stubborn too.
He just got her back; he finally had her, and she was slipping through his fingers. He couldn’t just sit there and let that happen.
“Maybelle, please, sweetheart, please just—” Trey began to plead but her blue, green eyes were on fire as they snapped up to meet his. Maybelle stood from the bed, pivoting on her heel to face him.
“I don’t think you’re getting how tonight went for me, Trey, so allow me to put it plainly. I met your friendsalonewhile you were off chatting with some gorgeous cheerleader, whose name I don’t care to remember. I then proceeded to sit withyourfriend, and I learned more about her in an hour than I have ever learned about you in the last few weeks of living in your home.”
Maybelle’s unfeeling, smile facade was cracking as her voice rose and fell with every word that left her lips, “And do you know how utterly stupid I felt wearing your football jersey like a smitten little girl, watching as you and said cheerleader locked lips on the football field for the whole stadium to see? Then realizing in the process that I had no right to be jealous or confused because we aren’t even dating. As far as I know I was just the stale, side salad you pretended to like over the weekend while the main course of lasagna was always here!”
Maybelle about shouted that last part, obviously very passionate about the analogy but he unfortunately didn’t quite catch on. To his credit, Trey did hear her, and he understood the heartache and anger behind her demeanor.
“And as of right now, you and your mom are all I have in the world. I can’t lose you both if things ever went really wrong between us.” She admitted and Trey felt the hit of that kill shot.
Maybelle sucked in a deep calming breath and took a step toward him, “We can’t do this anymore,Ican’t do this anymore. For now-on we are friends and that is it. Are you hearing me, Trey?”
Oh, he heard her.
Heard her loud and clear.
He was going to die, stop breathing and fall apart right here on the floor. He nodded past the earthquake of thoughts that rattled his brain.
Maybelle heaved a long sigh before she walked towards the door, “I’ll let you have your room. I’m going to sleep out on the couch tonight.” She stated as she neared the door.
Trey shot up from the bed.
“No, you’re not.” He nearly growled through gritted teeth. He nabbed a pillow and the extra blanket, tucking them under his arm, “I’ll take the couch, you sleep in here. Be ready to head back home tomorrow around ten in the morning.”
He didn’t wait for her to argue because he knew she would. Trey brushed byhisMaybelle, ignoring the ache in his body to pull her close and was out the door before she could get her mouth to open with a retort.
Trey slugged back into the living room, the boys still sitting and waiting.
Bear gave him a gentle, forlorn smile, Williams stared aghast at the bedding under his arm while Larson turned away to hide what Trey bet was a snicker.
Trey dropped his stuff on the itty-bitty couch already feeling the crook in his neck and back.
“I’m using your shower; Larson and I’m borrowing a change of clothes.” Trey informed briefly as he made his way to the first bedroom on the right. Larson was shouting as he entered the room, but Trey didn’t hear nor cared to hear as he shut and locked the door behind him.
The next morning before the sun had begun to tint the sky a greyish-blue Trey woke, his body feeling as if it had been trampled and beaten.
That little couch would have been uncomfortable as hell for Maybelle’s tiny body to sleep on. So, his massive over six-foot football body didn’t stand a chance and to make matters worse, he had a migraine that threatened to cripple him.
Trey sat up from the couch, stretching out his achy body as he thought back to last night.
Maybelle’s friend agreement was shit and she knew it.
They belonged together and he wasn’t about to rollover while she ruined it. They would make it through this.
