"My image?"
"You're about to go to dev camp! Do you think Seattle wants a player with this kind of drama? Bad publicity, relationship scandals—this is exactly the kind of thing that makes teams hesitate."
"Why are you looking at college drama?"
"I see everything. I’m paid to see it all. It looks bad." I hear him suck in a breath. "This girl is costing you everything—your reputation, the Seattle deal, your focus. You need to end it. Get her out of that damn house.”
"Sutton didn't do anything wrong. Bree staged that photo to break us up."
"Then she succeeded. And honestly? Good.”
“You don’t know anything about her.”
“Break up with the girl. Focus on dev camp. Show Seattle you're serious.” He ends the call, and that’s that.
“You okay?” Holden asks.
“No.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Wanna get drunk?”
“Yes, but I won’t. I have to figure this out, and drunk isn’t the way to do it.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“Thanks.”
I walk away, wondering if my dad is right. Sutton doesn’t want me. That certainly clears up any stress I had about leaving her.
Maybe it is for the best.
Chapter Four
SUTTON
Three days.
It's been three days since I poured Declan's milkshake in the trash and shut the door in his face. And my biggest regret is not taking a sip of that shake. I’m still craving one.
And I did feel a little foolish for being so dramatic. I acted like Bree. It wasn’t my finest moment.
Declan and I have seen each other a few times in the house, but we don’t let our eyes meet. I stick to my room. He’s always at practice or wherever. I don’t always know where he is, and honestly, I don’t really want to. The rest of the house is tense. The guys all try to pretend everything is okay, but none of us are theater majors.
Our acting sucks.
Everyone knows nothing is okay.
I’m filing out of class when I hear my name.
I turn and walk back to where my professor stands with that look of concern I’m starting to dread.
"Sutton, I'm concerned about you."
"I'm fine." The lie comes automatically now.
"Your last two assignments have been subpar. You missed a quiz. Your participation in class has dropped significantly." She leans against her desk. "This isn't like you."
"I've just been dealing with some personal stuff."
