My eyebrows furrow. “What’s going on?”
“Knox Vaughn is over at North Haven talking shit. Saying they’re going to kick our asses on the field this year.”
“I swear, all that pot has gone to his head,” Wyatt chimes in.
Or it could be the coke I saw him buying the other day. The thought crosses my mind, but I don’t dare say it. If I did, they could use it against him, and he’d get kicked off the team. Finding out the info came from me would be detrimental to my reputation. Besides, how do I explain how I saw it? Oh yeah, I just so happened to be walking through their shitty neighborhood when I came across NH’s football captain doing a drug deal? No thanks, I’ll pass.
“Speaking of your new QB, where is he?” Paige questions.
Carter smirks. “He’s starting tomorrow. Keep your panties on, Paigey.”
“Wait, you have a new quarterback?” I clearly missed something.
“Yes, princess. You’d know this if you showed up to practice the last week and didn’t leave their poor souls with Commander Kinsley as acting captain.
”
I grab a leftover cherry tomato from my salad and throw it at him, only slightly impressed when he catches it in his mouth. “I told you, I was in Bora Bora with my dad.”
It’s a complete lie, but it sounds so much better than telling them that Brady and I were training to the point where I could barely stand by the end of the week. When Mrs. Laurence told me that she got a scout from Juilliard to come to this year’s recital, I knew I had to up my number of practices. Thankfully, Brady has been fully on board. He knows how badly I need not only the admission there but also a full scholarship, to get as far away from here, and my father, as possible.
“Well, you’ll meet him tomorrow.” Carter winks. “Though, don’t get any ideas. Seems like your girls here have already staked their claim.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that Kinsley is already thinking of ways to get in this guy’s pants. She’s like the female version of Carter, only nastier. At least he has some standards. If this new guy knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay far away from that STD-ridden monster.
2
Grayson
I wake in the morning, feeling way too out of place in this massive house. One would think that I’d bask in all the memories it holds, being as this was my childhood home—but I don’t. Everything in here is tainted with thoughts of a life I’ll never get back. A life that was ripped away by the hands of the one person I trusted more than anything. Being back here just fuels my fire, and I’ll enjoy getting the revenge I deserve all the more.
“Grayson, breakfast!” My mother shouts up the stairs.
Letting out a groan, I sit up in bed and run my fingers through my silky brown hair. Once I slip on a pair of sweatpants, I ignore the urge to slide down the banister and opt for walking down instead. The smell of pancakes fills the whole lower level, making me instantly suspicious. My mom hasn’t made breakfast in years. I didn’t expect now to be any different.
“Morning,” I say.
She lights up like a fucking Christmas tree, and if I didn’t know her better, I’d think she’s on drugs. “Good morning, sweetheart. Pancakes?”
“Sure?” If she can sense the hesitation in my tone, she doesn’t mention it. “You seem, um, different.”
“What? I’m not allowed to be in a good mood?”
I chuckle. “No, you are. I just didn’t think you would be.”
Her shoulders raise in a shrug. “What can I say? I think you were right. This house, being back here, it helps. It’s the closest I’ve felt to your dad since…”
She doesn’t need to finish her sentence for me to know where she was going with it. Still, the topic of my father is not one I like to discuss, so I nod and smile sympathetically. She takes mercy on me and changes the subject.
“So, are you excited for your first day?”
I roll my eyes. “Oh yes, I just love the idea of going to a prep school with a bunch of rich snobs.”
She snorts. “Well, I can still get a refund on the tuition check and send you to public school instead.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I told you, Haven Grace has a better football team.”
And my target. I couldn’t possibly tell my mother the real reason I wanted to move back here, or why I insisted on her paying a disgusting amount of money for me to go to HGP for my senior year. I’m sure a part of her believes what I told her, that I wanted to be back in my childhood home to feel closer to my dad. Another part of her probably thinks it was just to get away from her most recent scumbag boyfriend. While that part was a major plus, it had nothing to do with my true motivation.