Page 22 of The Trouble with Players

I locked myself in my bedroom and then hurried into the shower, standing in there for far longer than necessary. I felt so stupid. It was one thing for Crew to find out about my nightmares the way he had, but to try to be there for me was not something I needed from him. If Gina knew we were sleeping in the same bed, she’d say something like, ‘It seemed like you needed him.’ Or, ‘It’s good to need other people.’ But Crew wasn’t other people. He was someone who rubbed me the wrong way. Someone who took what he wanted when he wanted it. Case in point, him tracking me down last night and sleeping in the guest room. He had to know I wasn’t going to be a groupie.

I finally switched off the shower and got out, wrapping myself in a towel. Now what? All of my stuff was in the guest room. I cracked the door and checked the hallway; it was empty. My father’s voice trickled upstairs from the kitchen below. I listened closely and heard Crew speaking too.

I tiptoed back to the guest room and locked myself inside. I texted with my mom and watched some videos on my phone—anything to avoid a run-in with him.

Sometime later, tires crunched over the gravel in the driveway. I climbed off my bed and moved to the window that overlooked the front yard. My father’s car pulled away while my mother’s Jeep remained in the driveway where it had been since I arrived.

Shuffling in the hallway drew my attention to the door. Then, a piece of paper slipped underneath.

I tiptoed to it and picked it up.

Open up

I rolled my eyes and spoke through the door. “What is it, Crew?”

“Just checking if you’re all right.”

“People text or DM these days.”

“I’m not people.”

I huffed my annoyance. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You ran away this morning.”

“No, I didn’t. I just had better things to do,” I lied.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. Everyone has bad dreams.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” I snapped.

“Whatever.”

“We’re not friends, Crew. Just leave me alone.”

He was silent for a long time. And, then his footsteps retreated down the hall and my bedroom door closed.

That was the last I heard from him that day.

And I slept alone that night.

CHAPTER NINE

Gina and I spent the next day at the beach, enjoying the weather and each other’s company. We didn’t talk about guys or my parents. I didn’t mention my nightmare, Crew coming to my room to check on me, or me sending him away. We talked about school and traveling and music. And, we laughed—which I desperately needed. Gina was someone who exuded happiness and positive energy, and, currently, that’s all I needed to be surrounded by.

Once I knew that Crew would be gone for his game, I said goodbye to Gina and went back to my house. As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I regretted it.

“I’m heading to Boston for the weekend,” my father said from his spot at the sink.

I grabbed a water from the refrigerator. “And?”

“I just thought you’d want to know.”

I closed the refrigerator and began to walk away. “Nope.”

“Careful, Peyton,” he warned.

I stopped and spun around.

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