“Go ahead.” I face the squad. “Vote. Anyone want me out?”
No one raises their hand.
“You promised.” Bree shrieks, but no one is giving her their attention. “Prescott!”
He just averts his gaze to the other boys.
“It’s settled then.” I release my nails from my flesh. “As I said, take a fucking hike, Bree.”
Her groan is nearly animalistic as she pushes past me toward the locker room.
“That’s what happens when you use others as stepping stones, Bee!” Naomi shouts after her.
Everyone else continues watching me as if I’ll kick them out like I just did Bree.
“Go on.” I motion around. “Continue what you were doing. Winning state doesn’t happen by standing around.”
“Yes, Captain!” Like a hive of bees, everyone returns to warming up or practicing throws. Naomi and Lucy grin at me before joining the rest.
“Prescott,” I call as he heads over to the boys.
He winces before turning around and facing me. I point at a secluded corner, and he joins me without so much as one word of protest. Once we’re out of earshot, I watch him closely. His shoulders are drooping underneath the male cheerleading uniform and he’s averting his gaze.
Prescott is the male co-captain, and if I’m going to make things work, I need to see eye to eye with him while still keeping my authority.
He hasn’t hidden the fact that he’s on Bree’s side since I returned, and I need to see the end of that.
“What did I do to you before?” I don’t beat around the bush.
“C-Captain?” He seems taken aback, as if he didn’t expect that question.
“I obviously hurt you in some way.”
He hesitates.
“Tell me, Prescott.” I soften my tone. “If we’re going to lead this team, we have to make our relationship work. Help me out here.”
He swallows. “This…this is the first time you’ve ever asked me to help you.”
“It won’t be the last. A captain needs trusted leaders. Now, tell me.”
“It was nothing, really.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
He interlinks his fingers then releases them. “Last year, you said you’d hook me up with Lucy then, well, you told me I don’t deserve her and to fuck off. You threatened that if I approached Lucy in any way, you’d cause problems for my parents—they work for your dad’s company.”
I pause. For some reason, I don’t think I would’ve made that threat without anything to back it up. Perhaps I cared for Lucy and I thought Prescott really didn’t deserve her.
As much as I loathe Old Reina, she had reasons for acting the way she did. She wasn’t stupid.
She was just emotionless—on the surface. No idea how she coped with things inside.
Maybe that’s why I lost my memories and came back with this new version of me—a version that has made more peace with her emotions and shows them on the outside.
“What happened between when I promised you and when I told you to forget it?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Nothing.”