Page 217 of Fighting the Forbidden

Damn, I wish I could see her face. Or do something to reassure her. “Can any of your friends help you out?”

“Maybe.” She groans. “I don’t know.”

“What else?”

“Well, I took the week off from work to focus on finals and I almost think I’d rather be ringing up groceries than studying.” She laughs, then stops abruptly. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“Enough about tests,” she says. “How is the training? Are you learning all sorts of killer new moves? You’re allowed to tell me about that, right?”

“It’s good. One of the other guys is into?—”

Click.

“Molly?”

No answer.

I stare at the phone. “God dammit, I didn’t say anything!” I shout into the camera. “What the fuck?”

The door opens again. “We warned you, bro. Nothing about the show. Nada.”

Rage swirls inside me. I wanted to do the show for Molly. Now I can’t even talk to her for five uninterrupted minutes?

I’m not sure how much longer I can handle this before I snap.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Molly

I jerk my cap off my head and toss it in the air with the rest of my classmates. For a second, I watch all the shining green and gold rise above us, then I throw my arms around Hayden’s neck.

“We did it!” we both squeal at the same time.

She squeezes me back, and we jump around in a circle together. Caps rain down on us. Classmates push and dive to grab the right cap. As if it matters. Someone shoves one into my hands. A tag with Holt is pinned inside. Okay, it matters. I have to return this if I want my deposit back.

Hayden scoops her cap off the ground and hugs it to her chest. “Wade’s speech was amazing. He’s brilliant, right?”

If by amazing and brilliant she means long-winded and used a lot of big words to say nothing, then yes, he was brilliant as our valedictorian.

“It was a good speech.” I force a quick smile to bolster the weak compliment. My girl accepts no criticism of her beloved.

Stop it. I’m salty because Griff can’t be here. I can’t even talk to him without someone listening in and cutting us off. But I shouldn’t take it out on Hayden. She and Wade make a cute couple. Even if I still think his brother’s a creep.

Jenn, Kyla, and Darcy barrel into us, and we form one big circle-hug.

“What a relief. We’re finally out of here!” Kyla shouts, tipping her face toward the sky.

“I’ll toast to that.” Darcy lifts her cap in the air like a wineglass.

Jenn leans into Hayden and whispers something in her ear. Kyla starts talking about all the parties she wants to stop by tonight.

“We’re all coming over to watch Griff’s show at your place Sunday, right?” Darcy asks me.

An uncertain smile flickers over my lips. At first, I appreciated the support of my friends. But the show’s taken such an awkward and gross turn, I’m almost embarrassed to watch it with anyone else.

The week before finals, when the first episode aired and all my classmates saw my tear-streaked goodbye to Griff, had been mortifying. While I didn’t get bullied the same way I had as a kid, the relentless whispering and laughing behind my back made the last few days of high school unbearable.

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