Page 103 of Bleed for Me

My jaw tightened at the mere mention of her name. Not only had she said that hurtful shit, she’d also stormed into Jordan’s room that morning and made the situation infinitely worse.

“Partially.” Cheyanne wasn’t off the hook either. Upon first meeting her, I thought she was someone I’d be able to become friends with. Instead, she’d proven to be quite judgmental, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. She couldn’t make excuses for her friends while belittling people who weren’t any less than them.

Tyler started to say something else, but his voice faded into the background when I spotted Archer up ahead. Angelina had just moved up beside him, grinning at him like he was the hottest piece of meat she’d ever seen.

My stomach twisted into knots, even though I had no right to feel any amount of jealousy. He was free game. Since meeting Archer, he hadn’t so much as entertained another girl, so I was confident that he wouldn’t now. At least… I thought that until he turned his head and shot her one of his sexy smiles that had been reserved for me alone. My shoulders instantly deflated, and a sting of betrayal slashed through my chest, even though it was unwarranted.

“Rosalie?” Tyler’s voice tugged me out of my self-sabotage, and I turned to look at him again. “Did you hear me?”

“No. Sorry. I’d gotten sidetracked.”

He huffed a laugh, but didn’t seem offended by my lack of interest. “Yeah, it’s been a long day,” he agreed. “I was saying that Shay doesn’t speak for all of us. We just tend to ignore her, otherwise it’ll be a never-ending argument.”

She speaks for Cheyanne, apparently.

Instead of saying that, I just nodded. There was no point, anyway. I was the outsider.

The walk was much shorter than I anticipated. Probably about fifteen minutes or so. There was a large body of water, andit wasn’t a lake like Valentine had suggested it was before. No. This was a beautiful, natural spring—so blue that you could see right through it.

To the far left of the clearing was some kind of building that resembled a shack of sorts. I could tell it was old by the rust forming all over the exterior.

“How cold do you think it is?” one of the girls asked, peering out at the water glistening beneath the sun.

“Freezing, if I had to guess,” a guy spoke up.

Valentine turned to face us, his gaze sweeping around the area before he glanced down at his clipboard again. Like before, he began reading off everyone’s name to make sure we were all present. It was becoming monotonous at this point.

Once he was done, he cleared his throat. “The hydration station is through there.” He pointed toward the little shack I’d been staring at earlier. “It’s fully stocked with water, Gatorade, premade sandwiches, chips, and fruit cups. You have thirty minutes to head inside, use the bathroom, and get refreshed.”

Tyler scoffed. “Thirty minutes?” he repeated, looking over at me in bewilderment. “What a fucking joke.”

I snorted a laugh as everyone dispersed around us, heading in the direction of the small building lying merely feet away. We followed behind them, waiting patiently as the line gradually moved forward. Since it was such a small space, it was an extremely tight fit. A few people headed straight for the bathroom, while others went to grab food and drinks.

People bumped into me from every-which-way, pushing me into Tyler.

There was a medium-sized fridge positioned near the back of the room with portable tables adorning the sides of the building. Tyler was right. Thirty minutes wasn’tnearlyenough time. Not with how many people were here, or the lack of space.

I spotted Archer near one of the tables with Angelina at his side. He was fixing himself a plate, his tight shirt molding to his defined physique. Once he was finished, he grabbed a second plate and offered it to her with another friendly smile. She accepted it graciously and turned to begin fixing her own food.

Maybe he was just being kind.

He doesn’t want you anymore.

She’s prettier.

He got bored of you.

All he wanted was your pussy. You made it too easy.

Bile rose to the back of my throat. Why did I keep making these mistakes? Nobody has ever wanted me. Not my mother, not Gentry, not Alex, not even Cheyanne, and apparently not Archer either. I knew that his…conditionmade him unpredictable, especially when it came to his emotions and love life, but I still let him weasel his way in somehow.

Suddenly, my stomach felt hollow. Like a pit had opened and filled the empty void with nothing but despair.

“I’m not that hungry anymore,” I murmured. “I’m heading outside.”

Tyler frowned but didn’t say anything to stop me as I turned on my heels and made my way toward the exit. My mouth was a little bit dry, so I could have gone with something to drink, but I needed to be alone even more.

When I stepped outside, I released a loaded breath, reveling in the way the sun beat down on me, warming my skin. It wasn’t excoriatingly hot out, but it was hot enough.

---