Page 41 of Puck'n Bully
“Hey, where are you rushing off to?” Mitchikov asks as I haul my gym bag over my shoulder. “It’s a Friday, right? You don’t have any morning classes today.”
“I’ve got a tutoring session this morning.”
A few feet away, Logan stops the treadmill and comes to a halt. “You’re taking your grades quite seriously this semester,” he says, gulping down a mouthful of water from his bottle.
“Yeah, I’ve to stay on top of things,” I mumble. “I can’t let anything get in my way from being drafted this year.”
“Do you think they care about grades that much?” Mitchikov asks, looking anxious. “I’m barely passing my statistics class.”
“I’m sure Bastian can help you,” Logan says, slapping my back. “I think he’s in the same class as you.”
Mitchikov stares up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Yeah, sure,” I say, glancing back at the time on my phone’s screen.
“Your tutor must be quite good for you to be this excited to study,” Logan says, looking at me closely.
“Well, yeah,” I say, avoiding his gaze.
“I’ve never seen you show so much interest in another human being before. It’s kind of refreshing to see you be so committed to someone, Bastian.”
Anxiety settles in my gut. Did Logan see Liam with me the other day?”
“Do you think this tutor guy can help me too?” Mitchikov asks.
“No,” I bark at once. “He’smytutor!”
Both Logan and Mitchikov look surprised at my sudden outburst. “I need to get going,” I mutter, controlling the tone of my voice. “I’ll catch up with you guys during afternoon practice.”
I catch them exchanging a look just as I turn away from them.
Letting out a sigh, I walk away. There’s no time to worry about them when I still have no idea if Liam will show up for the session today.
My phone pings, signaling a notification. Coming to a halt by the lockers, I bring it up and take a look.
“An email, huh?” I mumble, clicking on the notification to open it up.
Subject: Tutoring sessions canceled
Hi Hayden,
I’ve let the department know I won’t be continuing as your tutor. You’ll be reassigned soon.
Liam.
Shit.
A wave of cold washes over me as I grip my phone tightly. I re-read the words, again and again, like they’d somehow change if I just looked hard enough.
But they don’t.
Liam is done with me. And I can’t even blame him.
The scene at the restaurant plays in my mind, reminding me of the way I’d panicked the second Logan had walked in. Liam noticed my terror-stricken expression and the shift in my mood. If that wasn’t enough, I’d thrown my drink at him, soaking him in the cold, sticky-sweet beverage.
I’d practically thrown him aside to hide my shame and guilt.
I’d seen the hurt and disappointment in his face but I still let him walk away from me while I stayed back to chat with Logan and lie about why I was there.
