33. Jace #2
I’d known that Sienna didn’t want us to be public—it was one of the first things she said to me regarding this little arrangement—but for her to say it so bluntly has my head pounding and blood thrumming with anger.
My parents love one another loudly. Dad will brag about my mom to everyone he meets, talking about his beloved wife so animatedly to anyone who’d listened and vice versa .
They’d passed that down to us, making it a mission for everyone in our family to be loved and celebrated for their accomplishments no matter how big or small they are.
I just don’t want anyone to see us.
Her words from earlier ring like sirens in my head as I walk into the guys and I’s house off campus. Blake and Braxton sit in the living room, playing video games when I walk in. The two of them groan and shout at the TV as I plop down on the couch with a sigh.
They eye one another briefly, playing for a few more minutes before pausing their next round.
Blake is the first to speak. “What happened?” he questions, furrowing his brow as Braxton smacks him upside his head.
“Obviously a girl happened…” Brax shakes his head, annoyed, before turning to me. “Why did you and the mystery girl fight?”
At his words, Blake smacks his chest, his eyes wide like he’s trying to communicate with our friend, but Braxton ignores him.
“Dude, it’s obvious they fought…look at his little puppy dog eyes…”
Blake groans, throwing his arms up.
“Yeah, but—”
I tune them out, putting my headphones in and turning the volume up as a sad song begins to play.
My mind immediately goes back to the mall, and even though I try to move past it, I can’t.
It shouldn't have gone that far, that I know. Sienna was raised completely different from how I was. Her accomplishments, no matter how big or mediocre they were, went unnoticed. She didn’t have people who were there for her or celebrated her just for being herself besides her uncle, cousins, and me.
But that doesn’t mean that my feelings aren’t justified, as well.
This is so fucked…
I sigh, my mind roaring with images of her face before I left her standing there in the mall wearing a large pair of nerdy glasses .
I shouldn’t have left her there alone. We could’ve talked it out…I should’ve just did the right thing and took her home instead of leaving. All her parents and everyone in her life ever did was leave, and I just did, too.
We fucking sucked tonight. We, as in the team.
Tonight was an away game against Harborview, one of the worst teams in our conference and yet, we came close to tying.
I don’t know if it’s because everyone is having girl problems lately or just have their heads up their asses, but there should be zero reason we were just a hair shy of losing to them.
I sigh as I sit next to Derek in the back of the bus in our usual away game spot and close my eyes. I like sitting next to Momma bear because he rarely talks after away games, especially if we sucked. And when he does talk after, it’s always good conversation.
As the bus begins moving and the guys begin talking about whatever they got into while we were here, I feel eyes on me. Popping open an eye, I flinch from the close proximity of Derek and I.
“What happened with the demon spawn?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously as I raise a brow.
Demon spawn? I only know one of those, and she doesn’t respond to my texts.
“Georgia?” I frown as he rolls his eyes.
“No, dimwit. Sienna. Why was she upset and why did I have to take her home a few days ago?” Derek's questions have a bit of an edge to them as my brows squeeze together, catching the tail end of his words.
“You took her home?”
He sighs exasperatedly. “That’s beside the point.”
The fuck does he mean beside the point ?
I reel back unamused. “No, I think this is a point, considering you took my girlfriend home.”
Could I even call her that?
Derek's eyes widen, amusement flashing in them as he raises his brows.
He looks around the bus cautiously, but everyone else is still in their own worlds.
Lowering his voice, he leans in closer to me and I can just feel the anger radiating off of him.
“Then why the fuck did you leave her in a mall stranded and on the verge of tears?”
Gulping, I shift my gaze from him to the window, chewing on my bottom lip.
It was never supposed to end like that…What had originally only been a question turned into an angered rant. She won’t answer my calls, and I can hardly think without seeing that look of hurt on her face.
“Did she cry?” My voice is unrecognizable, hard and rough as I voice my concern.
Derek scoffs. “I don’t know how she didn’t, but that girl saved every single drop. She even helped me with Deli’s hair and gave me some advice, so I’d like to think of her as a friend now. And since both of you are my friends…I’m going to ask again. Why did you leave her?”
Derek’s never been the serious type, but right now, the look he gives me is the same one he gives to opposing teams on the ice: cold and deadly.
I rub both hands over my face, thinking deeply about my situation before turning to face him and telling him everything from start to finish.
I tell him about our childhood, from when we met to our first kiss on her birthday, to now.
I tell him about how I was like Sienna’s self-appointed protector and how we made it a mission to be there for one another.
I even told him about the tattoos we got before finally rearing back to today.
When I finish, Derek sighs as if he’d lived everything himself.
“Dude…go get your girl back. Life is too short to end something great because of miscommunication.”