Page 60 of Write Me For You
“Of course you should’ve,” I said, and was truly touched by how many people wanted to celebrate him tonight. He’d fought hard for this moment. His dream was coming true.
“Go,” I said, and pointed to the players trying to get his attention. “I’ll wait here.”
“You sure?” he asked warily.
“Go,” I said, laughing as he kissed me again, then made a heart with his hands as he walked away in the cheesiest move known to man. I turned to Sydney, who looked like a deer in the headlights. Now that Jesse had left the kitchen, it cleared out pretty quickly, leaving us alone.
“It’s like he’s famous,” Sydney said, watching as everyone flocked to him.
“He’s always been this magnetic,” I said, recalling the day I’d arrived at Harmony Ranch, the way everyone surrounded him, including myself. Girls moved to him again, hands trying to touch his arms, his back—just anything to get closer.
“Does it bother you?” Sydney asked, clearly seeing the same thing.
I wanted to say no, but it did. “Yes,” I answered honestly. My stomach turned as a very pretty girl threw her arm around Jesse’s neck. Politely, because that’s who he was, he pushed her off. Then he turned to me and caught my eyes. I don’t know what he saw there, but he made a move to come to me, only to be intercepted by another group of guys.
“I need the bathroom,” I said to Sydney. “You wanna come?”
“Yeah,” she said. We left the kitchen and made our way up the stairs. We only had to wait a few minutes for the bathroom to empty. “You go first,” Sydney said, leaning against the wall. “I really just needed a break from all those people.”
Understanding exactly what she meant, I went into the bathroom, locked the door, and just breathed. I closed my eyes, trying to push away the image of that girl with her arms around Jesse. I loathed jealousy. It was a toxic emotion, but it was like seeing all my fears about our differences come true.
I went to the sink and washed my hands. I stared at my face, determined to not slip back into negative thoughts about myself or my appearance. I gave myself an internal pep talk, then went to leave, just as I heard, “I have no idea how they’re together.”
“Sheridan said they were at the same hospital or something, fighting cancer. That’s how they got together.” Every muscle in my body froze.
Me.
They were talking about me and Jesse.
“Explains the limp,” one of them said, laughing cruelly, making my heart fall.
“And the godawful hair extensions,” another said, and despite my best intentions, tears built in my eyes.
“Let’s be honest,” the first girl said, “if they weren’t trauma-bonded, he wouldn’t look at her twice. Jesse Taylor is gorgeous. An eleven out of ten. She’s a five at best. I guarantee he’s only with her because he feels bad about dumping her after they made it out alive. It’s sad really. By the way he played today, he is going places. He won’t stay with her for long.”
I felt as though I’d been punched in my sternum. My heart beat a million miles an hour, and every insecurity I carried was brought to the fore. I had survived terminal cancer. We had won. Yet I was still susceptible to cruel words. At times, the world could be such a nasty place.
Placing my shaking hand on the door handle, I opened the door only to be faced with the same girls from the kitchen who had been glaring my way. Their mouths dropped as I came out.I cursed my limp as I walked past them, desperate to keep my head high.
“Bitches,” Sydney hissed as she took hold of my hand. “If you had any idea of what she’s been through, you’d be groveling for forgiveness. And as for Jesse, you’re just jealous that he worships the ground she walks on and won’t give your skanky asses the time of day.”
Tears began to spill down my cheeks. I just wanted to leave. I wiped my face, leaving behind no evidence that I was upset, and once we got downstairs, I searched for Jesse in the crowd.
“What do you want to do?” Sydney asked, rubbing my back.
“Let’s just go,” I said, and headed to the front door. When we were outside, in the house’s driveway, I said, “Don’t tell him what happened, please.”
“Why not?” she asked. “He’ll want to make sure you’re okay and give those girls a piece of his mind.”
“No,” I rushed out. “I want him to enjoy this night. He deserves it, Syd. You have no idea how much.” My mind took me to the days he’d fought to rebuild his strength. He’d worked tirelessly to be fit enough to play this season.
Today had been the culmination of all that effort.
“You know none of what they said was true, don’t you?” Sydney said, then grabbed my hands. “June? I need you to believe me. You’re gorgeous, and they’re just bitter and jealous that you’re better, kinder and more beautiful than they could ever dream to be.”
“I love you, Syd,” I said, hugging her, thankful for her support. She had sliced through those girls with her words to defend me. The only problem was they had sliced through me with their words too—with perfect precision.
“Junebug?” Jesse’s voice sailed out of the house as he came through the front door.
