“Pádraig, serious,” said one of his teammates. “That chick ishot. Tell me you tapped that.”
Hailey’s jaw dropped.
“You know I did,” Fin laughed in a lazy voice, and he slapped his teammate’s hand.
A chorus of approval rose from the group.
“Look at you…getting you some freshman tail,” one of them sang.
Hailey could hear Fin laughing again, and it made her sick.
“Oh!” yelled another. “You rode the campus pariah!”
“Don’t call her that,” Fin bellowed through clenched teeth, and Hailey saw him winding up to pummel his teammate, but it was too late.
She was fuming, and she couldn’t stop her feet from marching right up to him.
“Hailey?” said Fin. He dropped his fist, his face white.
Hailey pushed two giant hockey players out of the way, stormed over to Fin, and smacked him across the face.
He flinched and immediately began his grovel.
“Hailey,” he pleaded. “I’m so sorry—guys, give me a minute.” The Yetis dispersed in a hurry, and Hailey furiously walk-sprinted away, hands balled into fists that dug her fingernails into her palms. And now she was shaking, the tears were building. Her point focus was to get out of there before Fin saw her cry.
“Hailey, stop!” he yelled, chasing after her.
Nope.
“Hailey, come on. Look, I’m sorry!”
Hailey spun around to yell at him, but it broke her tear damn.
“I can’t believe…” she sobbed, “…after you just said you were looking out for me. You don’t care about me at all!”
Looking shocked, Fin reached his hands for her shoulders, but she slapped them away.
“You don’t have enough women traipsing through your room?” she yelled. “You sleep with a different one every night, and you have to lie about me to feed your ego?”
“Hailey, I… I’m sorry,” he stuttered, but she was already stomping off. “It wasn’t…that wasn’t…dammit! What was I supposed to tell them?” he yelled after her. “Oh—you want me to say it out loud? That I’m in love with you? There! I said it!”
Hailey stopped.
“Love doesn’t act like that,” she said over her shoulder, and then she walked away.
“Hailey…” he pleaded. When she didn’t respond, he took a few steps after her. “Hailey!” he yelled. “I’m sorry, alright? Hail—”
She never looked back, but she could hear his teammates consoling him in the distance, their voices fading with each step she took, but she still made them out.
“Man…” said one. “You’re in the doghouse now, bro.”
“Yeah,” she heard Fin’s strained voice. Then he let out a bellow she would’ve heard from another block away, and he punched or kicked something that sounded like the side of a bus. Hailey didn’t care. She was disgusted and outraged and hurt.Mostly hurt. How could he ever call himself her friend? And that bit about being “in love”? Hailey scoffed.
…warning me about the evil Asher… She shook her head, disgusted. Asher was the only person—or creature or whatever—the only one who’d never lied to her. Yeah, he was creepy and dangerous, but at least he didn’t hide it.
Still boiling the next morning, Hailey woke up a full hour early just so she could seethe.
“You’re finally making sense to me,” remarked Giselle.
