Chapter Thirty Eight #2
“To the outside world, I’m the asshole that’s always goading her.
And I suppose that’s true.” Pausing to drag open the stadium door, he enters first and the door nearly breaks my shoulder as I slip through after him.
What a gentleman. He doesn’t speak again until we step onto the empty field, crossing the vibrant green turf until he stops at a specific point on the sidelines. His eyes become fixed on it.
“How long have you known her?” he asks, catching me off guard.
I thought this was to be Memoir de Everest. Maybe something every new student on campus gets as a way of introduction before Everest sets down the rules he expects us all to abide by.
Now I’m getting the feeling that this, whatever this is, is solely for my benefit.
“Since the car accident when Harrison got away. I was there when she was found, and I’ve been with her ever since.
” I reply, getting straight to the point.
There’s no point denying my part in Meg’s recovery.
I’ve been there when no one else has. I let the silence settle, watching Everest closely as he stares at the painted sideline.
It’s clear that wasn’t the answer he was expecting, but he does well to ingest the information without any reaction.
“If you’d seen her before, you’d understand why I’m pushing her so hard.
She was phenomenal.” Everest breathes, something almost distant flickering in his eyes now.
“There was no one like her. Fierce in her convictions, even when she was wrong. She was a force to be reckoned with, and a worthy competitor. I thought by being my usual self, she’d find her way back in no time. But that’s not happening.”
I watch him as he speaks, really watch him, trying to decide what we’re doing here. Going for a trip down memory lane, for the sake of admiration? Nostalgia? I can’t quite decide, but it appears all too much like Everest is chasing something that’s already slipping through his fingers.
“Why does it matter?” I ask indifferently. A frown pulls Everest’s brows together as he twists his head to look at me.
“What?” he blinks, seeming to be unable to comprehend my question. I kick a piece of turf, pushing my hands in my sweatpants’ pockets.
“If she finds her way back or not. Why does it matter?”
He turns to me now, staring down from his entire inch taller as if he’s a king talking down to his subject. I stand just as tall, shoulders pulled back and brow raised.
“It kills me to see her second guess herself. To shy away from what she’s naturally good at.” His hands flex again, his demeanor becoming restless. “I’m just trying to bring back her spirit, and if she has to hate me for that to happen, so be it.”
It’s clear Everest wants me to agree, to bend to his whim.
To agree that Meg would be oh, so much better if she was molded the way he prefers, but he doesn’t know me well enough at all.
Whether I want Meg one way or the other, it’s not my call.
She’s a big girl, she can decide for herself and I’ll be at her side either way.
The captain facing me, however, is cracking at the surface.
The carefully controlled facade he maintains is starting to fracture.
I wonder if this conversation is less about how Meg should be, and more about his role if she’s not.
If Meg isn’t there to challenge and provoke him, does Everest know who he is?
All questions I’ll never get the answers to, but it’s fun to speculate.
All the while, I’m openly staring, assessing and slightly judging.
“What?” he eventually snaps, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason,” I shrug, though my mind is running through a dozen of them.
“So you want Meg to return to how she used to be, and you’ve brought me here to convince me of that.
Well, good chat but I really need to get back to class.
” I lie, deciding this is going nowhere.
In fact, I’m going to take the rest of class off to sit in the quiet wisteria alcove cradling a coffee until I decide I’m going to just text her first. Stepping away, Everest plants himself in my way, his face the image of fury.
“She was born to be a leader. She’s supposed to break rules and create new ones, to carve a path for the women who want to join the team.
She’s supposed to be my rival. That’s who she is,” Everest shoves at my shoulder.
The same one that was hit by the door. Poor dude is really not having a good day.
My eyes drop to where Everest’s palm touched me, and I brush off my hoodie.
Apparently I’m not getting away from this easy.
“Have you even looked at her recently?” I counter.
“Meg is all that and more. She’s in recovery, and she’s still able to get your panties in a twist. She has nightmares each night, and still shows up each day with a defiant expression.
She’s battling against rumors, switching majors and finding her place in this world, yet she still manages to find a smile for me.
Maybe she isn’t everything you preferred, but it’s my pleasure to be part of her journey. ”
My tone and demeanor ease, despite the increase in Everest’s macho bullshit.
I’ve never been one for physical confrontation.
I’d rather hit people where it hurts, draining their bank accounts and putting them on an offender’s list for good measure.
Something Everest should be wary of before he shoves me again.
Wisely, he refrains and drags an agitated hand through his hair, ruffing up the sandy blond strands.
I take my leave now, making it halfway across the pitch before his voice catches me mid-step.
“Aren’t you curious if she actually likes you?
” he calls. I know better than to be goaded by a desperate man clutching on his final card to play, but my body freezes anyway.
He latches onto my hesitation, crossing the grass behind me.
“Or if you’re just a safe space for now?
I meant what I said, Meg can be cut-throat when she needs to be.
What if, after all of your understanding and gifts and little dinners, she drops you like you never existed? ”
Licking my lips, I find a spot in the stands to focus on.
It’s a question I’ve asked myself before, sure, but just as quickly dismissed because it doesn’t matter.
Meg can like me today and ignore me tomorrow.
That’s fine. I will know that when she needed me, when it mattered, I was there.
Perhaps when it is time for her to move on, I might be able to convince myself that I deserve it.
That I wasn’t there for my mom, and my karma for that is still floating around in the universe somewhere, waiting to land.
Everest appears at my side, ready to put the bullshit aside at last.
“I’ve been thinking—”
“That’s dangerous,” I interrupt. He ignores me completely, which, fair.
“There’s no point creating a rivalry between us when Meg isn’t in the right frame of mind to choose.”
My brow raises ever-so-slightly, picking up on a few interesting points in the same second.
Firstly, that Everest thinks this is a me or him situation.
To my knowledge, he hasn’t expressed his interest in Meg in any capacity aside from mortal enemies.
Secondly, that even after what I just said, Everest is still hellbent on putting Meg in the ‘right frame of mind’.
What he really means is ‘his frame of mind.’ I keep all of this to myself, too interested in the turn of the events.
“So I figured we should work together to help her confront her demons. Help her deal with her trauma head-on. Then we’ll know where we all stand once and for all.”
And there it is, ladies and gentlemen. The game plan, set by the captain who needs to control rather than wait and see.
I can’t help the slow, dangerous smile that spreads across my face, because as much as Everest believes he’s three steps ahead of everyone else, he’s simply masking his insecurities.
He thinks Meg is a prize to be won, and if she is cured in the way he’s suggesting she can be, she’ll have no need for me anymore.
Additionally, he’s asking for my help in my own supposed-demise. Smart man, but I’m way ahead of him.
“And what if she still doesn’t want you afterwards?” I ask, my voice just as smooth as his. There’s a beat of him considering this, before he sighs.
“Then I’ll know it’s because that’s how she really feels.”
I study him, and he does the same to me.
A truce seemed completely out of the question for us up to now, but he’s not backing down.
He’s sure, in some twisted logic, that Meg is meant to be his.
Whether because of something his parents have said, or some poetic future he’d planned for them which absolutely didn’t include me.
If it’s the latter, he’s waited a long time to show his true cards, but I do love a challenge.
“It’s an interesting proposition,” I scratch my chin in thought.
If nothing else, I can prove to Meg that no matter how dark and ugly the source of her nightmares becomes, I’m not going anywhere.
Plus, Everest will see once and for all, he’s missed his shot and I’m here for all of her romantic needs from now on.
In fact, I’m failing to see a downside. Shrugging, I grin and extend my hand between us.
“Okay, I’m game. What did you have in mind? ”