Page 113 of Necessary Roughness
“What? That’s not at all what I meant, Knox. The mood in the suite—”
“It’s all my fault,” I said bitterly. “I threw the interceptions. I ruined the mood and made you not want to meet my parents. Everything is on me. I’m used to it.”
The frustration left her face, replaced by calm. “Your father thinks you’re distracted. I overheard him say it. And he’s right. That’s why I have to move out.”
“Maybe you are a distraction,” I growled, feeling lost and alone. “Especially if you’re going to play around with our emotions, take advantage of us, and then cast us aside.”
“You were the one who came up with this whole agreement.” Her voice was cold. “You’re the one who insisted it was only physical. And you were the one who invited me to move in.”
“Andyouwere all too eager to accept that invitation to get away from your roommate,” I shot back. “You knew what you were doing, always complaining about your roommate. You werebeggingme to invite you to move in. You probably saw our empty bedroom and came up with the plan from the very start.”
“HAH!” she laughed in my face. “You have no idea how wrong you are.”
“Then take your boxes and leave,” I said, pointing at the door. “Once you’re gone, I’ll be able to focus on what actuallymattersin life, instead of letting myself get distracted by a piece of ass.”
I hated the words as soon as they left my mouth. It wasn’t the truth, it wasn’t how I really felt. But the sight of the cardboard box in my peripheral vision hurt more than I ever expected it to.
“Just a piece of ass?” Sloane asked slowly. “So I guess I’m not your good luck charm anymore? That’s right, I’ve heard you guys call me that. You’ve won every single game before today, and you thought it was because of me.”
“That’s the thing, Sloane,” I said with finality. “You’re a shitty good luck charm if you help us win all the unimportant games, but then cause us to lose the ones thatreallymatter.”
She stiffened, eyes fixated on me like she could see directly into my soul. For a moment, I thought she was going to say something back. Something just as mean.
Then she picked up her box and stormed out of the house, leaving me wondering how I had fucked it all up so badly.
49
Sloane
I fled from the house, andof coursethat’s when Logan and Roman were arriving. Both of them stopped, looked at the box, then glanced up at me.
“Where are you going?” Logan asked.
“Need help?” Roman added.
“Talk to Knox,” I said, circling around them like a running back avoiding two defenders. I tossed the box into the bed of the truck, then climbed into the passenger seat. To my relief, Logan and Roman rushed inside to see what had caused all of this.
It meant they didn’t see me cry.
Bryson, still sitting in the driver’s seat, reached over and caressed my back. “Shh. It’s okay.”
It wasn’t. None of this was okay.
“Let’s go home,” he said. “Once everything is moved back into your place, you can come over to our apartment. All you have to do is sign our guest spreadsheet.”
I could barely get words out through my sobs, so I just nodded.
He started the engine, but then Logan came running out and pounded on the window with his palm. “Want me to drive away?” Bryson asked. “Or hear him out?”
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, then rolled down the window.
“This is for you!” Logan said, shoving a stapled stack of papers through the window. “Your Creative Writing paper. It’s good, but I have some notes. It’s all written down at the end.”
“I… thank you,” I said. This wasn’t what I’d expected at all. “Did Knox… did he tell you…”
Logan reached through the window and squeezed my hand. “He told me you’re a distraction and that you need to leave?”
His voice rose up at the end, asking me if it was true. I slowly nodded, then asked the question thatreallyscared me: “What do you think?”
