Page 95 of Heart of Gold
Remi cringes, “How did that even happen? You think Coach knows you broke his arm?”
I shrug, “I don’t know, honestly. I don’t think he said anything since he slipped Levi God knows what and made his heart go crazy.”
“Well good luck with that,” Remi says. “If you need an emergency evac, I got you.”
I chuckle, “Thanks.”
We part ways once the elevator doors open and I use my key to open the door. Collins sits perched on one of the beds with his phone in his left hand, before tilting his eyes up to meet mine.
“Hey roomie,” he spits. “Aren’t you glad I requested to be your roommate? I figured we need to have a conversation. What better opportunity?”
I feel my blood boil, “You requested we room together? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
I narrow my eyes at him, “About Quinn?”
“I made some mistakes,” he admits. “Lots of them. I took advantage of her trust once I earned it, but you have to remember something. Quinn came here for me. She followed me here. If she loved me enough to choose Ridge U over Yale, what makes you think all of that is gone so fast? What happens six months from now when she realizes that she’s not over me? Then what?”
“You knew about Yale?” I question. “You let her put her dream to the side to follow the guy who cheated on her?”
He scoffs, “Of course I did. It’s Quinn, don’t sit there and act like you wouldn’t have done the same thing. The girls here are fun, Richardson, but they aren’t wifey material like Quinn. That bitch is loyal.”
The way he speaks about her makes me furious. Like he wants her to be his endgame and doesn’t care how much he hurts her on the way there. She’s not some kind of shiny trophy, she’s a person.
“You know I’m right,” he gloats.
I toss my duffle bag onto the bed, “You are ridiculous.”
“No,” he says, “I’m realistic. She was still calling me all summer, bro.”
Although it hurts to hear that, I don’t think he’s lying. I think back to the cruise and how she was wearing his shirt and her sister worried that she was still upset. Maybe she isn’t over him. Maybe I pushed too hard for something that was never gonna be mine.
chapter forty
Quinn
Reading Gavin’s text message hurts. So fucking bad.
When Grayson and I broke up, I was upset. Just having that text message from Gavin made my entire body ache. The thought of losing him entirely? That makes me physically sick. Part of me wanted to be there at the bus this morning to make him listen to me, to hear me tell him how much I care about him, but I wasn’t.
I knew that showing up there wouldn’t have done anything but cause a giant scene. I didn’t want that for him, not after the complete shit show I’ve already put him through.
The most amazing guy I’ve ever met.
Sweet, kind, and so fucking smart.
I’ve already put him in too many situations where he wasn’t acting like himself, and if I know him like I think I do, he’s bottling up how he feels and is suffering alone.
The worst part? He must be doubting everything we’ve ever said to each other. I put that doubt there, the second I walked away from him for Grayson.
He’s obviously upset with me, so messaging back after he asked me to think doesn’t seem like the right thing to do. Getting his mind all muddled up before the game wasn’t exactly ideal either.
What the fuck were you thinking, Quinn?
“Are you okay?” Ava asks, pulling into the driveway at my sister’s house hours later. “You barely said one word the entire way.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Just wishing I could take back the last eight hours and start over.”
