Page 105 of Scrimmage

“Jeremy said he hasn’t spoken to you in almost six months. None of us are buying it.”

“I’m glad I’m the subject of your group text.”

“You fucking left it. What were we supposed to do?”

“Pretend I never existed!” I abruptly shout. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s not Koda. I’m just stressed. I haven’t been sleeping. That’s all.”

“Are you seeing him?”

I bite my lip, avoiding making eye contact. “I don’t really want to have this conversation here. Okay? You know how it is. I’m just struggling. That’s normal.”

Penny accepts my answer. “Alright. You know you’re a cunt, right?”

“The cuntiest cunt.” I grin.

When they return, Alexi is talking while Koda looks irritated. He shoves another basket at him and stalks down the hall to the laundry room. I get up and follow. I’m actually starting to feel bad. Alexi was right. I’m triggering him on purpose. While he’s being a dick to me, he doesn’t realize that his actions are tugging at something deeper inside of me that hurts and feel good all at once.

Koda is standing over the dryer, folding stuff and obsessively organizing it.

I immediately turn bitchy. “Are you going to make me put it away like that?”

He doesn’t even glance up. “I imagine you’ll shove it in a drawer or throw it on the floor.”

“Can I help?”

“No. You’ll—”

“Do it wrong.” I roll my eyes. “Let me just…Show me how to do it right.”

He freezes. “What?”

“Show me how to do it right so I can help.”

He scratches his head and then reluctantly hands me a shirt. Pulling another from the pile, he holds it up, demonstrating. I follow, fucking it all up, but he doesn’t snatch it away. For every five shirts he folds, I manage to finish one. He nonchalantly picks whatever I’ve done back up and re-folds it before adding it to the stack.

“You’ve been stealing." He holds up the third shirt that’s his.

“Finders keepers."

He chuckles. “Gonna steal my football jersey next?"

“Couldn’t find it,” I sigh. I might as well rip off the band aid. “I know I took advantage of—”

“It’s fine, Ash. I offered.”

“But we—”

“Don’t give me one of your veiled apologies. I know what you two did, and I should have expected it. It’s fine. I know it’s weird, but it’s soothing to see shit done right.”

“Oh, okay.” I understand what he means.

He runs his hand through his hair again. “Thanks for not saying anything about it.”

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. “About what?”

“Alexi is always worried that I’m backpedaling when I do things my way. You never say a word. You just let it happen.”

I’m stunned. I never really questioned it. It’s just his way. “He knows you. The people closest to you worry. He just cares.”

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