Page 6 of Leave Me Broken

Cocky Ash-hole.

Of course, everyone else takes it like a joke and the room is soon filled with deep laughter. I hate him. I hate that he can charm anyone and anything. I hate him!

“Well, our Payson wouldn’t stop talkin’ aboutchya back in the day. Made it hard not to know who you are.”

Kill me.

Before anyone can say anything else I interrupt. “I need to get to school,” I announce. Grandpa has returned to his seat and Ash is still standing in the kitchen with his big arms crossed over his equally broad chest.

“Yes, I only stopped by because we were meant to have a meeting that you’re late for and thought I would make sure everything was okay since you were not at school.” There’s a bite in his voice only I can hear because Uncle Gary and Grandpa tell him how thoughtful of a coach he is.

He’s thoughtful alright. Thoughtful about how he can worm his way back into my life, and schmoozing my family seems to be his current course of action.

“No, the meeting was at two, it’s noon.” Not that I was going to go anyway.

“It was at noon. I would not have made it for two, because I have something on my schedule at two.” What a terrible way to pronounce schedule.

The tension in this room is so high it’s suffocating but I’ll be damned if I break eye contact first.

“Why don’t you have it now? There is still time before two,” Grandpa offers like the saint he is.

I want to roll my eyes because if he knew what Ash really had planned for this “meeting,” he probably wouldn’t be so willing to let me go.

Not wanting to cause anymore of a scene I bite back my annoyance and agree. With a quick goodbye from Grandpa and Uncle Gary and some argument from Ash because I wasn’t budging on driving myself, we head for the school. The less time we have alone, the better.

Ash is waiting for me outside the gym doors with his face in his phone. As soon as I’m within five feet, he taps his keys to the device that unlocks the door and pulls it open. He’s holding it open for me but hasn’t lifted his eyes from his phone, and it’s really annoying me. What could possibly be so interesting on his phone that he hasn’t looked at me once?

I swear his eyes don’t leave me at practice but right now I feel, well, I feel like everyone else. It’s not a good feeling. I’m more irritated that I want him to look at me, I want him to slap my ass as I walk by and make crude comments. I want him to do it, but I don’t want him to know I want him to.

I must not be moving quick enough for him, because with an exasperated breath, he drops his phone into his navy-blue joggers and regards me like I’m the annoying one. “What are you waiting for? I haven’t got all day, Payson.”

Payson. He called me Payson. He is giving me attitude. What the hell? I don’t want him to know his animosity is bothering me, though, so instead of snapping back, I lift my chin and strut right by him.

If he is going to act like I don’t affect him, then I will do the same. It’s all pretend, because his dick is getting hard in his pants. I might not be as good of a liar as him, but I can sure try.

3

Ash

I let out a silent breath as she walks by. She is killing me. She’s angry—rightfully so, but even with all the hostility she holds, she still looks at me the same and it’s a mindfuck, to say the least. Payson is young, I know her emotions are all over the place but I’m barely holding it together for us as it is. Feeling her watching me, I know she’s waiting for me to look back at her, but I’m giving her space. The thing I have to do today at two is already messing with my mood. I know her meeting Parker will fuck us up even more, but I’m ready for that set back. I’m more ready for her to forgive me.

She’s sitting in the chair across from my new desk when I walk in. There’s no longer a hole in my wall from when I flipped my old desk over. She makes me fucking crazy and has no clue. The school wasn’t happy about having to fix the hole and replace the desk, but I paid for the damages. They don’t know how it happened, and I don’t plan on telling them.

Payson is on her phone, and I can’t help but to look over her shoulder as I head to my chair. She’s quick to exit out of what she is on, but I saw it and now my dick isn’t fighting to stay hard—it’s like a fucking brick in my pants. Why is she looking at a photo of me? One of the many I’ve sent her during my workouts. She never replies. I kind of assumed she just deleted them.

I’m biting back a smile when I sit down.

“You got a new chair.”

There are papers to my right that are in a mess because I was getting pissed when she hadn’t shown up for the meeting. I’m not convinced she would have shown up even if she had the time correct but I needed to meet with her today. I straighten the papers while holding her bright green gaze. “I did. New desk too.” She glances at the wooden desk between us, it’s similar to the old one but solid oak and heavy as shit. I won’t be flipping this one on a whim. A small frown tugs on her lips.

“Oh.” Her voice is small.

I wonder if she’s thinking about the moments we shared on my last desk. I felt the same way, which is why I didn’t get rid of it. The bottom half wouldn’t fit out the door without breaking it apart, but I kept the top and plan to make a bench for my room. I won’t tell her that, though. Maybe seeing how much this affects her will cause her to come around quicker.

“Yes, with the new desk, it made sense to get a new chair. Besides, the old one was bloody annoying.”

“Yeah.” She blows out a deep breath and her lips flick up. “Amanda claimed it had character.”

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