Camden
“Hey, LeAnn.” I’m happy to see my friend after a long break, but I’ve been worried about her since we ran into her and her dad on Christmas Eve.
She never messaged me back when I checked in with her, which only made me worry more. “Oh, hey, Cam.” She looks slightly nervous as she slings her backpack over her arms.
“How was your break?” I try.
But LeAnn is smart and straight to the point, tucking her hair behind her ear. “My parents are getting a divorce. And I’m sorry I didn’t message you back. They’d just told me.”
“Fuck.” I lean against my locker. “They told you on Christmas Eve?”
That doesn’t seem like our levelheaded coach at all. She shakes her head, the sadness running deep. “The day before, when mom was packing up to leave.”
That’s fucking cold. But thankfully, I don’t say it out loud, even though I think it. “Damn,” is all I manage.
“Just don’t tell anyone, okay? I mean, Kingston, yeah . . . that’s a given.” She forces a smile. “But no one else, okay? It’s far too scandalous for this town, and my dad will tell everyone in his own time.”
“Of course. I won’t say anything. I’m really sorry.”
She plays it cool. “Yeah. It’s okay. I mean, she wasn’t happy here. We knew that. She was sick of being the coach’s wife in a small town, so she split.”
That’s the condensed version, but I don’t want to push her too much, even though I care about her. “That sucks.”
“Yeah. It does, but mostly just for my dad. He didn’t see it coming.” They seemed happy. His wife was always at the games. She was quiet but there. We had team dinners at their place, and she cooked. I never thought she was unhappy.
“It sucks for you too though. I mean, she’s your mom.”
She pushes her shoulders back, that determined strong look on her face I’m used to from LeAnn.
“She hurt my dad. She shouldn’t have stayed for so long when she was unhappy.
That’s why I’m getting the fuck out of this town.
” She places her hands on my shoulders, looking up into my eyes. “And so are you.”
I shift uncomfortably under her stare. I don’t want to be so pathetic that I get dick and then I’m super attached.
But let’s be honest, I was attached to the guy long before I had his dick.
The thought of leaving behind guts me. “Right.” I nod once but feel uncertain despite the news I received over break.
“Have you heard back from any schools?” Damn her and her mind-reading ways.
“I thought we were talking about you,” I say, trying like hell to deflect.
She rolls her pretty eyes at me, dropping her hands from my shoulders. “I know you don’t want to leave him, Camden, but you have to get out. Bitterness festers. And then it explodes.”
I don’t want to point out that I’m not her mom, and neither is she.
That neither of us would abandon our children like that because honestly, I don’t know.
Maybe she was suffocating here in this small town, just like I am.
Just like LeAnn is. “Why didn’t you go with her?
” I blurt the question out before I can reel it back in, but she doesn’t look surprised.
“I’m almost out. I have one semester left. I’m not spending it at a new high school.”
That makes sense. “You hear from any colleges?”
She’s beaming now. “I have options. Full scholarships. I’m getting out.” She shoots me a pointed look, just as Kingston’s booming voice hollers a hello from the other end of the hall. He’s hanging out with Easton and Dean, so he’ll be a minute. Her eyes meet mine. “You need to also.”
I think about the acceptance letter I got over break. The one that guarantees a fresh start and good education. A place that’s liberal and seems to be accepting of all different types of people. A full academic scholarship.
And my gut twists because it’s everything I want, except for him.
“Oh.” Her voice sounds ominous now as she leans in closer. “Watch out for Kennedy.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I ask, my heart picking up speed with nerves, just at the mention of her. “You said something like that on Christmas Eve too.”
Her eyes follow Kingston as he approaches us. “It means she wants him back. She’s freaking out about prom and graduation. Not being on his arm. She’s going to come at him hard.”
I feel sick. “He won’t go back to her.” My eyes are on him and his wide grin, his handsome face and that toned body I’ve had the privilege of having my hands all over. He’s been inside me. “He won’t.”
She laughs at that, not in a mean way, but almost like it’s inevitable. “You know what she does to him. What she’s always done.”
“Your best friend is kind of a bitch.”
“Not kind of,” she says with a smile and then blows me a kiss. “I’ll see you later. Just watch out for him.”
She waves to Kingston just as he meets us, and she heads off to class. “She okay?”
That warm, tingly feeling comes back in full force at the concern coming off him for our friend. “Yeah. She will be.”
“Good.” He leans in close, so close I can smell his bodywash, and it makes my dick take notice a little too much for school. “Please tell me you aren’t working this evening.”
I shake my head. “Nah. Mom is though. I have to watch Lucy.”
“Cool.” He’s grinning happily, back in his element. One of the few who are actually happy to be back in school. “So we hang out with Lucy until bed, then we can play.”
My eyes instinctively dart around the crowded halls. He’s not being loud, but he’s as bold as always. I just give a clipped nod, hating that I haven’t mentioned college, even though I’ve known for a week now.
We’ve had sex a couple of more times since that first time and fooled around a hell of a lot. But I’ve been harboring this secret. Keeping it in because I don’t want to ruin the fantasy. Knowing he’ll be upset.
And it feels gross keeping it from him.
“I need to talk to you about something before though,” I say with more determination than I feel.
“You okay?”
I try to keep my tone even and my face neutral. He’s worried, and I don’t want that. “Of course. But you know, talking is still good too.”
He laughs happily at that and then shrugs. “I don’t know. It might be overrated.”
That pulls a chuckle out of me, even though I’m feeling slightly gross for not telling him. It’s just so damn hard to upset him. He’s so happy.
I hate to be the one to ruin it.
But I have to. Tonight, I’m going to tell him, and we’ll deal with it.
Like we deal with everything and always have.
It’ll be okay.
I think.