Rage flashed across her face for a moment, before she pushed it back down. “Then I guess you’d better get ready for Sadie to hear the truth about you.”
“That’s blackmail,” I scoffed. “It’s illegal.”
She shrugged. “Only if I’m caught. And right now? It’s just your word against mine.”
A cold chill ran down my spine. Aubrey’s mask was starting to slip. Now, I was seeing the nasty person Sadie had warned me about all along. I wished I’d listened.
“Go ahead and try it. Sadie loves me, and she’s trusting. She’s not going to believe you over me.”
She stood up. “Oh, I wouldn’t count on that. Your precious Sadie isn’t stupid.” She waved and walked out.
I hurried after her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back against me. I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “If you tell Sadie about us, believe me, you’ll regret it.”
She jerked her arm away and stared up at me, fear in her eyes.
Jesus. I wasn’t going to hurt her, but I realized now how my words sounded.
“You’re going to be the one with regrets.” She gave me a cold smile, turned on her heel, and sped down the stairs away from me.
Her parting words left me so nervous I was almost queasy. Would Aubrey really say anything? If she did, I hoped Sadie would still believe me over Aubrey. I hated lying to her, but in this case it was necessary. I didn’t want to lose her. Sadie and I were meant for each other.
And I had never wanted to live a life without Sadie. I always knew I’d come back to her. Aubrey was a girl you fuck around with; Sadie was who you married. I was done with Aubrey or anyone besides Sadie. Easy, meaningless sex hadn’t turned out to be what I’d wanted at all.
I just hoped I hadn’t realized that too late. I needed to make sure Sadie knew how much I loved her.
And she couldneverfind out about what had happened between Aubrey and me.
Chapter Twelve
Sadie
I made the trip back to Carruthers in the rain. Though I didn’t enjoy driving in it, it matched my mood. There were so many thoughts running through my mind, it was hard to focus on just one. I bit my lip. I’d put off thinking about Harrison for as long as I could. Now that I was headed back to Carruthers, I had to face the fact that he’d virtually ignored me all summer.
It had bothered me a lot at first, but I’d wanted to enjoy my summer. I made the conscious effort to focus on other things besides my boyfriend. It wasn’t that hard. I was busy enough that it was only at night when I laid in my bed that I worried about what he was doing. I worked two jobs to pay for sorority dues and any formal dresses I might need for parties. Then, more often than not, Melinda, Blair, Drake, Carrie, and I would end up at Melinda’s parents’ house for swimming and a cookout. They had a pool and liked to entertain, so we naturally flocked over there. All of our parents would also come over. Everybody would bring their favorite dish, and we’d laugh and talk long into the night.
Even with the uncertainty about Harrison hanging over me, I managed to have a good summer. The way we’d left things hadn’t been good. He’d shown up with Aubrey, called me unimportant, mentioned wishing we’d met later so that he could’ve messed around with other women before settling downwith me, then kissed me repeatedly when I’d asked if he wanted to break up. He’d left most of my texts on read this summer, and he hadn’t returned many of my calls at all. It was awkward when Harrison’s parents came over to the summer parties. They’d ask how Harrison was doing, and I’d have to tell them the truth… that I had no idea. They’d get worried looks on their faces, and they’d finally stopped asking me.
And as for how I felt about my boyfriend? I was well on my way to thinking our future, once so bright, was on very shaky ground. I texted and called him daily for the first week or so that I was home. When all but one text and all phone calls were ignored, I’d sent fewer the next week. I’d sent even less the next week, until I’d almost stopped contacting him altogether by the end of the summer.
We hadn’t texted in a couple of weeks, and I hadn’t physically spoken to him since the first couple of weeks of summer. I’d tried; he hadn’t. The Harrison I’d thought I’d known would’ve never done that. It had left me feeling confused, upset, and like I didn’t matter to him.
And I couldn’t help but worry knowing he’d been in town with Aubrey all summer. Yes, I trusted him. But from the rumors I’d heard about Aubrey, I knew she usually got whatever she wanted when it came to men. That, combined with the lack of communication from Harrison, had me feeling very insecure. Not to mention the fact that they were friends, and I knew she wanted to be more than that.
So, as I took the turn to pull on campus, I had butterflies in my stomach. Yes, I was excited about the year ahead of me, but I was also nervous about my future with Harrison. I hoped I was wrong, and that everything would be okay. That I’d discover I’d been silly for worrying about him.
But I couldn’t quell the feelings of unease I was having about the whole situation.
The sun peeked through the clouds around the same time I pulled into my parking spot at the sorority house. I hurriedly unpacked. Drake, Melinda, Carrie, Blair, and I were going to meet up at the diner for dinner. I hadn’t called Harrison yet because I didn’t know what to say to him. He’d texted me asking if I was back in town yet, and I purposely hadn’t answered him. I had wanted a few days to get settled back in before I had to talk to him about why he’d been so distant all summer.
I’d felt guilty, though, so while we were in line I’d finally texted him. I’d let him know that we were all at the diner. I was almost positive he wouldn’t come, but at least I’d let him know I was back in town.
It had taken us a while to get a table at the diner. Students were slowly getting back to campus for the fall, and the restaurants that had barely been busy at all through the summer months were buzzing with activity once again. We finally got a table and had ordered when there was a big commotion around the hostess stand.
I turned and sucked in a breath. Harrison had walked in with another football player. He was still so handsome, and I felt a familiar zing of awareness when I looked at him.
“How many?” the hostess asked, looking harried and pulling out some menus.
“Two,” Harrison said. He was looking around the restaurant, and I wondered if he was looking for us. Maybe he wanted to join our table. I didn’t call out to him. It didn’t escape my notice that none of my friends did, either. Not even Drake.
