Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
NASH
I wake up Sunday morning with a pounding headache so bad that I’m afraid to even open my eyes because I’ll probably throw up.
I don’t mean to do this. It’s not like I pick up the whiskey bottle and think to myself, “Come on, Nash, let’s blackout.” I’m just really, really good at making terrible decisions.
I groan, rolling over into a warm body. What the…
Forcing my eyes open, I scan the contents of my bed. The blonde hair fanning everywhere, shit.
“Jovie, get up!” I demand, giving her a less than gentle nudge.
Of all people… The one person I can’t stand. I don’t even like to think about Jovie. It’s the best I can do to tolerate her.
“Ow,” she whines, rolling off my bed, dressed in one of my shirts.
“Go, my mom will be here any minute.”
She rolls her eyes, “Shut up, Nash. We both know that’s a lie. She’s probably still trying to crawl out of whatever crack house she’s locked in.”
I sit up, letting the comment roll off my shoulder, “What are you even doing here?”
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
I shrug, rummaging around on my nightstand for my phone before she tosses it at me. Calmly, she sits unfazed on my bed, kicking around through a pile of dirty clothes at her feet, looking for her missing clothes.
“I hope you weren’t expecting breakfast,” I sneer, typing out a quick message to Carson to let him know I’m going to be late for his family’s cookout later.
A cookout they have every Sunday, Lexie—Carson’s mom—will come to hunt me down if I don’t show.
She says it’s mandatory for family, and I’m family. Whether I like it or not.
“I know you well enough to know that breakfast would never happen. You’re not a breakfast kind of guy. Besides, you do good to feed yourself.”
Her words piss me off, but she’s not wrong.
It’s not that I’ve never wanted to be that guy.
It’s just the only girl that has made me want to be him is the reason my family exploded.
The kiss might’ve set everything into motion, but Jovie is the reason.
She was watching that day, she saw me kiss Cori, and it wasn’t twenty-four hours later she gave the video of my mom and Ethan Blackwood to my dad.
I broke our deal… and she retaliated.
If it wasn’t for meeting Corinne Clark, I’m positive I could’ve manipulated the video from Jovie.
I just needed time, but when it came to Corinne, time was not on my side.
She was going back to Chicago, and I didn’t have time.
At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about being the glue between my parents or the fact that Jovie could destroy us. I was only thinking about her.
It’s always been her. Every random girl, every single time I set foot in Carson’s batting cage, I see her. She touched my lips that day and marked them as hers. Kissing anyone else feels wrong.
Jovie stands up, yanking her Legacy Cheer shirt down over her head, “If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you.”
I laugh, “Cause that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
She tosses my shirt back at me, trying to hit me with it before stomping out of my room. The door slams so hard it rattles the shit off of my dresser.
I growl, slinging my body into the bed, knowing I have about twenty minutes before Carson or Lexie come looking for me. I can’t take a pity party, not today, so I drag myself to the shower.
I’m out the door quickly and at Carson’s in less than five minutes. I don’t look great, but I managed to throw on basketball shorts and a t-shirt, which was better than pajamas. My signature—I don’t care—look.
Everyone else will be dressed like they just came from church. Sorry, but dressing like a frat boy and going to see Ethan Blackwood preach on forgiveness isn’t exactly on my to-do list. His own daughter doesn’t even show up.
I guess that is my fault, too.
Oh well… she had to see the truth somehow.
I couldn’t take her defending her dad anymore.
Especially not when my mom was paying for what they did, while he stood at the pulpit in front of the whole town like Jesus himself.
Everyone worshipped the ground he walked on, and my mom was dying inside. No.
I try to rid myself of the memory because it puts me in a bad mood.
These Sunday cookouts typically turn into a town event, but it doesn’t look too crowded today. Which is good because I feel like garbage after last night. So the fewer people, the better.
Carson’s eyes find me as I walk out the back door, where everyone is crowded around the grill and tables eating.
“Was beginning to think Mom was gonna have to come to drag you out of bed.”
I sigh, thinking about what she would’ve walked in on, who she would’ve seen.
“We gotta upload a video soon,” he turns his phone to show me his DMs. “People are getting impatient. They want us to build that ramp.”
Right, Carson’s YouTube channel featuring Nash Langdon. Crazy, wild, and reckless Nash. In the last wakeboarding video we made, I mentioned building a ramp, so I guess that’s what we’re gonna do.
I nod in agreement, “We will need to go get the plywood and foam. I’ll borrow dad’s boat, but your mom will flip, so it needs to be when she’s not home.”
Carson laughs, “Yeah, you’re right. She’ll have a stroke.”
“Ask for forgiveness, not permission,” I grin.
He holds his fist out for me to bump, “Exactly.”
I turn around, my breath escaping from my lungs.
Her.
She turns toward me, our eyes connecting for only a second before she rips them away.
“What is she doing here?” I ask Carson, my voice louder than usual.
He yanks me away from the crowd, “What is your deal with her? She’s pretty and Jovie’s cousin. Not the type of girl you usually treat like a doormat, so what is the problem?”
I ignore him because she’s not pretty... she’s devastatingly beautiful. Just being in her presence is killing me.
“Is this about Jovie then? Did she do something?”
Jovie’s mom, Lauren, cuts between us, dragging Corinne by the arm, “Guys, I want you to meet Corinne. She’s going to be staying with us for a while. Will you guys help her settle in at school?”
Cori rolls her eyes, yanking her arm away from her aunt, “It’s Cori, and how many times do I have to tell you I am fine at school. It’s been one day.”
“Nice to meet you, Corinne.” I say endearingly, but it’s more of a warning.
“It’s Co-ri, C-O-R-I,” she spells.
“I’m Nash,” I mock. “N-A-S-H.”
Carson’s watching us in confusion before laughing, “I’m Carson, C-A-R-S—”
She busts out laughing, shoving his shoulder, sending a feeling deep into my core. A feeling I know all too well when it comes to Carson… jealousy.
I shake it quickly. There’s no need to feel jealous when I don’t want anything to do with her.
“I’m gonna go get another crab cake before they’re gone,” Carson laughs, stepping away. Corinne hesitates before turning on her heels.
I try to shove the words down, but they come out anyway. “You don’t remember, do you?”
She turns back, “Remember what? That I struck you out or that you kissed me?”
Her attitude ignites something inside of me, but it also makes me feel some type of way that she hasn’t forgotten me either.
She continues, “Well, judging by the blonde I saw between your legs at lunch on Friday, I assume you held up your end of the bargain and dumped Jovie. Good for you.”
I scoff, “That day ruined everything. You ruined everything.”
Her face twists, “No, your inability to hit the ball did.”
I step closer to her, my jaw tightening, “The only mistake I made that day was kissing you, Princess.”
Her eyes glisten with sadness, and she tries to keep the tears from falling, “Yeah, well, you know the best thing about making mistakes?”
She pauses, giving me a chance to answer before finishing her sentence, “You learn from them, so you don’t ever make them again.”
I watch intently as she storms away, earning stares from everyone in the vicinity. She’s right. You are supposed to learn from your mistakes, but why do I feel like I want to make the same mistake again?