Chapter 3
Chapter Three
TRAVIS
The fucking damage Ryder has done is far worse than I ever realised. Charlie is sat opposite me on her bed, her head down, her eyes pinned to the duvet, and her self-confidence in fucking tatters. I could beat the shit out of him for that alone.
“Charlie, look at me,” I tell her, needing to see the spark that used to reside in her eyes come back to life. She gingerly lifts her head, her sad eyes connecting with mine, and I hate that I let this happen in the first place. I should have done more, intervened and fucking fought for her, but instead, I stepped back, unwilling to risk our friendship by telling her that I’ve loved her for years. Fucking idiot.
“Don’t let the actions of one guy plague you for the rest of your life.” I speak gently, letting emotion into my voice but keeping the anger I feel at bay. Because I do feel anger that she’s gone from radiant and full of life to suppressed and unsure.
“It’s hard after two years of being beaten down with words,” she whispers, those tears pooling in her eyes and making my fucking heart break.
I reach over and take her hand in mine as I sit across from her on the bed, both of our legs crossed, a pose we used to do often when I’d sneak up here and we’d talk for hours until I snuck back home.
If there was ever a person for me, it’s her, and I’m going to do my best to make her see just how special she is.
“How about we fuck with them a little first?” I say, and she looks at me questioningly. “I mean, neither of us have broke it off with them yet, so what if we have a little fun as we watch them get their comeuppance?” I wouldn’t usually do this, but fuck, the slight spark of excitement I see in her golden-coloured eyes is worth it.
“Like what?” she asks. Yes, Trav, like what?
“Well, you ever wondered what itching powder in someone’s sports kit is like?” I say, wanting to keep the tone light and bring her out of her shell.
“I can honestly say that it’s never crossed my mind, but now that you mention it…” The small smile appearing on her mouth has my dick twitching. Shit, don’t do that, she’s not ready to hear what I have to tell her yet.
“I guess tomorrow is going to be an interesting day then,” I say, and her quiet chuckle does nothing to stop my dick from twitching again.
“I don’t know why I let Ryder come between us,” she admits, the lightness dimming from her eyes. “I’m so sorry I let him.”
I reach out and cup her cheek. “No more apologies, Charlie, there’s no need. And I let him come between us too.”
“It’s nice to have you back,” she tells me as she squeezes my hand and I answer her with a smile.
“Wanna watch a film, like old times?” I ask her, and she nods her head.
“What do you wanna watch?”
“You pick.”
“Like old times?” she says as I get comfy against the headboard.
“Like old times,” I confirm, and she picks out a chick flick and smiles as she gets situated beside me. She always used to make me watch these, and even though they’re not my first choice, I’ll do it for her, because that’s what you do when you love someone—you make them fucking happy.
“Babes,” Melanie says as her hand slides onto my shoulder. It takes everything in me not to pull away, because fuck does she make my skin crawl. I won’t be able to put on this act of wanting her much longer, doing it for the last couple of days has been hard enough… actually, for the last few months. I don’t even know why I bothered to stay attached to her, to be honest. The quick fuck here and there was not worth it, and I’m regretting my choices when it comes to her immensely.
“Where were you last night?” she whines, her lips pouting at me.
“Asleep.”
“At half past nine?” she questions, removing her hand from my shoulder—thank fuck—and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes, Melanie, because I was tired,” I grit out, not in the mood for her bullshit.
“Good job I found a way to entertain myself then,” she comments, and I have to stop myself from following up with ‘on the end of Ryder’s dick’, because that is exactly where she was, her location on her phone giving her away. I guess she thinks I don’t check that shit, and usually, I don’t, but that’s how I found out about them three nights ago. And then the last two nights as well. There would be no other reason for her to be going to his house, and Charlie’s admission that she also knew about them was the confirmation I needed. I made out I knew with certainty, which was the way to go, because I don’t know if Charlie would have told me if I’d come across unsure.
Charlie… God, last night with her, watching a shitty chick flick, was the best night I’ve had in a long time. And I can’t wait to finally make her mine and show her how a woman should be treated. I’m only eighteen myself, but I know how to treat a woman, how to make them feel, how to make them scream… at least, I will do, when Charlie is finally mine. I barely fucking tried with Melanie, or any of the others, because they didn’t hold my interest—barely had it in the first place.
“Are you even listening to me?” Melanie screeches, the sound cutting through me like fingernails on a chalkboard.
“Not even a little bit,” I tell her, because my eyes are glued to the woman sat at the side of the football pitch. She’s scanning the field for me, and when she sees me stood at the end, she smiles briefly before sitting down on one of the benches, Suzie rocking up beside her a few seconds later.
“For fuck’s sake, Travis, what is wrong with you?” Melanie shouts, garnering a bit of attention from a few people a couple of feet away from us.
My patience and my idea to fuck with her before I end it snaps. “I suggest you keep your voice down,” I say as I finally turn my head to look at her with disgust. “Because you wouldn’t want the crowd to find out that you’ve been fucking Ryder behind my back.” I use my status as captain of the football team to my advantage. I’m not a fucking dickhead by any means, but to get her off my case, I’ll act like a dickhead for a moment. The pupils here love me as the captain, cheering us on during games and knowing I’m the top scorer for miles. I’m on course to play for a professional team, the signing of a contract coming imminently, once I graduate.
Her sureness falters for a few moments, her mouth hanging open in shock that I know. “That’s absurd,” she splutters, but her words aren’t convincing in the slightest.
“Is it?” I say, one eyebrow raised.
“You know I would never do that to you,” she protests, and I actually fucking laugh at her.
“What I know is that I couldn’t really give a shit who you’re fucking, because whatever we had is done, has been since the moment I first stuck my dick in you.” I am aware I’m being callous, but that is all Melanie understands, being callous herself. It doesn’t feel good, but I need shot of her pronto.
“Don’t be like that, baby,” she purrs and reaches for my arm, which I pull away. And then she stomps her foot on the ground—actually fucking stomps, like a child.
“Throwing a tantrum won’t work with me, so save yourself the bother,” I tell her, bored.
“How dare you,” she says through gritted teeth, and I roll my eyes.
“Play the victim card all you like, it won’t change the fact that you fucked my best mate behind my back.”
“And have you even bothered to ask him about whether this is true or not?” she questions, folding her arms over her chest.
I scoff. “No, because why would I trust the words that come from the mouth of a liar?” I throw back at her, and she purses her cherry-red lips.
“You’ll come crawling back soon enough, baby, because no one is as good as me,” she says, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Yeah, whatever,” I say as I hold in the laughter bursting to be free. If I laugh, this argument will continue, and I have no desire to continue pandering to her high-maintenance nature.
“You’ll be sorry,” she says, her voice going from sickly sweet to pissed off, and I presume she’s trying to lace some danger in there somewhere. Fucking ridiculous.
“Fuck off, Melanie, and be sure to give me a wide berth in future.”
She scowls and then moves past me, brushing her shoulder against my arm and making me physically shudder. Once she’s moving her way along the benches, my eyes move back to see Charlie looking my way questioningly.
‘Tell you later,’ I mouth, and she nods. ‘Watch,’ I mouth as I point in Ryder’s direction, and for the next few minutes, she just needs to enjoy the show…