Page 97 of I Blame the Rival

“Since when do you have friends?”

I try not to flinch, “Technically, it’s Nico, my brother and his girlfriend, but I consider them my friends.”

An embarrassed flush creeps up my neck, the sorry state of my social life composed of blood relations and childhood friends.

Well, besides Skylar that is.

“Oh.” Cecelia blinks, staring at my face like she’s never seen a tomato before, “That’s kind of sad.”

“It’s not sad to me.” Clamping my teeth to keep from screaming, I turn and walk away.

Sometimes it feels degrading trying to be nice to people who don’t want to be nice back. Sometimes it would be nice to not care as much. To shrug off the insults and continue on with my day like nothing ever happened.

“Lacey, wait.”

My feet and train of thought slow to a halt. Turning from the door, I look and see Cecelia pulling on a sweater and a pair of shoes. She gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace.

“A break would be nice right about now. Even if it is with your annoying friend.”

I blink, watching her readjust the sloppy ponytail. She catches me staring and sighs, letting the dyed strands fall down her shoulders.

“Look, I didn’t mean to insult you. I can be blunt sometimes and it can come off as rude.”

“Sometimes?”

The snarky remark slips past my lips and Cecelia lets out a surprised laugh.

“Fine. I’m always rude. But someone has to be the bitch and it certainly isn’t going to be you.” She pulls a face, “You’re a little too sweet for my taste.”

Despite the earlier humiliation, my lips tug into a smile, “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You should. It wasn’t an insult.”

I huff out a laugh and together we head over to the residence building reserved for varsity athletes.

Nico and Wesley live on the second floor, and although they are sophomores now, their dorm room isn’t any bigger than my own. Most students move off campus after their first year to find bigger living spaces and more privacy, but both co-captains vetoed the larger beds to stay close to their teammates.

Although knowing Wesley, he probably wanted to stay in vicinity to Trip as well.

The door swings open before I can knock and Nico’s exasperated face steps into view.

“What took you so long?! I swear to God, those two haven’t stopped touching since Trip got here… Oh, shit.”

He stares at Cecelia in horror, “I didn’t prepare any conversational contingencies and my self-esteem is at an all-time lowafter history of rock and roll kicked my ass this morning. Please don’t hurt me.”

She eyes him warily, “I left my weapons at home.”

“Babe, we both know that tongue of yours is weapon enough.” Nico shudders before waving us in, “Just give me a warning before you insult me. I’m achingly fragile right now.”

My roommate rolls her eyes and I stifle a laugh. We follow him into the dorm where mismatched blankets are strewn along the ground. Trip is lounging on one of the couches, watching my brother do some sort of reenactment.

“All I’m saying is there wasthismuch room on the board. Jack totally could have survived if Rose had shifted a couple of inches over.”

Nico throws his head back and groans, “Dude. You need to let that go. That movie came out before you were born.”

He shakes his head solemnly, “It doesn’t matter when it came out. That story will forever live on in us.”

“You know it was fictional, right? Based on a true story does not make it real.”

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