He gives a tight smile. “That’s okay. You probably need the extra rest, too. I’ll see you after the game.” He strides to the front door and leaves me with an ache I’ve begun to recognize, a separate one that appears every time he’s gone.
I head upstairs, my thoughts still in a daze, sorting through memories of last night and this morning. Katie meets me at the top of the stairs already dressed, her hair wrapped in a towel.
“Is something going on between you and my brother?”
My stomach falls and my nerves crackle as I stare at her, feeling like I’m supposed to give the biggest public speech of my life.
“Do you like him?” Katie asks, her tone is light, hesitant. She doesn’t seem angry, almost confused.
I wince, guilt washing over me because I know how much she doesn’t want me to say yes. “I didn’t mean to. I swear. I keep trying to be friends with him, but—”
Katie shakes her head. “It’s not going to end well.”
“I know you’re worried, and I am truly, genuinely sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner, but, Katie, I really like Nolan. Like a lot. And I know he’s your brother and that makes me the worst friend for falling for him. Trust me, I know.”
“You don’t understand. He dated my best friend in high school, and it didn’t just end badly, it ended in flames. Literally. She started a bonfire in our driveway with everything Nolan or I had ever given her.”
“I know.”
Katie looks shocked.
“I mean, I didn’t know about the bonfire, but about him dating your best friend, I knew.”
“Hadley, I get this. If you want to date him…” she cringes, “do it. Get him out of your system, just don’t get attached. And don’t think he’s in love with you.”
Her words seem so cruel and detached that my brow furrows.
“I did the same thing last year before realizing guys like Carsen are the guys for us. Dependable, sweet, consistent…” I don’t know the backstory she’s referring to, but my heart aches with protest. “But can’t you pick someone besides Nolan? Another guy on the team or some frat boy?”
“I like Nolan.”
Katie groans. “He’s going to hurt you. He’ll break your heart and then you’re going to hate me.”
I shake my head. “Nothing will change our friendship.”
Sounds coming from Hannah’s room effectively pause our conversation. “Let’s talk about this more, later.”
I’m happy to shelve the conversation. I only wish we could allow it to grow dust and cobwebs. “What are we going to say to Hannah? You don’t think she’ll want to date Ethan still, do you?” I ask.
Katie shakes her head. “I sure as hell hope not.” She rubs a hand over her forehead. “Maybe we should convince her to break up with him before telling her we assaulted him?”
“Maybe we should make pancakes.”
“I don’t think pancakes are going to soften the blow that the guy she liked is a complete dick.”
“Did we overreact?” I ask. “I mean, everyone smokes or does edibles. He probably just assumed we did, too.”
Katie shakes her head. “No. Absolutely not. He drugged you, Hadley. What if Nolan hadn’t come and gotten you?”
Shame and uncertainty twine around the naivety that’s been taunting me since I woke up, not only from being dumb enough to eat the admittedly awful cookie but because a part of me says I should be more okay with what happened since I wasn’t hurt and everyone I know has been high—does it frequently.
“He had no right,” Katie says, shaking her head. “You heard Palmer. They distracted Nolan because they know he would have flipped his handle—which makes a lot more sense now… If you think we overreacted…” She shakes her head but doesn’t finish the sentence. She doesn’t need to.
“What do you think’s going to happen to Ethan?”
Katie shakes her head. “I don’t know. He’ll probably be cut from the team. Nolan has clout and Hudson’s ear, plus, Ethan’s second string. But who knows? Money makes people bury the truth.”
At the end of the hall, Hannah’s bedroom door opens. She’s still wearing her black leotard, and like when I woke up, her makeup is smeared. “Tell me that was a really weird dream.”