Page 53 of The Lies We Tell Ourselves

“I don’t remember giving you a choice, Dillon.” Tristan placed his hands on his desk and loomed over it, trying to intimidate me. Physically, I could take him in a fair fight, but this guy was fifty shades of fucked up, and I knew he was packing, along with the two guards on the other side of the door. “Don’t be rude, or your party house goes up in flames with everyone in it.” He poured the powder out on a silver tray and cut it into four little white lines.

“It’s not like that.” I tried to placate him. “It’s just they run random drug tests, and one positive means I’m off the team. I can’t?—”

“We couldn’t have that now, could we?” he mocked before inhaling a line. He sniffed and wiped his nose before licking the residue off his finger. “You’re the best quarterback Briar U has ever had. We couldn’t lose our golden boy that way.” He cocked his head to the side, his pupils blown so wide there’s not a hint of his dirty-brown left. “However, if you turn me down again…”

He didn’t need to give credence to his threat; violence rolled off him in waves. I swallowed down the nausea rolling through me and took the proffered metal straw as he slid the tray over to me. “I made you two small ones.”

I opened my mouth, a refusal on the tip of my tongue, when he flashed me a photo of Jamie sitting on the grass of the quad. A malicious chuckle oozed past his lips. “I can hurt you in more ways than one.”

“I don’t know why you’re showing me that,” I growled and bent over the tray, doing the one thing I’d promised myself I’d never do. I plugged my left nostril and inhaled. Fuck, it burned. The buzz was quick and a smirk flickered at the corners of my lips before I fell back into my seat. The sensation of the residue dripping down my throat and onto my tongue made me shudder, the chalky taste turning my stomach. Now I was back to square one—about to empty the contents of my gut all over his floor.

“Maybe you have got some balls after all, kid,” Tristan goaded. “Take these and don’t fuck it up too badly.” I went to hand him the cash, and he shook his head “Consider it a present.”

This was not good. Now I owed him, and one thing Tristan was known for was collecting his debts. “Thanks,” I growled between clenched teeth as the sickening feeling of dread settled beneath my skin.

All Tristan did was smirk and wave me off as he settled back in his chair, phone to his ear. The door opened before I could reach it, and fresh air from the open bay blew across my face. “Oh, Dillon?” I rolled my eyes at Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum as they stood sentry outside the door and glanced over my shoulder, keeping my face blank. “I’ll see you tonight.” I nodded and walked out without looking back.

Stevens had appointed himself the party planner. All I had to do was get the keys and pay the deposit for the house. Said money burned a hole in my pocket all the way back to campus. I was in two minds as to what to do with it. It felt dirty, like I’d taken a back hander, and I didn’t want to keep it because I knew the repercussions would be dire. Instead of making a decision myself, I put it to the guys to decide what to do; either keep it for our next deposit, or to use it for tonight. Stevens decided to book a DJ, and it was agreed by unanimous vote.

“This guy’s sick, right?” Stevens shouted in my ear as he looped his arm around my neck and dragged me into the kitchen for a drink. “What’s your poison tonight, Cap?”

It was my twenty-first, so legally, I could have anything. But I had plans for tonight, as long as a certain blue-eyed golden-haired boy came. “Just a beer.”

Arching his brow, Stevens looked at me like I’d grown two heads. “Are you sure? I went all out and got top shelf spirits.” He grabbed a bottle of gold label tequila and waved it in my face. “This stuff is the shit, Cap. You really?—”

“No.” I shut him down instantly. “I’m not planning on getting wasted. We have a game next week, and you know Coach doesn’t need any help finding reasons to bench us.”

“Oh, I know I don’t.” Stevens sneered at me and grabbed a cold bottle from the fridge. “Here. So are you planning on hooking up with Elise tonight?” Just her name made my skin crawl and my balls retreated into my body. Instead of answering, I took the bottle from him and downed it.

“Cap, can I have a word?”

“Sure.” I breathed a sigh of relief as I followed Buchanan out the bifold doors and onto the back deck. “What’s up?”

“Not much. You just looked like you needed a rescue.” I scoffed and walked over to the fire pit. The night was warmer than I’d expected, but the temperatures would drop as the evening wore on. Watching the flames helped calm the calamity exploding in my head. I knew shit was about to go down, and I just prayed I wasn’t dragged down with it.

“Thanks.” I clapped him on the back and took a seat on one of the loungers.

“This brings back memories.” B smirked at a group of girls walking past before turning to look at me. Thankfully, it was still quiet in the yard. The party was just starting to kick off inside, so we had some time for him to say whatever was on his mind.

“I suppose.”

Sighing, Buchanan passed me another beer. “What’s going on, Dillon?” I blanched and looked up at him, grinding my teeth. “Nothin’.”

“Try again, man. You forget I know you. More than those asshats in there.” A loud cheer erupted as Vieck was hauled up by his feet to do a keg stand.

I snorted. “You’re not wrong there.”

“Is it just what happened with Tristan? Or does it have something to do with Jami—” I slapped my hand over his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up,” I growled, leaning into his space. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“I bug ta difa,” he garbled against my palm before licking it.

“What the hell!”

“Stop being a child, Dillon. There’s too much at stake for you to be a dick. You like him. You?—”

“I don’t.”

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