I snickered, walking out of the kitchen. Over my shoulder, I yelled, “You just did, idiot.”
He shouted back. “Don’t think I don’t know that you’re avoiding the first question. I’ll keep pestering you, brother. And I’m nothing but determined.”
I ignored him as he yelled through the bathroom door as I showered and again when I got dressed. I also ignored him the entire drive to school as he drove beside me the entire time, waving his hands out the window. Every time I looked at him, he’d mouth the words Tell me!
He was the most annoying fucking person on this planet.
Once we got to school and in with our group of friends, he finally stopped asking. I’d never been more thankful to be surrounded by a group of people than in that moment.
In the middle of gathering some books out of my locker, everyone chatting around me, I heard Eric say, “Happy birthday to our king.” When I shut my locker and turned my head over to him slightly, I saw he was on his knee, bowing in front of me, causing everyone to laugh.
“Get up, fucker.” I smirked, shaking my head.
“The birthday boy’s party is gonna be lit tonight. Right after we give Kerrington High a run for their money.”
I fist-bumped him and nodded. Madeline was down the hall with her
friends, and she gave me a wink. I winked back, even though an angry fire was erupting inside. I had to play nice until tonight when I brought her down to her knees. The queen of the school was now on the king's shit list. She may even have stolen the number one hate spot from Hayley.
And speak of the china doll herself. I’d been pushing her out of my head since yesterday morning when she’d accused me of telling Headmaster Walton about her little half-naked show. I didn’t want to think about her or continue to picture her with her bra and panties on while I jerked off in the shower. I wanted to hate her and be done with it. So that was what I tried to focus on. I was no longer trying to figure her out. I was ignoring her and hating her all together.
She didn’t exist.
Therefore, the guilt didn’t exist.
But... I kept my face stoic, pretending I was listening to Eric and Ollie going on about making jungle juice for the party. There was talk about potential lap dances lined up for me, alone time in the hot tub with Madeline (Ollie laughed at that idea), and yet, my eyes still wandered over to Hayley.
Snow White. That was the perfect nickname for her. A porcelain Snow White doll. Dark hair. Fair skin. Ruby lips that were naturally stained that color.
I kept watching as the redhead that seemed to be Hayley’s friend placed her hand on Hayley’s wrist. Their heads were huddled together. Hayley was trying to brush something off. She shook her head and shrugged a few times. Then, I watched as her friend reached for Hayley’s uniform shirt. It was half untucked before Hayley took a step back and bristled. She looked around the hallway, seeing if anyone had noticed. Her eyes caught mine, and they grew wide. Then, she looked back at her friend and grabbed her arm, dragging her to the bathroom.
It was like I was sucked into a reality show titled “What Was Hayley Smith Up To?”
“Enjoying the show, brother?” Ollie was standing beside me now, his voice low.
I snapped my attention to him. His green eyes danced with humor.
“Fuck off,” I said as I stormed down the hall and entered my first class, bypassing Madeline, and her crew, and everyone who wished me a happy birthday.
It took everything I had not to rip open the door of the girl’s bathroom to see what Hayley’s friend was so persistent about and why she was lifting her shirt.
I wanted to bang my head off the wall. Why the fuck am I thinking about the girl that drives me to the edge of insanity?
That was what I was.
Insane.
We had almost lost the game tonight. Coach yelled—mainly at me—because we were fucking up passes left and right. He pulled me aside after the locker room was empty, everyone already on their way to Eric’s parents’ cabin for the party.
“Where the hell was your head at tonight, Christian?” His red-rimmed eyes were laced with anger and disappointment. He rubbed the scruff on his face. “You’re lucky the scouts weren’t here tonight. You’ve got scholarships to think about. What the hell was that?”
I knew what it was. My chest grew tight. My shoulders tensed. I wanted to throw my Nikes on and go for a three-mile run in the cool October air so I could clear my head, stop thinking about Hayley, and chill the hell out.
All day I watched her. I couldn’t stop myself. I saw her wince during lunch. I watched as she and her friend talked with their heads jammed together like they were sharing secrets. There were big bags underneath her eyes. Something was off with her, and this weird, fucked-up part of me couldn’t think straight until I knew what.
I had no idea why. Maybe it was because I felt like Hayley was out of my control. She stirred something up inside of me, and it drove me mad. Or maybe it was because there was a time when I would have done anything to protect the girl that made me feel alive.
Coach barked at me again, and I cleared my thoughts. I said the first thing that came to mind. “My dad was supposed to show tonight, but he ditched at the last minute. Had to catch an earlier flight. That’s why I was playing like shit. My head was preoccupied. It won’t happen again.”