Page 104 of Promise Me Not

“You dumb son of a bitch,” Brady starts in the second he throws the door open, locking himself inside with a purposeful slam and sending those woodpeckers into a frenzy.

Alcohol, a long-ass drive, and a three-hour run do not fucking mix.

I drop my head back against the headrest, gripping the wheel for something to focus on, and a jolt of pain slices down my arm. I jerk, fighting back the nausea and blinking through the haze that slips over my vision.

My eyes snap to my throwing hand, and my pulse hammers harder. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, oh fuck, you fuckwad.” Brady glares. “The hell was that last night?”

“Nothing.” My lips press into a firm line, and I turn away, reaching for a bottle of water, my eyes falling to the tiny bottle of orange pills I found beside my bed before I took off this morning, the sight sending pain of a different kind through my chest.

I know it was Payton who left them for me.

Sighing, I face Brady, but I can’t make myself ask.

He scowls but swipes it away a moment later. He always has been the most perceptive of the three of us. “She’s the one who realized you were gone first.”

A flicker of something sparks in my chest, and I face him better.

“She thought Little D would help cheer you up, took him in there the minute he woke, but…”

That spark is snuffed, and acid is poured down my throat, eating away at my insides.

She brought him to me?

She fucking came to me, with him, and I wasn’t there.

I slam my fist down on the steering wheel, and a scream leaves me. “Fuck!” I yank my hand to my chest, my eyes flying wide.

“Goddamn, Mason! What the fuck!” Brady slides over, gripping my wrist and pulling it closer. His eyes widen, moving from me to my hand as he shakes his head. His jaw clenches, and he squeezes his eyes closed. “Get out,” he snaps.

I don’t argue. I get out, swapping spots with him, and notice Chase is here too, his truck parked beside mine.

I can’t quite see inside it, but when he flashes his lights, I nod, and he’s pulling out before Brady takes the driver seat, getting us onto the road.

“Chase didn’t want to stay behind?” I grumble.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Brady snaps. “You know we came the minute we realized you’d left early.”

Brady doesn’t head to our side of campus, instead leading to a drugstore. Neither of us speaks on the short drive, and even after he kills the engine, the silence stretches, though it’s him who breaks it first.

“Look, man.” He faces me, reaching over to clasp a hand on my shoulder. “You’re my brother, all right, and I don’t know what’s going on with you and Payton, so let me start by saying I love her little ass as much as I love you. But, Mase.” He shakes his head. “This is your fucking time. The last ten years, this is what you were working toward, a starting position at aD1 school. Your face on top of the stats pile. Your file on the desk of every head coach in the NFL. You’reright there, man. Two more years at Avix, and you’ll be on your way to the draft. You’re literally on the path you’ve always dreamed of, about to get everything you want.”

My frown deepens more and more by the second, and I look to my hand. The swelling in my knuckles seems to be worse than it was earlier, but it’s not broken.

“That shit last night could have been worse, and losing it a minute ago didn’t do a damn thing to help either.” Brady releases me. “I mean, come on, man. You want Alister fucking Howl to take your seat?”

My lip curls, and Brady nods.

“Exactly.” He swallows, and I know guilt when I see it, but he pushes past his hesitation, because that’s what friends do, and adds, “Payton is strong. Stronger than me, that’s for damn sure, and not only that, but she’s surrounded by people who care about her. Anything she needs, she can ask any one of them, and they’ll be there. Shit, we all will, no questions asked, but…” He pauses. “But she has a future to figure out, and you’re already heading toward yours.”

My throat clogs, my mouth running dry. I can’t swallow past it.

What he’s saying, it’s all true. Payton does have an endless support system, and she doesn’t have a clue where life will take her from here. She’s just trying to make it one day at a time.

My time already started, my future just over the hill, waiting for me to climb to the top and grab hold.

He’s saying I should let her live her life and figure out what she wants along the way.

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