#Heart (Hashtag #6) (9 page)

I gave him the finger.

“So is that it for the meeting?” he asked.

Anthony nodded. “I’ll be in touch very soon, Braeden, let you know what’s coming next.” He stood and handed me a sheet of paper, the front page of my early draft application (a copy), and stapled to the front was an approval letter from the NFL.

“Thought you might want to keep this. Show your mother.”

I wanted to show Ivy.

On impulse, I hugged Romeo’s father. It was a quick, tight hug, and even though it was spur of the moment, he hugged me back like he wasn’t surprised.

Before I pulled away, he whispered, “Proud of you,” in my ear.

“C’mon,” Romeo said impatiently from the door. “If we don’t get out of here now, Mom’s gonna come in here and make pick out napkin colors or some shit.” He looked horrified.

Anthony and I laughed.

“We’ll see you both next week at the party,” Anthony said and shooed us away.

I tossed the sweatshirts over my shoulder and wandered to the door. Romeo pressed a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet before he opened it.

I thought about making a bunch of noise on purpose just to draw his mother’s attention. But then I realized she’d probably make me help pick shit out, too.

Oh, hells no.

That shit was for girls.

We crept through the house in a way we hadn’t since we were sixteen and late for curfew. ‘Course, back then we always got caught. His mom had like super-human hearing, caught us every time. She’d sit us down in the kitchen and give us a stern lecture. Then we’d charm our way out of the punishment by promising to never do it again.

Man, those were the days.

Outside, Romeo let out a huge sigh of relief and then charged me.

Before I knew what the hell he was doing, he grabbed me around the hips and lifted me up in a victory hold like I’d scored a winning touchdown. He gave a happy shout and then set me back down and punched me in the shoulder. “Fuck yeah!”

His excitement was contagious, and I grinned like a fool.

“We’re going to the Superbowl this year. You and me.”

“Rome…” I started. He heard the hesitation in my voice.

“Don’t start that shit with me, man. It’s gonna happen. Gamble will come through.”

I hoped so, but I didn’t have as much faith in the guy as Romeo did. I didn’t bother to say that out loud, though.

“I’m gonna train with you. I know what Westfall and the coaches like to see. I know the ins and outs of the team. It’s an advantage you have, and we’re going to use it.”

I nodded, looking at the hoodies and acceptance letter filling my hands.

“It’s a good day, B. It’s okay to be happy.”

“You been listening to motivational CDs in your car?” I cracked.

Romeo guffawed. “Yeah, I got ‘em out of your glove box.”

“The fuck you did.”

“C’mon, let’s go have a beer and celebrate. It’s on me.” He glanced over his shoulder at the house like he expected his mom to come rushing out after us.

“Well, if you’re paying…” I said. “And you can tell me about this party next week.”

“Don’t sound so thrilled about my torture. As best man, you have to be there, too. Hell, she’s probably going to corner you and try and give you instructions on your speech.”

“Best man,” I echoed.

“Like you didn’t know.” Romeo scoffed.

“Well, I mean when you didn’t ask…” I pretended to wipe my tears with the sleeve of the hoodie.

“There you go acting like a woman. When I stop to get beer, I’ll get you some douche so you can clean out your lady parts.”

“Dude, that’s nasty.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather have standing up there with me,” he said, turning serious.

“There’s no one else I’d let marry my sister.”

Romeo rolled his eyes.

“Of course I’ll be there, man. I’ll even write a speech.” Truth was I was looking forward to their wedding, and yeah, I’d known I’d be the one standing up there beside them.

Just like when I get married, it would be him beside me.

The mood I was in when I showed up here seemed so far away. It seemed so insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

Yeah, nothing was perfect, but damn if we didn’t have a lot.

I was on my way to the NFL. Our family was happy and intact.

No threats hung over our heads.

Romeo and Rimmel were getting married.

For right now, everything was great.

Ivy

Our eyes met, and my stomach clenched.

Ew.

I totally did not have the stomach for someone as awful as Missy today.

I turned back around abruptly without saying a word. I had nothing to say to her. I truly wanted to wash my hands of that girl and pretend our “friendship” had been nothing but a bad dream.

Rimmel’s eyes remained trained on Missy like she wasn’t going to let her out of her sight until she was gone. And that fierce, almost snarling look on her face stayed in place.

I had a moment to realize the look I’d only ever seen her bring out on behalf of Braeden and Romeo was now a look she used for me as well. She was warning Missy off, trying to keep her away from me, because Rimmel understood how much her betrayal had hurt.

Sure, Missy hadn’t done the things Zach did, but that didn’t make her any better than him. In some ways, Missy was worse than him. At least Zach never really masqueraded as my friend. He didn’t hang out with me under the guise that he liked me so he could syphon information from me and my friends to blast it all over the school gossip line.

With Zach, a girl knew what she was getting.

A girl like Missy?

Well, she was sort of like a piñata.

After so many hits, she cracked open and the real contents of her nasty soul spilled out.

My stomach churned and I pressed a hand to it.

Rimmel turned away from her and toward me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, taking a breath. “I think the combination of being tired and stressed and…” I motioned over my shoulder with my head. “Has been quite enough for me today.”

“You going home before work?” she asked.

I nodded.

She pulled out her cell and her fingers flew over the screen. “Romeo was going to come get me, but I’ll just ride with you. Come on. Let’s go.”

I stood and reached for the juice. I had no desire to drink the latte I had yet to sip.

I tossed it in a nearby trashcan and pulled on my coat. Rimmel already had her coat on and was carrying the scarf she couldn’t wear in her hand. It made me laugh beneath my breath.

I made it to the door before Rim, so I held it open and let her go ahead of me. Outside, my attention went directly to the fat, white flakes of snow that fell haphazardly from the sky. The wind was bitter and it made me long for a pair of my Uggs.

“Can’t you take a hint?” Rimmel’s voice brought me up short.

As the door swung closed behind us, Missy stepped into the walkway blocking our path. She glanced at me warily before turning her full gray gaze on Rimmel.

“I hear congratulations are in order on your engagement,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure you already gave them. You know, when you posted about it for the entire school,” Rim said without missing a beat.

Missy glanced around, making sure no one heard and would realize who she really was.

“So you’re having an engagement party next week?” she asked.

Okay, clearly she was digging around for information. Would this girl ever stop?

“Yep. And you’re not invited,” Rimmel said. “If you’ll excuse us, I hate the cold.”

Rimmel and I started forward at once, and Missy had no choice but to back away.

When we were past, Missy called out my name. I stopped and looked over my shoulder. Our eyes met, and I made sure she saw exactly how much this little conversation meant to me.

Which was nothing.

Her eyes widened just a fraction, and I thought she might turn away.

She didn’t.

In just a few quick steps, she was in front of us again. The white snow coated her dark hair like a hat, and it made me mad to realize I thought she looked pretty standing out here in it.

“Look, I’ve wanted to come by. I tried to come to the hospital.”

“You aren’t welcome at our home,” I said, matter-of-fact.

She nodded. “Yeah, I know… and Braeden…” Her voice faltered. Just hearing her say his name made me dizzy with anger.

Braeden was mine.

The end.

Clearly, my inner cavewoman was making sure she was heard because the thoughts I was having were downright possessive.

B would be proud.

“I just wanted to apologize to you. Like, for real. I’m so sorry for the part I played in what happened.”

Something inside me snapped (it was probably that bitchy cavewoman I had living in there). I guess all that nothing I felt for her had its limits.

“Which part was that?” I growled. “The part you played in me being
raped
? Or the part when you covered it up, then used it to slut shame me in front of the entire school?”

Missy’s face paled.

I held up my hand. “Oh, maybe it was when you went to a psych ward and got a caged, sick animal all riled up so he could come after me and try to
kill
me.”

I felt my hands shake as I stared at her. How I ever thought she was my friend was such a mystery to me.

“So tell me, Missy. Which one of those things are you most sorry for?”

Tears welled in her eyes, and I laughed. “Your tears, your very existence stopped affecting me the day I stared down the nose of a gun and listened to a psycho lay out plans for how he was going to murder me and then go back for the man I love.”

She gasped like I’d shocked her.

I gasped back, mocking her. “Oh.” I pressed a hand to my chest. “Could it be? Something little miss-know-it-all doesn’t know?”

I glanced at Rimmel, and she shrugged dramatically.

“That’s right. Your little pit bull was going to kill Braeden. You know, the guy you claimed to love?”

“Ivy,” Missy said, her voice hollow and raw.

“Save it, okay?” There isn’t anything on this earth that would ever make me listen to what she had to say. I was done.

Beyond done.

I’d thought I’d washed my hands of her before. The nothing I felt when I thought of her had been finite.

But I guess deep down, I’d needed to rage at her, if only a little.

I had, and now I just felt drained.

“Let’s go,” I said to Rimmel. We turned and walked away together, leaving Missy standing there alone.

I never looked back to see if she followed us. I knew she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t dare.

“You were a real badass back there,” I said to Rimmel, trying to lighten the mood.

“Me?” she said innocently.

I laughed. “If looks could kill…”

“If looks could kill, that one would have been gone a long time ago,” Rimmel said bitterly.

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye as we walked up the sidewalk toward my car. “I didn’t realize you despised her so much.”

Rimmel stopped and stared at me slack jawed. “You thought I wouldn’t?”

“Of course I knew you were mad and hurt by her. But I guess I never realized she would bring out the lioness in you.”

Rimmel started walking again and hooked her arm through mine. “She hurt all of us. You most of all. I guess Romeo and B have rubbed off on me a bit, because in my book, someone who hurts my family—
my sister—
like Missy has, I have no mercy for her.”

I leaned my head against hers and smiled. “Don’t tell them I said this, but I think a little bit of B and Romeo rubbing off on us might be a good thing.”

“Oh, I won’t tell them. We’d never hear the end of it.”

Our laughter filled the air as we steeped up to my car. Rimmel pulled her arm from beneath mine. I searched my bag for the car keys and pulled them out. When I straightened, a wave of dizziness swept over me and I wobbled on my feet.

“Ivy?” Rimmel’s voice was full of concern, and she stepped closer.

“I’m fine,” I assured her. “I missed lunch, and seeing Missy made me sick.”

“How about I drive home?”

“Yeah, okay,” I said and surrendered the keys.

I sank into the passenger side, grateful for the seat. Once Rimmel was in and had the car on, I turned to her. “Hey, how come you didn’t drive to campus today?”

Rimmel snorted. “Are you kidding? Me drive that ‘death trap’ in the snow?” She made air quotes as she referred to her car. “Romeo would blow a gasket. You know how he is about my car.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I know.”

Rimmel sighed and pulled out onto the street. “Besides, I like when he drives me around. In no time, he’ll be back with the Knights and we won’t see each other much.”

“Time sure has been flying lately,” I murmured and glanced out the windshield at the snowflakes rushing toward the car as we drove.

“I know it seems like just yesterday we got engaged, but it’s already been two months.”

Two months?

Had it really been that long? With the car accident, therapy, school, my job at the boutique, and everything else going on, keeping track of the calendar was just not something I’d been doing.

“I assume you’re going to want to get married before Romeo leaves for training camp?” I asked, calling up the calendar app on my phone.

“Definitely.”

“No date yet?”

She sighed. “No, we just keep saying soon as possible.”

“Well, girl, you gotta pick a date so we can make it happen.” I flipped around the calendar to look at weekend dates while keeping the weather in mind.

“Okay, I’ll talk to him tonight and we’ll pick one.”

I made a non-committal sound and nodded. I wasn’t really paying attention to what she said. I was too busy staring down at the calendar.