Chapter 5
Claire
“He what?” I yell as I slam my door closed behind me. I’m fuming. No, I’ve gone right past fuming and straight to murderous.
“Woah, girl. Take a few breaths. You look like you're ready to make a trap and shove Clay into it like in Saw,” Sara tells me, as she comes over to where I’m burning a hole into the floor.
“Maybe I am. Please elaborate on the text you sent me,” I seethe at her as I throw my bag to the side and head for the freezer we have in our dorm.
If what she tells me is true, then I’m going to need ice cream.
Lots of it. Thankfully, it’s Friday, so if she’s right, then I can spend the weekend sulking.
“He has a new girlfriend.”
“Okay, but how do you know?” I’m double-checking with her because I don't believe that Clay would move on this fast.
Or it means that he was talking to this new girl on the side while we were still together. And if that’s true, I don't know if I’ll ever believe in my judgment ever again.
How could I have been so stupid?
Sara shows me her laptop—with a thousand Instagram tabs open—and she walks me through how she got to this conclusion.
“Jess saw him walking to class with some girl. Apparently, he was holding her hand, and before they went their separate ways, they shared a very passionate kiss. Jess said she almost threw up on the spot when she saw it. The girl had a Grand Mountain logo on a bag she was carrying, so I looked at all the female athletic teams and sent pictures to Jess as I searched. Based on the description Jess gave me—tall, blonde, and skinny—I narrowed it down.”
“Has she confirmed yet?” My entire body is cold. I can't tell if it’s because of how pissed off I am, or how betrayed I feel. It’s been two weeks since Clay broke my heart on our anniversary, and he’s already moved onto someone else?
“She’s on her way here right now with snacks and wine.”
“Perfect.” I grab the strawberry ice cream I took out of the freezer and stab my fork into it.
Sara rolls her eyes at me from the couch. “I know this sucks, but can you please just use a spoon for once? It’s weird as fuck the way you eat ice cream.”
I shake my head at her and I continue what I’m doing.
I’ve always eaten in this way, ever since I can remember.
My mom and dad always do it this way too, and I think it’s just a quirk I picked up from them as a kid.
I miss them. I should call them soon and update them on life and stuff, but I can't bring myself to pick up the phone.
They were the ones who told me that picking a college based on Clay would bite me in the ass, and I don't think I could handle telling them they were ultimately right. They never really liked him, and I thought by following Clay, I could prove to them that I was right in my decision.
I was okay at the start, but now I find myself regretting every move I’ve made since meeting Clay on the sidelines of the baseball field.
Part of me wishes that I could travel back in time and warn my younger self about what would eventually happen, but I can't do that now. What’s happened has happened, and there's nothing I can do to change that. Now he’s moving on, and I’m stuck here wondering why I wasted the past three years with someone who could do what he did to me.
I’m not one hundred percent sure that he cheated on me, but it’s looking that way. Normally, I would just try to let go and move on. But unfortunately for Clay, I’m not feeling like a pushover anymore.
I feel like messing with his head a little, just like he’s doing to me. Where the fuck does he get off doing this practically in front of me? He had to know I’d find out sooner or later, being that he’s flaunting this girl around in public.
Just as I’m lost in my thoughts, Jess storms in and heads right toward Sara.
She doesn't say a word to either of us as she looks at her computer screen. A few seconds later, she points her finger at someone on the screen. I rush over to where they are and notice that the finger she’s pointing with is her middle one.
I stifle a laugh and look at the girl she’s pointing at.
She’s pretty, but she looks eerily similar to me. We have the same build, almost the same height, and the same color hair. It’s creepy if I’m being honest. She’s on the dance team for Grand Mountain.
It’s also not her fault that she’s in this mess.
I’m always sick of people blaming the other person when they get cheated on.
It’s very obviously the fault of the whoever decided to cheat.
Clay was the dumbass who made the decision, not her.
I doubt Clay told her that we were together.
He probably told her that we were broken up or on the verge of it.
Or he broke up with me as a promise to her. Anger has entered the chat again. God, I don't know what to believe right now.
“I hate that she’s pretty,” Sara says.
“I hate that when I saw her in person, she complimented my shoes,” Jess tells us.
“I hate that her name is so pretty,” I tell them.
Evangeline Hopkins. She sounds like the main character of a romance novel, and she has the looks to back that up. Fuck.
“I hate this entire situation so much. Did the past three years mean nothing to him? Why was I not good enough, but she is?” I look at my two best friends and I feel some tears start to brew.
God, this sucks. I always knew in the back of my mind that this was a possibility.
It always lingered that I was never going to live up to Clay’s standards.
I just never imagined that it would turn out to be true.
He was always the one who brought up our future and talked about it.
I thought him saying all this stuff about it meant that he wanted it with me, but maybe it was only his future.
Not mine. Maybe I was the only one who saw both of us in those dreams, but he only saw himself.
I grab my ice cream off my desk, as I feel Jess rub circles on my back, telling me that she’s here with me.
“So, how are we going to make this bastard pay? Personally, my favorite idea that has been brewing in my head the past few days is going full Carrie Underwood on his car. I’m talking carving your name on his seats, slashing his tires, and slamming his headlights in with one of those beautiful baseball bats he loves so much. ”
Sara and I look at each other and laugh. Jess is the wild one of our little trio, and I’m grateful for her at this moment for making me laugh. “Jess, girl, no. I need to forget about all this and move on.”
“Move on…like to someone else, so he gets jealous and comes crawling back? Or move on like finding a random hookup because that’s doable. We can just go to the Hidden Bear or something,” Jess smiles at us. “You’re in need of a night out soon.”
“Soon, yes. But not tonight. I just need to relax before I do something stupid.” I don't make the best decisions when I’m drunk, so staying in should be all that’s on the docket tonight.
“Okay, well what would you say to a PowerPoint presentation then?” Jess asks us.
“Here we go again.” Sara rolls her eyes and abruptly shuts her laptop.
Jess reaches into her bag and pulls out three bottles of wine, along with her computer and an HDMI cord that she’s plugging into our TV.
“Well, a little wine can't hurt, right?” I ask them, and we all laugh, ready to spend the night in and hopefully talk about how shitty Clay is.
So, it turns out wine can hurt. The three of us drank a bottle each, and now we’re up to no good. Thankfully it’s Saturday tomorrow because I can already feel a hangover coming.
By no good, I mean that we’ve hatched a plan to make Clay jealous and stick it back to him. I’m 90 percent sure that they’re joking, but the wine has gone to my head and I’m seriously considering making this plan a reality.
“Okay, but who could she fake date? It would have to be someone that would really get on his nerves or this plan won't work…” Sara trails off as she tries to drink more wine, but realizes her bottle is empty.
“Claire, you mentioned once that he hates hockey players, so why not ask Justin?” Jess asks me.
“He does hate hockey players…” Clay told me once that they’re practically glorified figure skaters, and that he could play hockey in his sleep. I refrained from saying that he can't even skate because we were surrounded by all his friends, and I didn't want to come across as mean.
“Jess, he has a boyfriend. Everyone on campus knows that,” Sara tells her. “What about that one kid…Ryan something or other. He has a decent face.”
“That’s a no go. My friend went on one date with him and he tried to fuck her after fifteen minutes.
Really pushy, too. Stay away from him with a five-foot pole,” Jess tells us, and I nod in agreement.
I knew that already. Photographing the teams gives you a lot of insight into who the players really are.
You see and hear a lot of shit at practice that can tell you a lot about someone’s character, and Ryan has always rubbed me the wrong way.
I can't tell if it's his demeanor or what, but he just strikes me as an asshole with fake charm.
As Sara and Jess keep talking, my drunken mind flashes to sandy blond hair, and hazel eyes that can never look at me fully. To a guy who left a very distinct impression on me when I hadn't even said a word to him.
And he called you talented, which was more praise than Clay said to you in three years.
Jacks would be perfect for this, and he seems nice enough. He’s more introverted than I am, so it might take some convincing for him to do this with me.
I could ask him after their practice next Wednesday. I’m sure their coach will let me photograph it, since they have their first game soon. The worst Jacks can do is say no, and maybe he could even point me to someone who could do it with me.
This is perfect. This is a good plan.
I’m done being nice. It’s time for me to give Clay a taste of his own medicine. I’m going to make him jealous, and I’m going to do it with a person that plays the sport he hates the most.
What could go wrong? “Guys, I have an idea.”