Stewart held up his hands and backed away. “Sorry. We didn’t know. Shit.”
That was all it took to have him and Jimmy scattering with Andy. Johnny and Derick shook their heads in unison. The two of them were almost more identical than the three of us.
Johnny suddenly grinned and stuck out his hand. “There she is. How’s that arm treating you, killer?”
Cassidy stepped out and shook her head. “It’s still there, so that’s a good start. Much like my feelings, it takes more than a little game with a couple of footballers to hurt this rocket launcher.”
I watched Cash shift closer and lean into her space. He said something to her that made her smile up at him with a look on her face that I’d never received. It was…sweet. Something thatfelt a lot like jealousy boiled inside me with the other shitty things I never could get rid of.
Coach’s voice suddenly filled the hallway as he called everyone in for practice. I was the last to budge, hesitant to walk away from Cassidy without saying something. She said her goodbyes and her smile was genuine until her eyes shifted to me.
The smile faded and all that was left behind was hurt. She quickly hurried into her room and shut the door, closing me out.
She was still a little liar. Her feelings were as tender as my back after practice. And I’d stomped all over them by not doing the bare minimum to shut those assholes up.
Like Cash and Hayes had.
18
***Cass***
“Do you need to change?” Hayes looked down at my shorts and t-shirt with doubt in his gaze.
I took a deep breath and held it. Ihadchanged, out of my scrubs and into what I thought would be an acceptable outfit to wear to a party. It was just a house party. I didn’t exactly have a cheer team making sure I was pretty enough to join the Ford brothers. Not anymore. It was just me since Aunt Jolene had been gone that morning when I grabbed my extra clothes.
I thought of the entire chapter in PR lady Kate’s folder regarding my wardrobe and felt shame wrap around me. Apparently, a woman worthy of the Ford brothers dressed a certain way. Sighing, I shrugged. “This is what I was going to wear. Is it a fancy party or something?”
He was in really nice chinos with a button-down shirt. The sleeves were rolled up but he looked so much nicer than I did. “No, it’s fine. I didn’t mean-”
“Can you drive me home?” I didn’t want to make a fool of myself more than I already had. I’d be able to pick something better once I was in front of my closet. Surely.
“It really isn’t a big deal, Cassidy.”
“I can just drive myself.” I wouldn’t hate the space and time away from him and his brothers. “I’ll just meet you at the party.”
“No, we’ll drive you. Come on.” He waited for me to grab my bag and then we walked away from my brand new physical therapy office. I’d stayed late making sure everything was right where I wanted it. It felt perfect and I had an extra pep in my step that no amount of hatred could crush.
Cash was sitting in the front seat and Weston was driving again, his cowboy hat on the dashboard. I climbed into the backseat and held my bag on my lap. After Cash and Hayes stuck up for me that morning I felt warmth towards them that I didn’t want to feel but it was there. I knew that they’d probably just done it for looks but they didn’t have to. Weston sure hadn’t. He’d just stood there, letting his friends say horrible shit about me.
“Head to her house.” Hayes reached up and slapped Weston’s shoulder. “Cash said your aunt threatened to cut off his dick and feed it to us.”
I laughed and felt some of the day’s tension fade. Aunt Jolene had my back. No matter how lonely I felt on campus, I had her. “She probably wasn’t joking.”
“No, I didn’t get the vibe that she was joking. She hates us.” Cash rolled his window down and hung his arm out. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the rushing wind. “By the way, why was attending a party together on your date list? Surely you went to parties at USC.”
I considered pretending that I hadn’t heard him. I didn’t want to think about my date list or why the simplest things were on it. It was pathetic. During my entire time at USC I’d never arrivedat a party with Cole. He was always with someone else, or one of the guys. I’d watched plenty of other girls show up with him. They’d have their arms linked through his and he’d usher them into the house ahead of himself, like he was showing her off. He’d been proud of having those girls on his arm. I’d longed to be that special to him. Pathetic.
“Cassidy?”
I shook my head and pinched my thigh to get my head away from Cole. “I like parties.”
Hayes met my eyes and raised his eyebrows. “You like parties?”
“Yep.” That was all I was going to say. I stopped any other questions by rolling my window down, too. I leaned my head against the door frame and closed my eyes as the wind whipped my hair around. It stung my face and made my eyes water but it was cathartic. I felt free for a few minutes.
When Weston parked in front of Aunt Jolene’s house I jumped out and said I’d be right back before running into the house. Aunt Jolene still wasn’t home but I would’ve even taken fashion advice from Elvis if he’d been around. I stood in front of my closet and chewed my thumb nail. I had a lot of athletic wear and a lot of lounge wear. The only nice things I had were dresses I’d worn for homecoming in high school.
“Need help?”
