Page 3 of Faking the Play

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you okay?”

The concern in Logan Carter’s voice broke me, and I burst into tears. This time, they weren’t just running down my cheeks. I was full-on bawling, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with three of the school’s hottest and most sought-after athletes staring at me.

“What the hell?” Ryan muttered. “I didn’t do anything. I swear.”

“Amelia, hon, are you okay?”

I’d always thought Logan Carter looked a bit like Clark Kent with his black hair and bright blue eyes, but that resemblance had faded when he—and his two best friends—had basically abandoned me once they became popular athletes in junior high. Now, he was right back to looking like Henry Cavill’s Superman as he swooped in like some hero.

If I hadn’t been a complete and utter wreck, I might’ve been pissed that he was finally deigning to talk to me again, but all I could do at the moment was wring my hands and babble a bunch of nonsense that didn’t even make sense to me.

“Those damn pictures…how? Who? No, I know who…but he couldn’t…he did. It had to be him. What am I going to do? Oh, no—Dr. Isenberg. He can’t think I’d…what if he believes I started…everyone saw them…” A bubble of hysteria rose in my chest, and I knew if I didn’t stop the words from coming out, I’d lose it right here on the sidewalk. Summoning all of my self-control, I pressed my lips together and swallowed the rest of the words before they could escape.

“We’re causing a show,” Ethan said quietly. “Let’s get her out of here.”

“Come on.” One of Ryan’s massive arms went around my shoulders.

The three of them led me toward the parking lot, which wasn’t in the direction of my dorm at all.

“Where are we going?” My question was muffled, but they understood me anyway.

“We’re taking you to our place,” Logan said. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t want all the attention we’d get if we took you back to your dorm.”

“We drove over this morning,” Ethan explained. “So we’re taking you to the car, and then we’ll drive to Quarry.”

Quarry. Right. The apartment complex not too far from the stadium. It didn’t surprise me that they lived off campus. Ironically, it actually wasn’t too far from my dorm.

“Okay.”

My agreement seemed to be some sort of signal for us all to just shut up and walk as quickly as possible. Before I knew it, I was bundled into the back seat with Ethan who, at six feet, was the shortest of the three, and Logan drove us back to their place. The drive was only a couple minutes, but I managed to pull myself together in that time, enough that I wasn’t a blubbering mess when I followed them into one of the buildings and down a hall to a massive ground-floor apartment.

If my entire world hadn’t been falling apart, I would’ve been a little more awestruck.

“Sit,” Ryan said as he led me over to an expensive-looking couch. “What do you want to drink?”

“I’m good.” I sat down because it seemed rude not to, but I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. “Once I catch my breath, I’ll go.”

“Here.” Logan held out a glass of ice water. “Drink this. Do you want anything to eat?”

I shook my head, but accepted the water. Sipping at it helped cool me down, but it also made my empty stomach remember that I’d skipped breakfast this morning because I’d been too excited about getting the books for my new position.

Shit. My books.

“My bag—” I started.

“We got it,” Ethan said from the kitchen where he was going through cabinets. “And you’re going to eat with us. Coach has us on this strict diet about when we eat and how much, especially before practice.”

“You have practice today?” I seized on the subject, hoping I could make small talk for a bit and then leave.

I should’ve known better.

“What happened?” Logan asked as he sat down next to me. “I’ve never seen you that upset before. I mean, you’re not exactly the type of person to get emotional in public.”

I didn’t tell him that I’d been just as destroyed when I lost their friendship. They’d never been mean to me after that, they just acted like I didn’t exist at all. Somehow, that had almost been worse.

“Lia, tell us.”

---