Unbreakable (Accidental Crush #3) (3 page)

I close my eyes and mentally scan through how I think the conversation will go. I’m sure he will be
totally
cool with me hanging out with Casey every afternoon while he is at football practice. Shaking my head, I look back down at my phone to see there is an entire chain of texts from Casey.

Come on, Ash.

Do it.

You know you love to swim.

And you get to spend every afternoon with me.

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” I say out loud to my phone.

Great, now I’m talking to myself.

Ashley Taylor.

Say something.

Actually text something.

What am I going to do?

Chapter 2: First Day

ASHLEY

It’s the very first day of my sophomore year. I am no longer a freshman, and it feels great! If I’m excited, I know Ryan must be ecstatic because it’s the first day of his senior year.

“You know, you’re very lucky that I’m your brother,” he says with a smirk as we pull into the senior parking lot.

“Oh, yeah?” I ask with an eye roll. I know exactly what he means. The senior parking lot is a big deal at our school. It’s seniors only, of course. The only exception is if you ride to school with a senior, which thanks to my parents’ timing of my birth, I do.

“Yup. I’m your free pass to the elite.”

“It’s just a parking lot, Ry. Relax.” It is pretty cool, but I would never admit that to him.

If you try to park in the SL—senior lot—and you’re not a senior, the seniors will egg your car. All seniors get a special front window sticker, and if you don’t have one, you can kiss your car’s paint job good-bye.

As soon as my foot touches the pavement, I hear Brian’s voice. “What? I’m sorry. You must be lost. This is the
senior
parking lot. I get how your tiny, sophomore brain might get confused since they both start with S.”

“Shut up, Brian.” Todd elbows him as he comes up to meet me.

“Well, at least you’re not a freshman anymore,” Brian says with some sincerity.

“
Well
, at least you’re not an asshole anymore. Oh, wait ... never mind,” I say back.

“She’s got you there.” Todd smiles as he wraps his arms around my waist. “Hi, Ash.” He leans down and kisses my cheek, his warm breath feeling wonderful on my neck.

We’re interrupted by Mark Conner’s bright red pickup truck pulling into the lot, which distracts Brian from belittling me for a minute.

Mark’s truck is huge. It’s the kind that has a back seat and four doors. It’s as if a car and a truck had a giant baby. I’m sure these trucks are a dime a dozen in the south, but we’re only a few miles away from Manhattan, so pickup trucks are few and far between. Therefore, you can see him coming from miles away, and you always know it’s Mark.

He’s not quite one of the three Musketeers—the nickname our school has for Todd, Brian, and my brother—but if there was a fourth Musketeer, it would be Mark. He’s probably the best running back our team has had in a long time, and he knows it.

“Mark Conner, as I live and breathe!” Brian shouts as Mark hops out of his truck.

Brian and Mark could have been separated at birth. They are exactly alike except Brian has sandy blonde hair, and Mark has brown hair that is so dark it’s almost black. They both have chiseled features that only seem to come with being a stellar athlete. They even have the same, exact haircut—short with just enough length in the front to spike it up.

Brian has chocolate brown eyes, and Mark has striking hazel eyes that seem to change colors with what he wears, which is cool. I’m kind of obsessed with eye color, especially because mine are the most boring brown. Anyway, they both have the reputation of being major players on and off the field. I’m not sure either of them has ever had a serious girlfriend, but girls don’t seem to care; they like being with them when they get the opportunity. That is, until Blythe for Brian.

“Boys.” Mark nods his head toward all of them. “Little Taylor,” he acknowledges me, giving Todd a smile I don’t miss. “Life is good in the SL, boys.” He gestures around the parking lot. “We’re seniors, baby!” he shouts at the top of his lungs.

I can’t help rolling my eyes. We haven’t even been here five minutes, and this senior thing is already getting old.

“So what football camps did you hit this summer?” Mark asks all the boys.

Our school is a huge football school, and since we made it to state last year, a lot of the boys were invited to high profile college football camps, which helps them get recruiting exposure. As they go through them, my heart sinks at the reminder. I have one year left, and then Todd will be in college. As exciting as it is for him to be a senior, it means this is the last of everything we will experience together in high school, and I’m already dreading it.

“I hit some of the southern schools; Florida State and Bama,” Mark says, beaming with pride. “But, man, they kicked my ass.”

“Tell us about it,” Ryan says.

I feel Todd’s arms tighten around me. I know he’s thinking about what happened at camp, and I know he still feels guilty. I just glance up at him with a smile. It’s an unspoken conversation between us, one where we know what the other is thinking.

“Speaking of the south kicking our asses,” Brian says, noticing Blythe pulling into the parking lot. She parks her white BMW right next to his red one. “Here’s my girlfriend.” He smiles as he walks over to meet up with her.

On that word, Mark chokes on the water he’s drinking. “Did he say girlfriend? When did that happen?” he asks the rest of us with such a shocked expression I’m trying hard not to laugh.

The boys glance at each other with smiles as they shake their heads.

“This summer,” Todd answers.

“Wow!” Mark says. “I lost my partner in crime, since you two are married.” He gestures toward Todd and Ryan, and then his eyes connect with mine. “No offense, little Taylor.”

“None taken.” I return his smile.

I glance over to see Brian wrap his arms around Blythe. The smile she gives him is so sincere. They work, they fit. I have never seen Brian look at a girl the way he looks at Blythe.

Of course, she looks incredible, her curly red hair is wild and crazy, just like her, but it’s controlled chaos. She’s wearing tight jeans with a long, button-down shirt; a wide belt; and her classic, black cowboy boots. She has a jeweled headband on, but she’s wearing it 80s style around her forehead. Everything about her screams confidence. She stays true to herself and her southern roots, no apologies. She is who she is: artistic, stylish, and smart. God, I wish I could be like her, but I guess I’ll have to settle for being friends with her.

“Hey, guys, Ash. How’s your head?” she asks as they join our circle.

My hand instinctively goes to the scar, and I feel Todd’s arms tighten around me as if his protective mode kicked into autopilot at the reminder.

Mark gives me a quick, questioning look.

“Just a little accident at the pool while we were life guarding this summer.” I shrug it off. “I’m good. Thanks, Blythe.” I give her a look that says thanks for bringing that up.

“Yeah, little.” Todd gives a sarcastic laugh. “Twenty-seven stitches and a night in the hospital.” He kisses my forehead.

“Yeah, but you still can’t top my stitches count,” Brian cuts in.

“You can have that one.” I nudge Brian. “That’s a competition I’m good with not winning.”

“Speaking of competition, Johnson, I heard you use the G-word. I thought that was forbidden.” Mark gives him a smirk. “Way to put a damper on my senior year.”

“You’ll meet the right one someday, MC.” Brian gives him a wink as he nuzzles his head into Blythe’s shoulder, making her giggle.

I never thought I would see this day.

“Never. This is senior year; who wants to be tied down? Speaking of tied down, did you guys get any offers yet?” Mark asks.

No further explanation is needed. College scouts have already contacted all of the boys, and offer letters will be coming soon if there is still interest. It’s the unspoken stress: Will they get scholarships? Will they get to play at the next level? I know they want to be together, but chances are slim that they’ll all get offers at the same school, never mind scholarships.

“Rumor is, they’ll come in now that school is starting. I think they reach out to Coach W. first,” Ryan answers.

“Senior year, baby. This is it,” Brian says as he places his arm around Blythe’s waist, resting his hand on her hip.

Luckily, the first bell rings, interrupting the next wave of senior ranting.

“Shoot, we still need to go to our lockers,” someone says.

“Senior lockers. Today just gets better and better!” Brian shouts, mostly for my benefit, and my
love
for him grows.

This is going to be a long year.

When Todd and I let go of one another’s hand at the crossroads that separates the senior hallway from the sophomores’, he gives me a quick, sweet kiss. I miss him already, which sounds ridiculous, but I do. At least we have the same lunch schedule.

I still haven’t talked to him about Casey’s texts. I told Casey I needed to think about it; however, I need to give him an answer today, because if I’m not going to swim, they need to fill the spot with someone else. I have no idea what to do.

As I walk up to my new locker in the sophomore hallway, I see Sid and Shane. We don’t have a lot of catch up time since the first bell already rang, but by some miracle, our lockers are still close to one another, so at least I will get to see them. Of course, on the not quite such a miracle side, Simon’s locker is also next to ours this year.

I like Simon, but Sid and Simon together is a little much first thing in the morning. Sid is riding to school with his mom in the mornings just so she can see even more of him, if that gives you any idea.

“It’s about time, Ash,” Sid says, closing her locker door.

“Good Morning to you, too.” I give her a smile as I open my locker.

“Ash!” Shane gives me a hug from behind. “I missed you.” He whispers in my ear, “You can’t leave me alone with them.”

I try hard not to laugh at the pure desperation in Shane’s voice as I glance down the hall.

As luck would have it, the senior lockers are down the hall from the sophomores’, and I happen to have a perfect view of Todd. They must automatically place them all together, something about being the school’s elite, because I can also see Brian and Blythe, his arms are still wrapped around her waist. Ryan and Gretchen are almost a mirror image of Blythe and Bri, and then there is RTS. She is practically draped over Todd’s locker.

I can tell he’s being cordial from his body language, but I see his eyes wander over here. Once our eyes meet, he gives me an eye roll over her head with a sly smile, and I grin back to let him know I feel the same way.

When it comes to RTS, I wish I could erase her from his life. I know that is exactly how he feels about Casey, so I tolerate her because she is in his circle of friends, in his band, in his life. Still, punching her is one of the single best decisions I have ever made.

The second warning bell rings, snapping me back to reality.

“Let’s go,” Shane says, pulling me back.

“Bye.” I mouth to Todd.

I see RTS follow his gaze. The look on her face when her eyes land on me is priceless. It’s worth the detention I’m probably going to get for being late.

“Young love,” Shane says, shaking his head as if he’s a hundred years old.

“Oh, please, you’re one to talk. Speaking of, where’s Johnny?”

“He had a meeting with Coach W. or something, but he has our lunch.”

“Nice.”

“And lucky you. You have me in your homeroom. This year is looking up for you, Ash.”

“Way to jinx it, Shaney.” I give him a wink.

Chapter 3: After School

ASHLEY

I’m waiting at the gate by the locker room for Todd to come out after practice. It’s amazing how quickly you fall right back into a routine.

“Hey, Ash.”

I turn to see Gretchen walking up to join me. She looks perfect, as always. She just had an hour and a half of cheerleading practice, and I swear there isn’t a piece of her perfectly straight blonde hair out of place as her ponytail swings behind her. I’m exhausted just from watching other people practice, but she still has a bounce in her step. She even walks cheerily, which is insane.

“Hey, Gretch. Waiting for Ryan?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Todd,” I say with a smile.

“I’m glad you guys got back together.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips at the thought of this summer. “Me, too.”

“There you are.”

Just hearing her grating voice sends shivers down my spine.

“Why are you wasting your time talking to her?” RTS glares at me as she walks up to meet Gretchen.

Wow. So I see our friendship has moved to the next level, and she’s no longer trying to hide her hatred for me. I guess that is a good thing; it will save a lot of time.

“Hi, Rebecca. Glad to see your nose made a full recovery—well, almost. It’s just a tad bit crooked.” I give her the same glare back. I’m done taking her crap.

She drops her bag and squeezes her hands together into fists at her side. “You want to go, Taylor? I’ll do this right here.”

Gretchen’s face drops with shock. Then she looks back and forth between me and Rebecca. “Don’t do this, Rebecca.”

RTS’s eyes stay locked on mine. “I’m done with this bitch.”

“Wow. So that’s how you want to play it?
I’m
the bitch?” The words pour out of me while I stay zoned in on her and only her.

“You broke my nose, so yeah, I’d say the word fits.” She steps closer to me, and somewhere mentally, I make the decision that I am not backing down. I step closer to her without even thinking.

“You lied to my boyfriend. We broke up because of you and your stupid lies. You deserved everything you got, and I’m ready to go again if that’s what you want.” My face is inches from hers now. All I can see is her mousy brown hair, her boring brown eyes, and her bland features staring me down.

I squeeze my hand into such a tight fist I feel my nails dig into my skin, but I don’t care about anything except shutting her up. Permanently.

I pull my arm back, but the face changes. Now the eyes are blue, and the hair is blonde, but it’s too late. I’m already mid-swing. A hand comes up to stop mine and then she turns to grab Rebecca, but RTS is too fast, and she can’t stop herself. Her fist connects with the side of Gretchen’s cheek.
Shit.
She clocked Gretchen hard.

I see RTS’s expression fill with shock as soon as realization settles in. She just punched her best friend. Hard. A best friend she shouldn’t even have.

“I’m so sorry, Gretch. Oh, my God. Gretchen, are you okay?” RTS screeches.

I can’t seem to form words. I’m in shock at the beauty of this irony. Not that I wanted Gretchen to get hurt, but I love that her horrible human of a supposed best friend just punched her when she was trying to hit me.

Gretchen is cradling her cheek with her hand, putting on a brave face, but tears are welling up in her eyes, and I know she’s in pain. It all happened so fast I didn’t even realize what was happening until it was too late.

When I notice RTS opening and closing the fist that just made contact with Gretchen’s cheek, I gesture toward her action with my head. “Hurts, doesn’t it?” I give her a wicked smile.

“You bitch,” she says as she tries to leap past Gretch.

“What is going on here?” I hear Ryan’s voice from behind me.

I turn to see him, Todd, and Johnny all walking up behind us with their workout bags. They are freshly showered, their hair still wet. My heart skips a beat at the way Todd’s is hanging down in front of his bright blue eyes.

RTS freezes mid-step. None of us say anything. I feel Todd’s hand brush against my elbow, and I know he’s now behind me.

“Gretch, what is going on?” Ryan glances back and forth between all of us girls.

The rest of the guys are standing there like statues, waiting for a response. I try not to smile at how comical they look with their frozen shocked expressions.

Gretchen looks back and forth between us, her cheek already bright red. I know she doesn’t know what to say.

“It’s nothing,” she finally says with a forced smile.

“It doesn’t look like nothing. What happened to your face?” he asks, gently brushing his thumb over her cheek.

She gives a nervous laugh. “Well …”

“It was just a misunderstanding. Right, Rebecca?” I cut in, glaring at RTS.

She’s so caught off guard I don’t know if she even comprehends anything that has happened in the last five minutes. My question seems to have snapped her out of her daze for a second.

“Uh … right.”

I pulled that one from deep memory. Brian’s excuse came in handy. The word misunderstanding isn’t exactly a lie, and besides, it’s really none of the boys’ business, so why get them involved when this is between me and RTS, and now Gretchen, I guess.

“Riiight,” Ryan says, not buying it for a second.

“What’s up, guy—” Brian stops mid-sentence, realizing something is off as he joins us.

“Go get ice from Doc, Bri,” Ryan says as he intertwines his fingers with Gretchen’s.

“It’s okay. I’m good.”

Ryan lifts her chin so he can get a better look at her cheek. “Gretch, you need ice.” He glances back at Brian.

“It’s cool. I’ll get it. Doc is still in there; I was just talking to him.” Brian jogs back to the locker room.

“What the hell happened?” I hear Todd’s voice from behind me. Why can’t they just take “misunderstanding” and go?

“Your girlfriend is a bitch,” RTS says to Todd, and I feel his body tense.

“Stop it, Rebecca.” Gretchen whips around. “Are you seriously still going there?”

RTS looks like she just got slapped. “Well, it’s true,” she says with a shrug.

“Enough, Rebecca. It’s enough!” Gretchen shouts in her face, making this all feel even more surreal. I can’t believe Gretch is sticking up for me.

“Wow, Ash, I may have underestimated you all these years.” Brian gives me a sly smile as he hands over the bag of ice.

“I didn’t hit her, Brian.” I smile back.

He raises his eyebrows. “Watch out, Rebecca. She’s got a bad-ass right hook, but I guess you already know that,” Brian continues to push the issue, and I kind of love him in this moment.

Todd puts his hand out to hold Brian back, giving him the signal to stop. “You missed the part where she just told me my girlfriend is a bitch.” Todd gives him a head nod and then turns back to RTS. “Rebecca, you’re a friend, and I would never hit a girl, but, man, was I glad Ash punched you that night. You need to watch your step because she
is
my girlfriend, and she is
his
sister.” He gestures toward Ryan “So, if you want to start throwing threats around, you’re going to need to come through us first.”

Ryan takes a step closer to her on those words as a physical statement that he’s backing Todd up. I love them for protecting me, but this is my fight.

“Listen, it was just a misunderstanding. Thanks, boys, but I’ve got this.” I press Todd back a bit as I give RTS one last glare before I grab his hand. “Thanks, Gretch,” I whisper to her as I turn to leave. She gives me a shrug and a smile back.

Todd’s hand tightens in mine as we walk toward the parking lot. Once we are out of earshot, he gives me his crooked smile. “Misunderstanding, huh?”

“I learned from the best,” I say, drinking him in. His hair is still damp and hanging in his eyes, and he’s wearing my favorite, beat-up, gray EHS football shirt, showing the perfect amount of his defined arm muscles. His arms are tone, but they aren’t big, just incredibly defined. And, thanks to the shower, his thick eyelashes are even darker, which accentuates just how blue his eyes are.

“What happened?” he asks once we are in his car.

I take a deep breath. “She wanted payback, I guess, and Gretch got in the way.”

“You need to watch your back with her, Ash. She can be a little crazy.”

“What? RTS?
No
.”

“RTS?”

Shit. I didn’t mean to let that slip; however, I can’t help laughing because of it. “It’s a nickname I came up with for her last year when she was throwing herself at you.”

“Oh, yeah?” His crooked smile is back.

“Rebecca. The. Slut,” I say with a grand gesture for each word.

“What?” He laughs.

“Well, it’s not like it’s not true.”

“Man, I love you, Ash.” He shakes his head then leans across the seat to kiss me. It’s deeper than I expected, but I will always take every opportunity to kiss him, so I return his kiss just as deeply to show him I feel the same way. Then, suddenly, Casey pops into my head.

Why?
I know I need to tell Todd the truth, and I need to give Casey an answer today.

Reluctantly, I pull back. “Todd?”

“I know; we should stop. We’re in the school parking lot; you’re right. The guys will be coming up any second.” He slams himself back down into his seat. “Sorry, Ash. I just can’t help it.” He runs his fingers through his hair and then glances back in my direction with a sly smile that makes me want to give him my whole self right here.

But I can’t.

“No, it’s not that. I have something I want to tell you.”

His smile drops instantly. “It sounds serious.”

“No. It’s not. It’s nothing really, but I need you to know first.”

“What, Ash? You’re making me nervous.”

“It’s just the texts from Casey; they were asking if I wanted to join the winter swim team. I guess George wants to keep the summer team together.”

Todd slams his fist into the steering wheel. It’s so unexpected I jump, but he doesn’t notice. He’s too enveloped in anger just at the mention of Casey’s name.

“Dammit, Ash. Why is it always him?” There is a long breath of silence before his eyes meet mine. “Why is he the one telling you and not George?”

“I guess because he’s captain.”

Todd squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. Then he stares at the steering wheel he just punched. “I can’t tell you not to do it. I won’t tell you that. I know you love to swim. I just hate that it’s with him.”

I run my fingers down his toned arm. “I know,” I whisper. “That’s really the only reason I wouldn’t do it. Then I thought about it, and that’s not fair to me. I mean, you have football and baseball and the band. I have swimming. I forgot how much I loved it until this summer.”

“Can’t you swim on our school team?”

“I checked; it’s too late for this season, but I can try out in the spring.”

“Okay, so it’s just a few months.” He smiles at me.

“Just a few months,” I repeat then lean across the seat to give him a kiss that shows him he has nothing to worry about.