Page 18 of Beautifully Conflicted

The worst part is I can’t even escape him in my own house since Aiden’s adopted him like some stray that needs a home. Talk aboutbetrayal. I get that he didn’t know who Damien was the first time he invited him over, but he damn sure had a heads up on the situation before he extended a second invite, and he did it anyway.

I’m sure Aiden thinks he can help close the gap between us by befriending Damien—that’s just the kind of guy he is—but so far, all his efforts are making me feel uncomfortable in my own home. So much that I didn’t come out of my room for hours last night, all so I could avoid their stupid video game party. And it’s a good thing I didn’t have to talk to him at practice today seeing as it left me in a mood to be reckoned with.

“Okay, spill,” Jagger demands from his seat on the couch when I walk through the front door.

“Spill what?”

“You walked home instead of riding with us.” Cam draws an imaginary line between him, Jagger and Cruz.

“I wanted some fresh air.” I shrug.

“You could get that sitting in the backyard, where you wouldn’t be sloshing through melting snow in your fancy shoes.” Jagger points to my feet, which aren’t clad in the insulated Vans I have specifically for walking in the cold. I’ve got on the gray Air Jordan’s with orange accents, which I’m not as picky about since they’re not white, but I’d never deliberately wear them if I thought there was a chance they’d get dirty.

And here I thought Jagger was too absorbed with Cam to notice shit like when I’m acting strange.

Still, I play dumb. “It’s not that messy out, and these aren’t white, so…”

“Come on, Bennet,” Cruz says. “You’ve been on edge ever since Damien showed up, and we get it, but you didn’t even have to deal with him today and you’re still off. This seems like way more than justtwo guys who want to beat the other on the field. What’s really going on?”

“Why does anything have to be going on?”

“Liam and Aiden both think he’s pretty harmless.” Cruz shrugs sheepishly, since he knows that comment reveals he’s taking Liam’s side over mine. I’d like to say I get that since they’re dating, but I don’t. Not really.

There’s an expectation of loyalty between teammates too, and right now I’m not seeing it.

“Your boyfriend doesn’t know him like I do. None of you do.”

“Help us understand, then,” Cruz says, ever the peacemaker.

I look at Jagger and Cam. “You guys need a history lesson too, or are you going to back me up?”

“We think you’ve got some pent-up shit you’re dealing with, and if you don’t get it out… The best case is you fuck up the whole competition between the offense and defense. The worst? You do something that jeopardizes your spot on the team.” Jagger doesn’t mince words, which I appreciate even if I don’t like what he’s saying.

“What sort of pent-up shit?”

“Hell if we know,” Cam says. “But you aren’t usually this moody, and we don’t want you doing something you can’t take back.”

“So, you want me to talk about my feelings before they consume me? Is that it?” I ask wryly.

“Fuck no.” Jagger snorts as he tosses me a pillow. It’s one of the massive ones we got for a house-wide pillow fight competition a few months back. They’re made of some stiff foam that packs a surprising punch. We learned that when we all came away with blotchy red welts everywhere we got hit.

“I was gonna say hit something,” Jagger adds, hopping up and down like he’s warming up for the fight of his life.

I hold up the pillow with a humorless laugh. “Not sure beating the shit out of people I like is going to help me deal with the person I don’t.”

“What if you beat the shit out of stuff?” Cam asks.

“Huh?”

“There’s a rage room about twenty minutes from here.”

“What’s a rage room?” Cruz asks.

“It’s a room with a bunch of breakable shit and you get to smash it with baseball bats and stuff,” Cam says.

That sounds fun as hell even without Damien’s face as incentive, but considering this conversation has undone the small amount of relief I got from that walk, I’m definitely ready to rage. “I’m in.”

The four of us pile inside Cruz’s jeep. It’s really Liam’s, but we all pretend it’s Cruz’s since Liam considers it his share of the rent. Once there, Jagger books us the ultimate package, insisting that even though this is my show he wants to smash some things too.

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