Page 9 of Destroying Everleigh

I didn’t bother indulging her. If she had something worth responding to, then I’d say something. She shifted uneasily in her seat, probably not used to guys blatantly ignoring her. I shared that sentiment but reversed.

Lucas cleared his throat, placing his hands on the table, linking his fingers together like this was some kind of parent teacher conference. He glanced over at his girlfriend for a moment. “This is my girlfriend, Everleigh,” he began, making her choke on the fry she’d just inserted between her thick glossed lips. She spluttered for a moment before lifting her beverage to her lips and swallowing a mouthful of the liquid to help wash it down.

Once she’d composed herself, her friends looking at her with various expressions of concern, she blew out a breath. “We met. He’s in my chemistry class.”

“Oh. That’s cool.” He shrugged, dismissing how blatantly weird she was acting. But I didn’t miss a thing. “Next to you is Amber. She’s friends with Everleigh. And on the other side of you is Alex, and then his girlfriend, Rosalie.”

I paid them no mind. Not even when they gave me nods of acknowledgment. My eyes were pinned to the bitch who ruined me. Her face was flushed from choking on her food moments ago at the mention of Ned Flanders, telling me that they were dating. I felt sorry for the bastard. He didn’t know just how much of a slut his girlfriend truly was deep down.

“And this is Ashton,” Lucas finished, motioning to me. “He’s in my economics class, and he just made the soccer team, playing offense.” He grinned over at me like that was some kind of grand accomplishment. But I’d been playing for years, so making the team was easy.

Everleigh’s jaw tightened at that, her hands dropping down to the edge of the table where she gripped it tightly. “Hewhat?” she demanded.

Amber glanced over at her, the only one realizing that something was off. Even her own boyfriend didn’t seem to put it together, too caught up in the sport the three of us would be playing together.

“That’s right.” I smirked. “You’ll be seeing a lot more of me.”

She lifted her gaze to meet mine. Past the rage she’d been sporting since I’d confronted her, there was fear. Her pulse was fluttering wildly against the column of her throat. And for the briefest of moments, I imagined what it would feel like to wrap my hand around her throat and squeeze until she ceased to exist. To see the panic flash within her eyes as she silently begged for breath.

“There’s a party happening at one of the frat houses this weekend,” he continued, once again, ignoring his girlfriend like she didn’t exist. Maybe he was used to random outbursts like this from her, or maybe he didn’t give a shit about her at all. Who knew. I didn’t give a shit.

“Really,” I drawled, my interest piquing at that.

I glanced around the room, my eyebrows rising when Briley slipped into the cafeteria, walking side by side with a couple of girls. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been fifteen. She’d definitely filled out in a few areas but was still as petite as ever. A wicked thought slipped through my mind, but I flushed it as quickly as it had come. The first time I’d seen her, she was nothing but a kid, giggling when she saw me groping her sister at the maze. We might have only been a couple years apart, but back then, she’d been a lot more child-like. That’s what I saw now, when I looked at her.

Lucas’s words cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the table, pulling me back toher. “Oh yeah, man. We have thecraziest parties here.” He shot Everleigh a knowing smirk, which she exchanged, like they were one and the same.

“You should totally come,” Amber chipped in.

I could think of a few places I’d like to come. My gaze darted to her exposed cleavage, picturing it coated in white, contrasting against her baked skin.

“Eyes up here.” She smirked, drawing my attention to her green eyes.

My lips twitched with amusement, but that quickly faded when I was jerked into a memory I’d done my best to forget. Everleigh had always been quick with flirty comebacks. A teasing smile gracing her lips as she dared me to cave. My hot breath whispering over her ear while we sat in the back of our biology class. Instead of shrinking away, her back was ramrod straight, the pulse in her neck fluttering wildly was her only tell. That was what initially made me crave her. Our flirty encounters, the jokes, her gorgeous fucking smile. The way she looked at me like I was the only one in the room. That’s when I knew I had to have her.

Shoving those thoughts to the back of my mind, I scowled, glaring at the bitch on the other side of Amber. But she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking athim—like he hung the goddamn moon. She was looking at him how she used to look at me.

“I’ll think about it,” I told Amber.

The walk to the soccer fields was drawn out, the hot sun beating down on me as I crossed campus, headed toward the far-rightside of the university where the field resided just beyond that. I passed a few students who were lurking in the parking lot, and some who were making their way to class.

It felt weird being back here. When me and Eve broke up, I skipped town, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. I did my basics at Junction University in Texas and then found my way back, missing my parents too much to stay away for long. My family dynamic was all kinds of screwed up after everything went down, but I knew my mom and dad wouldn’t live forever and I’d regret it if I didn’t see them more frequently. Family was the most important thing in the world to me. That’s why Eve’s betrayal hurt so damn badly.

When I reached the fields, I made my way into the men’s locker room. Lucas was already dressed, propped against a row of lockers in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top while he talked to a few guys animatedly about something. At least he wasn’t dressed like a fucking nerd, anymore. There was muscle definition, pronouncing his biceps, but not much. He was about as thin as I had been three years ago.

Placing my bag on one of the empty benches, I stripped down to my boxers. The room was loud, the scent of toxic masculinity permeating the air. I grabbed a black T-shirt and pulled it over my head, pairing it with some gray sweats. I’d never been much of ashortsperson. Tying my sneakers, I shoved my previous outfit into my bag and tossed it into one of the lockers that didn’t contain a combination. If someone was ballsy enough to fuck with my shit, I’d make them regret it.

Running my hands through my thick, side-swept dark hair, I made my way back outside, heading toward the field. A group of people were already waiting there, a mix of girls and guys.

As if drawn by a magnetic pull, my gaze found Everleigh. She was wearing black athletic shorts that complimented her thick thighs, along with a tight T-shirt that hugged her narrow hipsand breasts. She was thicker than she used to be, that was for sure. But not in a bad way. She looked fucking hot, and I hated it. She laughed at something her sister said, the sound carrying her voice through the wind.

I stood off to the side, folding my arms over my chest as a man made his presence known. If I remembered correctly, he was the soccer coach. Gray streaks wove through his dark hair, his eyes crinkled from years of laughing too much. I hadn’t laughed much since I was seventeen years old. Had no reason to. The man made his way toward the center of where we were all huddled together, forming some sort of sloppy circle. A clipboard was tucked beneath his arm, but he said nothing, waiting for the rest of the team to make their presence known.

When we were all here, that’s when he decided to say something. “I see a lot of new faces here today.” He beamed. “If you’re here, it’s because you passed the soccer tryouts. My name is Coach Doyle, and I’ll be working with each and every one of you to ensure that this is a successful year.” He turned to Everleigh, shooting her a broad smile. “Everleigh is our female captain, having earned it when she played last year. Girls, you’ll look up to her.” She gave a shy wave, heads turning her direction.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. The bitch had it all, didn’t she? A boyfriend, friends, college, team captain.

“As for the captain of the boy’s team, that role goes to Lucas over here.” He motioned to the cunt’s boyfriend and annoyance flared deep inside me. Not because he was captain, I could care less about that, but because they werepopular. Everleigh always claimed to hate that kind of thing but look at her now.

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