Still Jaded

  me, Bryce."

  Bryce glared for a moment, and then he started to laugh. "God, you just—you make me so angry. No one else can do that, Sheldon."

  I felt the sudden break from the tension. "Yeah, well, I love you too."

  The laughter vanished, and he whispered, "I love you—you know how much."

  "Oh god. We're becoming one of those cheesy teen movies. Can we stop? Please. I'm not going to proclaim how I'll name my seventh son after your grandfather's grandfather."

  Bryce grinned and laughed.

  When she delivered our food, Dorothy eyed us in confusion. She asked once if she could get us anything else, but Bryce answered when he saw me look down. I didn't want to talk to her. I wasn't sure why, I just knew I didn't want to deal with her. He could, and he did. After taking a few bites, he stopped eating and sighed.

  "What's wrong?" he asked. "You haven't touched your potatoes."

  "I don't like 'em."

  Bryce snorted but took another bite of his burger. After a mouthful, he gestured again. "I can get her back. You could get a salad."

  I shook my head. I had lost my appetite at some point. But then a different idea came to me. "Corrigan's playing sloshball at the house. Let's go."

  Bryce frowned. "What?"

  "Sloshball. If we go now, we can still make it." I was burning up inside. I needed to get out of there.

  "Am I supposed to know what that is? And they're playing at your house?"

  "At the frat house. Let's go. Now." I stood up, but Bryce hardly looked at me. He stopped eating as something dawned on him. Then he nodded and stood up to pull out some money. As he placed a twenty on the table, he murmured, "Okay. Let's go."

  Bryce placed his hand on the small of my back. Something inside of me felt settled inside. I could breathe again.

  As we got into the red Miata, I looked up and saw Dorothy at the door. There was a blank look in her eyes. She knew that I had caught her staring, but she didn't look away. A shiver went down my spine.

  "What's wrong?"

  I jumped in my seat. "Huh?"

  "What's wrong?"

  I reached for my seatbelt. "Nothing. Let's just go."

  I didn't want to think of the empty look on Dorothy's face. It reminded me of someone else.

  As we drove closer to the college, I gave Bryce directions, and it wasn't long before we turned the corner to find the street packed with cars. The frat house, in all its three story paint-peeling gloriousness, was crawling with bodies. The front lawn was packed with students. Most of the girls wore bikinis, halter-tops, and mini-skirts. The majority of guys were shirtless.

  Bryce paused in front of the house but started to pull away just as a guy flung himself into the street and jumped on top of the Miata.

  We found ourselves staring into the drunken features of one of Corrigan's frat brothers as he slurred, "We were told to stop any red Miata that drove past the house. Brother Corrigan gave us strict instructions, and if you are the homosapiens named Bryce and Sheldon, you are ordered to relinquish control of this automobile for the pleasure of valet parking."

  I snorted. Bryce laughed and handed over the keys.

  As we headed inside, conversations quieted. People stopped and stared, and I knew it wasn't because of my sparkling demeanor. Bryce had grown immune to the attention when he was ten, but I'd just had a year of invisibility and was out of practice. I jumped when Bryce's hand found the small of my back again.

  Raz marched over to us and flashed a stupid grin. He wore a white tee shirt that, after one whiff, I knew was soaked with beer. His jeans were ripped and soaked as well.

  "Hey, Rad Girl."

  Bryce glanced at me from the corner of his eye. I shrugged. "There was coffee."

  "And a Dorothy chick, but she's going down."

  I added, "It's the mafia way."

  "Oh yes. The preacher will come calling." Raz scratched his forehead. He thought a moment, frowned, and then flashed his pearly whites once more. "Would you like beer?"

  Bryce replied, "That would be great."

  "Beer will come."

  "We are homosapiens," I joked.

  Raz started laughing. "You must've met March. He's always talking about evolution and where we'll be in twenty thousand years."

  "Still drinking beer," Bryce pointed out. Raz laughed again and clapped him on the shoulder. "You're a funny dude. Good at soccer and funny. I like that."

  Bryce looked at me. I shrugged. It was increasingly apparent that Raz was an odd guy.

  Then a shout rang out and Corrigan hurled himself through the crowd to launch himself onto Bryce's back. He wrapped his legs around Bryce's waist and clasped his arms together over his chest. Bryce grabbed Corrigan's feet and hoisted him higher so that he wouldn't fall.

  "My best friends." Corrigan greeted us with a cheeky smile as he settled his chin on Bryce's shoulder. I leaned closer and saw the hazy look in his green sparklers. He'd been doing a lot more than playing sloshball and drinking beer.

  Matt and Leah pushed their way through the crowd after him. Matt wore a similar beer-soaked shirt over Hawaiian board shorts, and Leah had on a leopard print bikini. The strings tied between her breasts with beaded ends that hung down to her navel, which was pierced with a sparkling little diamond.

  "Hi, Sheldon."

  And there was Matt's normal greeting, odd and filled with excitement.

  I caught Leah eyeing Bryce up and down and remarked, "He's not a baboon that's going to pound his chest and whip out his dick. Stop hoping."

  Raz and Matt spit out their beer. Bryce and Corrigan watched me. They both knew there was more to come. Leah's cheeks flared in anger. "You are one of the most vile, disgusting—"

  I stepped forward. Leah didn't back up, but her eyes widened. I saw a tiny bit of fear as she glowered back at me.

  "I am not like you. I'm not sleeping my way through an entire fraternity house. And I don't like you, so whenever you come up to me or my friends, you need to remember that we'll be having this conversation every single time."

  I stepped back, and Leah opened her mouth, but I interjected, "And you're right. I am a vile person, but I don't care. I'm better at this game than you."

  Everyone waited, but Leah stood there in silence. Then she tore through the crowd.

  I didn't feel triumphant. I didn't feel anything, but when I looked at Corrigan and Bryce's knowing looks, I snapped, "What? She asked for that."

  Corrigan slid off of Bryce's back and nodded. "Uh huh. Because no other girl has ever looked at Bryce. That's awful."

  "Shut up."

  Matt and Raz chose not to comment.

  Bryce injected, "I get when you come out swinging, but you weren't backed into a corner there. What's with you? She didn't say anything before you laid into her."

  Corrigan moved forward. "Were you looking for a victim, and it happened to be her? You did it yesterday too. And you did it to Grace."

  "You're still pissed about what I said about Grace?"

  "No," Corrigan replied. "I'm worried about you. Is this about your issues with killing that guy? Is all this stuff coming out because Bryce is back in town? The last time he was here was when it all went down. I thought you dealt with that crap, Sheldon. I'm disappointed in you."

  It took a second before his words sunk in, but then—

  Bryce whirled to him and pushed him back. Corrigan fell a few steps but ignored his best friend. His eyes were glued to mine, and just for a second, I felt the world fall away. Then I heard his words again.

  'I'm disappointed in you.'

  My stomach clenched, and I lunged at him.

  Bryce caught me, but I tried to crawl over him.

  "You—dick!" I tried to hit him. I could almost reach him. I squirmed over Bryce's shoulder, but he grunted and wrapped a tighter arm around me. When I kicked him in the groin, Bryce gasped and heaved a breath. His arms went lax for a moment, and I was free.

  Corrigan fell back another step.

&n
bsp; I barreled into him. He went down and I fell on top of him. I punched his jaw and heaved back for another hit. Corrigan stayed there, but Bryce caught my arm and yanked me back in the air. He lifted me, cradling me against his chest as he pinned my arms and legs.

  I struggled but couldn't move.

  I snarled, "Is that what you think? I've got issues? If anyone should have issues, it's you. He almost killed you, remember?! He stabbed you. You were in the hospital—"

  "Enough!" Bryce growled and shoved through the crowd. "Move!"

  Then, he carried me out of the house and past the watching crowd.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  We drove home in silence. When Bryce wheeled into the garage, he turned off the engine, but we both stayed in our seats. Then he took a deep breath. "What is going on between you and Corrigan?"

  I shrugged and moved to get out of the car. Bryce reached out and hauled me back.

  "What?" I glared and shoved off his hand. I got out and stormed into the house only to curse when I heard the doorbell ring.

  "Not funny!" I shouted and ignored it to go into the kitchen. As I opened the fridge and reached for a beer, Bryce asked as he turned the corner, "What's not funny?"

  I ignored him, opened the beer, and tipped my head back for a long drink.

  And the doorbell rang again.

  Bryce looked towards it. "What the hell?"

  "I thought that was you."

  "I'm having flashbacks to Mena and her dumbass brother," Bryce grumbled as he left to answer it.

  I heard Grace's voice and groaned. I was fast losing friends, but I could win this one back. I pushed off the corner, beer in hand, but stopped when I met her in the doorway.

  She wore a yellow sweater over plain blue jeans. As she ran a nervous hand through her thin hair, I swallowed. Grace was scared. It was my fault. There was no question about that. She was strong about everything except Corrigan, and I'd trampled on that without even meaning to do it.

  My impulsive behavior was not sensitive sometimes.

  "I am an awful homosapien," I blurted out.

  Grace frowned and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Homosapien? I'm here because of class. I'm sorry that…why are you awful?"

  "Because I told our class that you had feelings for Corrigan. I don't even know if you really do, and I opened my mouth without thinking. I'm sorry, Grace. I really am."

  "Oh." She looked taken aback. "I'm here because I overreacted. You're right. I do have feelings for Corrigan, and I should be able to talk about them, at least with you because you're one of my best friends. But you're also his best friend and I never wanted to put you in the middle, but I you already knew about my feelings…and I just didn't know what to say." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "I'm sorry that I ran out of class. And I'm sorry that I haven't called to see how you've been doing since Bryce got back, but I wasn't sure if he was back. Although, I guess I know he is now since he opened the door…" Then she looked around.

  "He's probably watching football downstairs or something. Don't worry about it."

  "Oh." Grace didn't look reassured, but she moved to perch on a counter stool. "He's…I'd forgotten what Bryce Scout is like in person."

  I laughed as I remembered Bryce's flashback about Mena.

  "What?" Grace was confused.

  I shrugged. "It's nothing. I—just—Bryce mentioned Mena and I remembered how she used to feel the same thing. I think she was scared of him."

  Grace shifted to get comfortable on the stool. "He's not the friendliest person. He was okay towards the end, but he only tolerated me. I knew that. But, still, seeing him again—he's not the friendliest guy."

  "He's just protective." And he was, but only when it came to my female friends. Bryce had never warmed up to Grace, not even after she and I got close the summer before he left for Europe. When I asked him about it, he shrugged and replied that he wasn't sure about girls sometimes. I didn't know what he'd meant, and I'd never asked.

  Just then, Bryce walked into the kitchen. "You gotta see something." He reached for my beer and rotated on his heel. He walked down the stairs before I could comprehend what he'd said. Or realized he'd taken my beer.

  I grabbed another beer and headed after him. Grace trailed behind. I heard the television, and my stomach clenched. I already knew what I was going to see.

  On the screen was an image of Bryce as he carried me out of the frat house. An anchor narrated how witnesses overheard Sheldon Jeneve, high school sweetheart to the Sun's newest striker Bryce Scout, exchange insults and assault another former high school classmate. The anchor continued to speculate as to whether the authorities would get involved, if the still unidentified victim would press charges, and if it had anything to do with the rumors that Bryce Scout had had an affair with Spanish model Guadalupe?

  "I hated that bitch. You slept with her?"

  "No!" Bryce cried out. He pointed at the television. "Is that all you heard? My supposed infidelity? We have worse problems, Sheldon. They caught you on tape at the house."

  I shrugged. "Corrigan's not going to press charges."

  "Wait—what?!" Grace exclaimed.

  She was ignored.

  Bryce pressed, "I don't care about that. The media have us on their radar. I don't want a repeat of what happened in Spain."

  "I never asked to be stalked. And really, they should learn what it's like to have their pictures taken and their privacy violated."

  Bryce threw his hands in the air. "You followed a reporter to his home and videotaped him giving oral sex to his mistress. That's over the line. You were lucky he didn't press charges."

  I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against one of the couches.

  Grace sighed. "Oh no. I know that face."

  Bryce straightened. "Sheldon, what did you do to that reporter?"

  "You never asked before. Why ask now?"

  "What did you do?"

  I clipped out, "That girl wasn't his mistress. She was his daughter's underage friend. They've got laws over there too. I used that law, and it worked. It got him off our backs."

  "You never told me any of that."

  Bryce was tense, too tense. I frowned. "You didn't need to know. You didn't need to know any of it. You were there to play soccer. You played soccer. You did your job. And my job—I did my job."

  "Oh God," Bryce mumbled and shook his head. "What else did you do? Do I even want to know?"

  "What do you expect?" I yelled. My heart should've been pounding. It wasn't. I had a cold feeling in my gut. It was stuck there and refused to move. "What I do with my boyfriend is no one else's business. No one needs to know if I eat salad or meat at some restaurant. They shouldn't speculate if I'm sick because I'm pregnant, if that's why I skipped a championship game. It's my life. It's my privacy. Hell yeah, I'm going to do something to protect it."

  Bryce looked at me like I was an alien, like I made no sense to him. And then his expression changed. I blinked at the sudden