Page 45 of One of Them Girls

I feel guilty for cutting him off, but being around him makes me feel like I’m suffocating.

I know I’m going to need to face him, eventually. He was a huge part of my life and while I’ve found a way to cope with my grief; I know he has not.

Maybe today’s not that day. I tell myself.

Still, as my finger hovers over the “N,” I hesitate.

Taking a deep breath, I tell him “yes” instead. Then I let Xavier know I can’t meet tonight.

Fuck. Why am I so fucked up?

I don’t listen to anything for the rest of class. Not that I was listening in the first place, but at least with Xavier, I was smiling.

Not anymore.

As soon as the teacher lets class out, I head over to the frat house. I don’t want to go there, especially with a party going on, but the last time I had him meet me in a public place, we ended up arguing so loud that everyone was staring at us.

That one got back to my dad. I didn’t want that call again.

Thankfully, when I arrive at the house, the party isn’t in full swing. I give a small smile to a couple of the guys as I make my way up to Jared’s room. He said he would wait for me there.

I go to knock on the door, but as I do, it opens a little. I hear a noise, figuring it’s Jared getting up, so I wait. When he doesn’t come to the door, I open it wider, gasping when I see him.

Jared’s ass is facing me as he rams into some unknown person beneath him. By the sounds that are coming out of its mouth, I would say it’s a banshee.

“What the fuck?” I yell, pissed that I canceled my standing date with Xavier for this asshole.

He looks over his shoulder and has the audacity to grin. He actually grins.

“Oh, hey, babe. Want to join in?” he asks.

“Fuck you, Jared. Lose my goddamn number.”

I slam the door, running down the stairs. I barely take a step toward the door, when a large body runs into me.

“Whoa, slow down. What’s wrong?”

I let out a relieved sigh when I realize it’s Jack. Then I’m angry again because I’m crying. Not because I’m sad. No, I’m crying because I’m beyond pissed.

“I’m fine. I need to get out of here.” I go to walk around him, but he grabs my arm, walking out the front door with me.

“Listen, I can’t drive you, but I can wait with you until your ride gets here.”

“What? No, I walked.”

He laughs. “You think I watched you walk in and didn’t tell my boy you were here? X will be here in a minute.”

As if he summoned him, Xavier pulls up in front of us. He leaves the car running before jumping out and coming over to me.

“What’s wrong? What did that asshole do?”

I look over to Jack with a questioning look.

He shrugs. “We all saw Jared take Mara upstairs. Not long after you walked in heading up there too. I did the math.”

My heart clenches.

Mara? I shouldn’t be surprised, but somehow I still am. Even though we had a falling out, I didn’t think she would do something so cruel. Before I realized it was her, I thought it was just Jared being an asshole, but now? I know she has a part in this.

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