Page 80 of Leave Me Broken

Hero stands by my side. I glance up at him quickly and offer a weird smile. “Hi.”

I don’t hear his reply if he did, but Janelle is tugging me from the room as soon as my bag is full anyway.

She doesn’t stop until she is slamming her door behind her. Mika and Monica saw us, and Janelle pulled them along too. Now the four of us sit in her room while I ice my knee. Janelle is filling them in on the “tea” as she called it but there is no tea. So we bumped into Hero? What does that matter? Everything Monica and Janelle said about him wanting me or whatever makes no difference to me. I don’t want him. I have Ash. It felt a little weird but not because I’m into Hero. It’s cool he has a job, though.

“You should have seen our coach,” Janelle says.

I groan and throw myself back on her bed, covering my eyes with my arms. “He looked pissed, didn’t he?”

“Yes.” At least two of them answer.

“I didn’t even see him but I know he was pissed,” Monica says.

I groan again. I cannot afford him to be mad. I don’t want another punishment right now. My ass still hurts, and last night I had a dream about him fucking Maggie in the rain. No thank you.

“Collins is here too,” Janelle says bitterly. “It’s Thursday. What the hell is he doing here on a random Thursday in October?”

“I think they have a fall break or something,” Mika tells her.

“How convenient,” Janelle grumbles. The bed bounces when, who I assume is Janelle, falls onto it next to me. I don’t open my eyes to check. “Why the fuck was Alyssa hanging around him?”

“They’re ‘friends.’” I lift two fingers on each hand to make quotation marks.

“Friends my ass,” Janelle growls. “If I hear they fucked, I’m going to rip her pretty extensions out.”

Yeah, welcome to the club.

“I’ll give you a turn.” She nudges my arm.

“Thanks,” I grumble.

“Has he told you what happened between them anyway?” Monica asks.

“No, and I haven’t asked. We agreed eventually but it’s been so hectic and of course my . . .” I furrow my eyebrow. Was I just about to talk about my mother’s death so casually? I know what I said to Mr. Gilbert—Uncle Jet, what a joke—but it’s not the best thing to talk about her death so casually with everyone else. Especially Janelle, who I know is bursting at the seams to talk about my mother’s death. I just don’t want to. “Ya know. That’s not been on my mind.”

“Really sorry about your mom, Pay. I know we already said that but . . . I don’t know. Just feels like we need to say it again,” Monica chimes softly.

“Yeah, sorry Payson,” Mika adds in her sweet voice.

Janelle grabs the hand to my side. I stare up at the Usher poster above this side of the bed, her side, and sigh. “Thank you.”

“Remember when Ash Pearson was up there and now he’s downstairs waiting to get you alone,” Janelle says so casually I can’t help but laugh.

“Yeah. Your mom saw a magazine with an exclusive from him. His picture was half the size of Usher’s and yet we still hung it even though it was almost impossible to see.”

Monica lies on the other side of Janelle and Mika lies to my right. We all shift closer to the middle giving everyone enough room.

“Can you believe it’s already districts?” I ask.

“No,” they reply at the same time.

“How are you liking volleyball, Mika?” Janelle asks.

I roll my head to look at Mika. Her profile has to be the best I’ve ever seen. Mika is probably one of the cutest girls I know, and I say cute because there is no other word for her pert nose, freckled cheeks, and kind eyes.

“I love it. Of course, Alyssa makes it hard sometimes but I’m so glad you talked me into it, Payson.”

I smile at her. “Me too.”

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