Those were her last words before my message cut off. I just sat there stunned, looking at my broken girl lying on the floor, covered in her own vomit. Her scholarships in jeopardy, her heart broken, and her faith in me completely rocked…all because I forgot to listen to a f**king message! She’d thought she’d lost me, too. I played it again, and let the tears fall down my face, blotting them with my fists, trying to man up, but also letting it all fall out of me at once.

When her words finished, I slid the phone to the corner of the room and crawled on hands and knees to her body. She was snoring lightly and didn’t flinch when I brushed her long strands of hair behind her ear. I managed to peel her soaked sweater from her; she only wrinkled her nose a little at me, but her eyes remained closed. I picked her up and carried her to my bed where I pulled the boots from her feet and slid her pants from her legs. I went to my drawer to pull out my softest Coolidge football T-shirt, her favorite. I slid it over her head and carefully pulled her arms through the sleeves. She twisted sideways in my bed a little, pulling down on the shirt out of instinct. I pulled the blanket up her body, leaving her shoulders exposed so I could stroke them with my fingers for a while.

Finally satisfied that she was asleep, and staying that way, I kissed my angel’s head and whispered in her ear. “I’m going to fix this; I promise.” Then quietly, I made my way to the bathroom for a shower.

Chapter 11

Nolan

It took me a few minutes to figure out where I was. The smell was familiar, the shirt I was wearing…different, but familiar all the same. My head was throbbing, and my ears were being hit with a constant drumming. My stomach felt empty, but also like it had been through a boxing match. I was destroying myself!

I pushed myself to a sitting position and cracked my eyes open ever so slightly, confirming my suspicion. I was in Reed’s bed. I looked around for any sign of him, but he wasn’t there. I could tell he hadn’t been. I must have been a mess—made quite a scene, I thought. I remembered most of it, up until he threw me in the Jeep and hauled my ass home.

I could hear the clanking of dishes downstairs and the faint sounds of some voices, though I wasn’t sure who it was. I thought briefly about fashioning Reed’s sheets together so I could repel out his window, but I didn’t have my car here. I’d need to walk home. And I was in no condition to go for a stroll through the desert. Knowing I had to live up to my walk of shame, I worked to find my footing to stand.

It was late morning, maybe 11, so there was a chance most of the guests had left, and Reed and Trig were already on their way to campus. My feet were gripping at the carpet by the bed, and I was puzzling at my lack of pants when there was a light knock at the door.

“Hey…you awake?” Reed said as he stuck his head in slowly.

Embarrassed, I just pulled the covers over my lap and smiled softly.

“Yeah, uh…you sort of barfed all over your clothes,” he said, chuckling a little and looking down at his feet.

“Oh God!” I thought.

He slid completely in the room, holding a small bag and a juice, closing the door behind him. “I got you a muffin,” he said with a half smile, approaching me like I was an injured puppy. “Oh, and some juice. Thought you might be hungry? Or thirsty?”

I just stared at him, trying to make sense of his behavior. “Thanks,” I said, my voice a little crackly from the rough night. I pulled the muffin from the bag, and picked small pieces off it and ate—not really hungry, but also unsure of what else to do in front of him; suddenly, everything about me felt raw and on display. I just looked back up and smiled. “It’s good. Blueberry.”

“Yeah. I know it’s your favorite,” he said, leaning against his opposite wall. We just stared at each other while I ate. Finally, he pushed off the wall and looked at his watch. “Hey, so, I have to get going with Trig. We have light practice today. But you’re going to the game, right? You’ll be there?”

He seemed intense all of a sudden, almost worried. Why was it so important to him that I was there now, after missing so many weeks? I shrugged a little and nodded. “Yeah, I’m going with Sarah,” I said, my insides sick that there was no way out of this now. I’d have to go—worse yet, the deep-down part of me really wanted to be there.

“Good,” he nodded once before coming over to stand right in front of me, my heart speeding up with every step he took. He put his hand on my shoulder and put his fingers under my chin to tilt my face up to look at him. He was holding his breath. He was…nervous? What the hell type of paradox had I fallen into? What the hell happened after I got in that Jeep last night? Then he leaned forward and placed his lips on my forehead. His soft touch made me shut my eyes to savor it. I also wanted to cry, something that seemingly happened at the drop of the dime lately. I just left my eyes shut, while he backed away, opening them to see him smiling at me again softly. “Okay, well…see you after the game.”