Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
The football house.
Mason’s house.
My face falls, and I grip my seat belt for dear life. “Chase, what are we doing?”
His smile is solemn, and he shakes his head. “You can’t go, Payton.”
“I have to.”
“You can’t. If it were just you, I…I don’t know, maybe I would take you back, but it’s not. You can’t do this to him, and I don’t believe you really want to.”
A knot forms in my throat, but I manage to rasp around it, “I need to leave.”
“And he needs you,” he whispers, reaching out to take my hand. “Please, Payton.”
My features grow taut, and I let him, admitting, “I’m scared.”
“I know, but so is he. I’ve never seen him like this. He loves you, both of you. You have to know this.”
I clench my teeth to keep them from chattering and close my eyes.
Screaming has them flying right open.
Both our heads yank to the left just in time to see a girl with blond hair run down the steps of the porch, Alister right behind her, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Tears stream down her cheeks, and the door flies open again, Mason and Brady rushing out.
Alister whips around, his posture stiff with rage, and the girl starts to cry harder.
Chase and I look at each other, jumping out at the same time and taking a few steps up the sidewalk in time to hear Mason say, “I don’t know what happened here, but you need to break it up or take it somewhere else.”
“You wanna know what happened?” Alister rushes forward, screaming, “You fucked my girlfriend and got her pregnant!”
The air whooshes from my lungs on a gasp, and dark brown eyes snap over, locking on to mine.
Mason
“Why the fuck are you here? You came to see him? To throw this shit in my face even more?”
I hear the fucker screaming with my door closed. Brady and I look at each other, then shoot to our feet, our textbooks falling to the floor with a thud, and we hustle down the stairs.
“So much for cramming for that exam uninterrupted,” I grumble. “This fucking dude, I swear.”
Brady chuckles behind me. “How much do you love this whole ‘captain keeps them in check’ role, bro?”
I flip him off over my shoulder, the heaviness of the day too fucking much.
I don’t have time to deal with this asshole’s shit anymore today. He already pushed me once and got the best of me in front of Payton.
And then she ran from me.
She told me there was no competition, and then she ran away.
A deep ache takes root in my chest, but I push it aside, coming around the corner with a hard expression.
“Drama stays outside!” I snap.
Two heads whip my way, and a small frown builds when I get a look at the girl.
“Allana?”
Her eyes go wide with panic, face wet with tears as she looks from Alister to me and back.
“Are you okay?” I step toward her. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
She opens her mouth at the same time that Alister’s mocking laugh fills the space. “This is fucking hilarious coming from you!”
“I can’t do this,” she squeaks, running out the door.
Alister shoves me on his way by, and the screaming continues.
“Don’t run, Allana! Face it! Make him face it. This is bullshit, and you two deserve what comes of this! He already has a kid, you know that?”
She cries harder.
“Fuck’s this all about?” Brady frowns.
Sighing, I shake my head, and the two of us follow them to the front.
“I don’t know what happened here, but you need to break it up or take it somewhere else.”
“You wanna know what happened?” Alister growls, tearing at his hair as he spins, glare pointed my way. “You fucked my girlfriend and got her pregnant!”
Alarm slams into me, and as if the universe hasn’t tortured me enough lately, my eyes lift, locking on to a pair of watery blues.
Payton.
Her face falls right before me, and automatically, I take a step toward her, but then Alister is right there.
He cocks his fist back, and all I have time to do is prepare for the blow. My head whips back with force, but I keep my feet, head snapping right back and frown heavy. There’s warm liquid at the corner of my lip, but I don’t brush it away.
I look to Allana, and Alister screams.
“You two are fucking sick!” His eyes come to mine. “Does your girl know you have another kid? That she and the kid you have together don’t mean shit to you because—”
My fist is cocked back, but before I can throw my punch, Chase’s fist whooshes past my face, slamming right into the side of Alister’s jaw.
He stumbles, and Chase takes advantage of that, shoving him to the ground. “Shut the fuck up! You don’t know shit about shit.” Chase looks to Allana with a frown. “I’m sorry, but you need to start talking.”