“Keira stayed the night with her. She was pretty upset.”
"It was innocent. Completely innocent. She was upset about Holden. I was trying to be nice."
"And Bree used that against you." Pierce's jaw clenches. "She's been playing this game for weeks. Holden told me some of the things she said to him. About you being unhappy. About you confiding in her. She's been building this narrative so that when something like this happened, everyone would believe it."
"Why would she do this?"
"Because she wants you. And she wants to destroy your relationship with Sutton." Crew leans back in his seat. "She's manipulative as hell, Declan. We all see it. But Holden was too caught up to notice until last night."
"What happened with Holden?"
"After the fight, he confronted Bree. Told her he knew she was lying about you. She broke down crying, saying you'd been leading her on, giving her hope that you'd leave Sutton for her." Ashton's expression is grim. "He dumped her on the spot. That's when she started her performance in the hotel hallway."
I feel sick. "She orchestrated all of this."
"Yeah. And it worked."
I sit up and scan the seats for Holden. He’s near the front, wearing his sunglasses, hoodie up, and looking very much like the Unabomber. He’s staying as far from me as he can.
I need to make things right with him, but Sutton first. Holden should have known better.
I try calling Sutton again. Voicemail.
I send her a text, knowing she won't see it if she's blocked me, but I still need to try.
Me:Please talk to me. It's not what it looks like. I can explain everything.
The message doesn't deliver.
"What do I do?" I ask Pierce.
"Give her space. Let her cool down. Then try to explain when she's ready to listen."
"What if she never wants to listen?"
He doesn't have an answer for that.
The rest of the bus ride is torture. I keep checking my phone, hoping for a message that never comes. I replay last night over and over, trying to figure out where I went wrong.
I should have ignored Bree. But I was drunk and tired and trying to be a decent human being. To me, there was never a chance for anything to happen. I trusted myself implicitly. I didn’t care if I was blackout drunk—I would never touch Bree. Sutton was it for me. I had no interest in another woman. Period.
We pull into campus just after ten. I practically run off the bus, pushing guys out of the way with my bag slung over my shoulder.
Ashton catches up with me. We carpooled, so I guess I’m not going anywhere without him.
I get in the car, taking the front passenger seat of his Mercedes. The rest of the guys pile in—except Holden.
“Holden’s getting a ride with Phillips,” Pierce said without anyone asking.
I didn’t have the energy to deal with that shit right now.
I put on my sunglasses and lean my head back. Everyone is quiet. They’re feeding off my energy.
"She thinks I cheated. She thinks I'm the same asshole I was during freshman year. I need to fix this."
"You will,” Crew says. “But you need to be smart about it. Don't go in there guns blazing. Don't corner her. Give her a minute to breathe."
"I don't have a minute. I need to fix this now."
