Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
All thanks to Tonya’s elbow today at practice, my nose took an accidental hit. It hurt like I suspect any fist to the face does and started bleeding instantly—and hasn’t stopped yet. I swear, it’s been trickling on and off for hours. Even worse, though, I’ve got bruises forming under my eyes from the force of the blow, and they’re an absolute bitch to get covered.
Julia holds a curling iron to her head at the front of her crown and peeks over her shoulder while still tethered to the cord.
“Did you get it to stop bleeding?”
“Yeah,” I respond, pulling the wadded-up paper towel from under my top lip and throwing it into the garbage can under my desk. I go back to hiding the bruises under my eyes with concealer. “I thought I had it under control before you got here. I don’t know why it started up again.”
“Nosebleeds are so finicky.”
“Where’d you learn that paper towel under the lip thing anyway?”
“One of my mom’s best friends is the doctor on staff for the New York Mavericks. She knows all sorts of tips and tricks for sports-related injuries.”
I bark a laugh. “You say that so casually.”
Julia giggles and shrugs, taking the curling iron out from the back of her head now and letting a spiral piece of hair drop. “I grew up around all these people, so I don’t even think anything of it, I guess. It’s pretty cool, though, huh?”
“That your dad is a billionaire with a bunch of billionaire friends?” I mock with a wink. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
Julia rolls her eyes. “Trust me, you’d never think my dad was a billionaire. It took my mom my entire childhood to convince him to drive something other than a Ford Edge.”
“Honestly, I think that might make it even cooler.”
Julia nods. “He’s the best.”
It takes everything inside me, but I somehow manage to ask my next question without a shaky voice. “What do you think Finn’s deal is? Like his family and stuff?”
“I don’t know, actually. Ace is normally such a blabbermouth, but he hasn’t said anything about Finn or his parents.” She laughs. “Probably hedging his bets to keep from getting beat up.”
I force a laugh of my own. “Yeah. Finn’s a pretty good fighter.”
“Do you think that’s what’s happening tonight?” she asks about the Double C text we got about an hour before she got to my dorm. “Another fight?”
My lungs seize at the thought, but I play it cool, dabbing powder under my eyes.
“I don’t know.” What I want to say is Yikes, I hope not, but I’m afraid that’ll give me away. And I’ve got a promise going to myself that we’re not going to give in to the Finn Hayes feelings anymore.
Still, here I am, getting ready to go find out anyway. I’m not entirely sure if it’s just fear—that I won’t be able to bear not being there if there’s another fight involving Finn—or if I’m stupidly hoping it’ll lead to another kiss.
And yes, I’m aware. I’m hopeless.
I hear my phone ping with a new text message, but I’m too busy applying mascara to my lashes to check it immediately. It’s on the other side of the room where Julia is curling her hair, and mascara application is a delicate process.
“What is this, Scottie?” Julia asks through a horrified gasp. When I turn around to look, my phone is in her hand.
Shit.
My shoulders tense as Julia walks toward me, concern swimming in her eyes. I take the phone from her outstretched hand and read the message to myself.
Hey, skank. Did you know that your ex-boyfriend was cheating on you the whole time you were together?
It’s a fucked-up message, but I’m just glad it’s not about my mom. Unfortunately, another message pops up on the screen while Julia’s still right there.
I’m going to celebrate the day you finally get what you deserve.
“What the hell? What unimaginable asshole would send you something like this?” she questions, and a sigh leaves my lungs.
“I don’t know. It’s always an unknown number.” I shrug and make a point to clear the notifications off the screen and shove my phone in my jeans pocket.
“Wait…you’ve gotten more of these?”
“It’s no big deal.”
Julia frowns. “Scottie, it feels like a big deal. This is legit harassment.”
“Well, I did try to block the number once, but they just started using a new one.”
“You think you should take this to the campus police?”
“Hell no.” I laugh, horrified. “It’s not that serious.”
She’s not convinced. A huge frown mars the usually perfect skin between her eyebrows. “It kind of feels that serious, Scottie.”
“It’s fine,” I say and force a confident smile that I’m not even remotely feeling to my lips. “Plus, we don’t have time to go to the campus police tonight.” I check the clock and feel my stomach tense on itself when I realize we need to leave soon for Double C. “It’s almost ten. Are you ready?”