This girl can deal with a broken heart. I’ve done it before.
“Hey, you okay, E?”
I rush to my room before the tears fall. “Dandy, Gage. I’m doing dandy.”
I shut the door behind me and bawl.
42
EVER
One week turns into a month. Thanksgiving comes and goes. The guys were quiet rather than boisterous. Sunday brunch is the same. The seat next to me is empty. I told Ty, José, and the crew that things didn’t work out between me and Bobby. I blamed it on the distance and our schedules.
The house behind mine is empty. I walked by it on Halloween and couldn’t stand to look at it without the decorations I’d envisioned.
I’m now sitting in the stands, waiting for the football crowd to disperse. The crowd lessens, and I stand. Gwen grabs my hand. “Stay. We need to talk.”
Arie and Riley are quiet. Syn is on the field with Dare. Syn’s quarterback boyfriend, Taron Vaughn, is swinging her round and round. Her laughter floats in the air like a cloud on a clear day.
“I said I don’t want to talk about Bobby.”
Gwen squeezes my hand. “Then listen. One, I know it was you who paid for my overdue tuition.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“I wasn’t finished.”
She lets go of my hand and shifts my body with her hands on my shoulders so that I’m facing her rather than staring at the field, avoiding her eyes.
“You’re right, you didn’t pay. Bobby did. But it was you who made it happen.”
“How do you know this?” I ask, ready to bawl my eyes out. I’m reliving in my head the night Bobby and I met.
“The day Bobby came to get the paperwork from me, he asked for permission to see you. I was pissed. Then he told me how you two met and about the bargain. I was even more pissed, but he made a good point about me and my pride.” She lets go of my shoulders. “But that’s beside the point. When did he break up with you?”
I tell her.
“What day did Braxton visit you at work?”
I felt so bad for keeping Braxton’s visit from Gwen that I called her the next day and told her he came by to apologize for the wreck.
“Um, the same day Bobby broke up with me.”
“Could he have dropped by and seen you with Braxton?”
“He would’ve yanked Braxton from the truck and punched him for touching me.”
Gwen shakes her head. “He’d be hurting too badly, Ever.” She sighs, and it’s heavy. “Bram and Benedict rejected Bobby. They’re siding with my mom. Bobby hasn’t admitted it out loud, but I think he thinks he’s undeserving of love because of how he came into this world.”
“A dirty secret? A mistake?”
“Yes.”
“And he, seeing me with Braxton, confirmed his belief.” A false one. Everyone deserves love. “I have to see him.” I check my weather apps. Fuck. It’s raining in Alexandria.
“Tomorrow, Ever. It’s late.” It’s after eight and dark. “Or call him.”
“This is not a phone call type of conversation.” I grab my bag and fish for the car keys.
