Page 47 of Talk About… Rivalry

“I wish I was cute enough to get free food.” There was a hint of bitterness in his tone and I was so angry that my eyes started burning and I cursed myself for being an angry crier.

It was just that everything was compounding on top of me right now and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. Leo was poking a cornered animal.

When I didn’t engage with him, Leo refused to let it drop.

“You know, I heard that he asked you on a date, and you turned him down. What… is Taylor not good enough for you?”

“Leo, shut the hell up, you know nothing about me. You didn’t then and you sure as fuck don’t now.” I shot him a glare over my shoulder, but he hadn’t lost his cocky smirk yet.

I wasn’t about to let my former rival know that he’d hit the nail a little close to the head. I would love nothing more than to let Taylor take me out, but I had to cling to self-preservation. Even if it hurt this much to stay away, I couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt when he left me behind.

“He hasn’t dated anyone in a long time. He thinks that you’ve hung the moon.”

“I take it Taylor’s the friend you were talking about,” I said, still not bothering to look at him. I knew it was driving him crazy because if there was one thing that Leo Valor craved, it was attention.

Who knew betas could be so needy.

“He’s mybestfriend, in fact,” Leo answered. “We’ve been friends since back then too, not that you ever noticed. You were only obsessed with the Whitakers. So, you can imagine why I’m annoyed that you think it’s cute to string him along.”

In my defense, we had a small town but our school was full of kids from all the other surrounding small towns, meaning that there were plenty of people I wouldn’t remember from school.

Not to mention, I was dealing with enough back then.

“You don’t know anything about us.”

“I know him and I’ve heard enough. You haven’t changed a bit since middle school, have you?” he asked. The disgust in his tone sent a sharp pang through me. “You always had to be thebest and have the best. So again, why don’t you think my best friend is good enough for you?”

His words burrowed deep into my chest, slithering along the darkest parts of me and refusing to be ignored. They settled among all the other self-deprecating thoughts that I told myself throughout the day.

Usually I didn’t let people get to me or allow my mask to fall, but today I couldn’t help it. I was already too vulnerable before he dug his claws in.

“Tell me, do you always drive away everyone who cares about you? Just like your mom?”

That was it. The last of my control. The tears were falling down my face before I realized it, and of course, Taylor chose that exact moment to walk outside. I angrily swiped them away, flipped Leo my middle finger before dropping a few bills on the table to cover my food before I was moving.

Their voices were rising behind me but I ignored them as I hurried to my car. I couldn’t climb in or shut the door fast enough. Hell, at this point I could barely see.

I managed to crank up the air, hoping a blast of cool would ground me, but nothing was going to help.

A broken sob escaped me. I felt so weak, hands shaking, body quivering, head spinning. I fisted my hands together and pushed them into my eyes, trying to make the tears stop.

God, I was such a fucking mess. No wonder I was destined to be alone. No pack wanted to deal with this level of crazy.

An undignified shriek escaped me as my door was wrenched open.

I tried to look and see who it was but I could barely see through the tears that were still continuing to fall.

“Oh, Sidney.” Taylor’s voice was so soft that it only made me cry harder. He leaned down and crushed me in a hug, refusing to let me go.

The tenderness of it wasn’t the reassurance that he thought it was. It was just a taste of what I craved and couldn’t have.

“I’m sorry for Leo. He’s always been an asshole and way too competitive. He told me about your guys’ rivalry growing up. I just didn’t think he’d still be holding on to old shit.”

“He doesn’t even know me,” I managed to croak out.

“He doesn’t,” Taylor agreed, “and he’s a dick.”

I nodded, a wet laugh echoing through the tears.

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