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Then, after a deep breath, she sent another one.

And I miss you too

Chapter Five

Rory stumbled down the stairs and made her way to the coffee pot in a zombie-like shuffle. She slept…horribly. Images of Tyler and Zoe kept flashing in her head. Him catching her; the way she smiled in his arms when he comforted her; their bright, shining faces with Zoe perched on his shoulders.

She hated that it bothered her so much, because it shouldn’t. They were supposed to be best friends, and she was supposed to be supportive of his happiness. She wasn’t supposed to feel dread or jealousy. Maybe she was just being overprotective? She wondered if that was it—that she was worried the guy who was practically her brother was going to get hurt. That he was going to lose sight of everything he worked so hard for.

Yeah…that made more sense.

“Looks like it was quite the game last night,” Gabi said behind her.

Rory frowned and turned from the pot, burning her tongue as she took a greedy first sip of her coffee.

Gabi placed her copy of the Haverport Courier onto the counter, pointing to the image on the front page.

Her stomach dropped when she saw the image—actually, dual images, side by side. One with Tyler holding Zoe in his arms after catching her, the other one of her on his shoulders, crowns balanced on both their heads. The headline in big, bold letters almost made Rory spit out her second sip.

Chapman Catches the Crown!

“Jesus,” Rory mumbled to herself. “This nightmare never ends.”

“I didn’t even know we won the game until the third paragraph,” Gabi said. “The reporter is a lot more interested in Tyler’s little act of chivalry.”

“Probably because it’s uncommon these days for a high school boy to do something nice rather than think of himself and his dic—”

“Rory!”

She smirked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Come on, you know I’m not wrong.”

Gabi rolled her eyes, shoving the paper aside. “How late were you out last night? You look like hell.”

You don’t know the half of it, she thought. “Midnight. We went out for pizza.”

“But you slept till ten? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

She shook her head. Sure, she’d lied to Gabi a handful of times in the past about parties. But she hadn’t been to any since that summer. Since everything happened with Tyler and Jay. And Duncan.

Drinking alcohol just didn’t seem to have the same appeal anymore.

“No, just couldn’t fall asleep,” Rory admitted. “Was up…texting all night.”

Gabi smirked. “Texting, huh? Texting who?”

This also wasn’t a lie. She couldn’t fall asleep, sure, but part of it was the fact that Jay started bullet-texting her after she told him she missed him as well. When it hit four in the morning and he was still texting her, she pretended to have fallen asleep and turned off her phone.

For someone who normally “doesn’t text,” he was texting her an absurd amount. They texted about college and his classes, about Haverport and closing down Scoops for the season. She mentioned the game but only in passing, changing the subject back to Jay and his female conquests. Which, it turned out, were few and far between—an oddity for Jay. He was always the flirty one, an outright player who constantly gave out free ice cream cones in exchange for phone numbers or a peek down the front of a low-cut shirt. But apparently, College Jay didn’t play the same game, and was far more interested in texting Rory on a Friday night instead. And flirting with her. Heavily.

She quickly thought back to his last few texts, the ones that led to her calling it a night.

My bed is soooo big. Wish you were here with me.

There’s actually room in there with that massive head of yours?

Which head ;)

Gross. Keep it in your pants.