“Suck a dick, Cali,” I call back.
“Did you hear what she just said to her sister? That’s not PSL Chi behavior,” Cali’s whispers accompany me as I run out the door barefoot. With my hair a mess, a huge nerdy t-shirt on, and booty shorts, none of what I’m doing is the dignified PSL Chi way, and I will pay for it later. But if I get Connor back, I’ll have a fighting chance.
Connor’s figure trudges further ahead, illuminated under the harsh light of a nearby streetlamp as he marches away from Greek Row. I fly over dying grass, piercing my feet like shards of glass in the cool night air. Apparently, a cold front came in. Good ol’ Texas. It can be summer in the morning and winter by five.
“Connor, wait.”
“Go back to Seth, Madeline,” he tosses over his shoulder. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“No more lying. I’m not that stupid, and Jenny told me what was happening between you two. Said you’ve been sneaking around behind my back for weeks.”
Wait, Jenny said what?
My Pookie would never, even if I deserved it.
“She’s the one who’s lying,” I stammer. The force of her falsehood knocks me back on my heels. “Connor, please, not before the formal. I don’t know what’s happening, but we can fix it.”
“See, that’s the other thing Jenny told me.” He whips around, pinning an icy stare on me. In the past two years as a couple, Connor’s never once lost his temper on me, and my knees wobble at the switch in his temperament. “And you know, I think she’s right. You care more about that formal than you do about our relationship, and I’m done with it all. It’s like she said, you’re not worth the hassle.”
Connor’s parting words are the final blow only Jenny knew they would be.
The one sentence that could unravel me and suffocate any fight I had left to save my relationship with Connor. My shoulders deflate as my feet remain glued to this one spot on the lawn. I don’t pursue Connor anymore. Instead, I let him round the corner and disappear, out of sight.
If he sees the truth, why hold him captive?
Collapsing on a bench nearby, I huddle into myself and shiver against the frosty night air.
“There you are,” a distressed voice sighs, catching its breath.
I pick my eyes up. An intense fire reignites in the pit of my stomach as Seth draws closer to the bench. “You.” My anger flares with every step he makes toward me. “You did this.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t come over as part of Jenny’s plan.”
“No, Madeline.” Seth sticks his palms out toward me like he’s trying to quell the rage, but I need to put it somewhere, and he’s the perfect target. “I swear, I came to warn you. Something’s off with Jenny.”
“I don’t care about Jenny, Seth!”
“Well, yes, you’ve made that clear, but I—”
“Why can’t you leave me the fuck alone, huh?” I pick myself up from the bench and march toward him, stopping inches from his chest. “What the hell is it with you?”
“I don’t know.” He gives an agitated shake of his head before leveling a cutting glare in my direction. “I don’t fucking know. You’re like this goddamn infection poisoning my bloodstream.” He lowers his voice until it becomes a rough whisper, sliding against my ears like warm sandpaper. My chest heaves against his, still so utterly frustrated that he ruined everything. For three years, I’ve worked tirelessly for this damn title, and Lumberjack Frasier is about to be the one to take me down.
“You terrorize every fucking part of me, Madeline Finch.” He continues. “And trust me, if there were an antidote, I’d do whatever it takes to have it.”
An infection.
A terror.
Not worth the hassle.
Our little burden.
That’s what I am.
