Fallen Crest University (Fallen Crest High #5)(26)

Walking with me around the track, he said, “Matt called last night. He said his dad was hit by a drunk driver.”

“Does he have to miss school?”

Drew’s mouth tightened. “I don’t know. He says so. He’s got to take care of the family until his dad is out of the hospital and rehabbed enough to start working again. They come from old values. The man takes care of the family and all that jazz. With his dad out of commission, it falls to his shoulders to take over and work for the family. He’s got little siblings still, and their mom’s a housekeeper somewhere.”

It sucked all around. It just sucked.

Drew glanced sideways to me. “Coach talk to you yet?”

I nodded. An anchor fell to the pit of my stomach. “I’m benched for the first two games.”

Drew cursed. “You serious?”

“I missed the first month of training.”

“That wasn’t on your part. That was the school’s decision.”

“But because of my involvement with Sebastian, the blame has to be on me.”

Drew didn’t know about the house. No one did, except for Nate, Logan, and Sam. I was innocent in everyone else’s eyes. That anchor turned inside of me, digging into my sides and making me feel some guilt. Drew’s tune would be different, but I didn’t regret what I had done, not after what Sebastian tried to take away from me first—my future in football.

Drew swore again. “Whatever. The whole thing is f*cked up, but I am happy you put him in his place. When that fraternity fell, that was a big deal on campus. I know you made Matteo proud and Lane, too, with how Sebastian could’ve helped with his scholarship two years ago and didn’t, letting it get stripped from him after being injured. Sebastian’s a greedy bastard. He’s slime.” There was a warning in his voice. “Just watch your back. You know he’s looking for payback.”

My jaw clenched. Drew didn’t have to remind me. I more than knew the stakes at hand.

“Football, school, and my family—those are my priorities.”

“Good. We’ll watch your back. You know that.”

“Thanks.”

We were coming to the end of our first circle around the track.

“Kade!” a coach shouted from the bench. “Finish your sprints and take off. You got class to attend.”

Drew nodded to me, veering to the left, as I crouched back down for another sprint.

SAMANTHA

The smell of coffee woke me up, and I was greeted with the image of Summer coming in the door, dressed to the nines in a flowy, white top that slipped off one of her shoulders and hung past the middle of her thighs. It looked like a dress she could wear to a nightclub. She was wearing skintight jeans underneath with high heels. Her bracelets jingled against each other as she placed a cup of coffee on my nightstand.

“Ruby has a latte machine in her room.” She inhaled a whiff of her latte, and a dreamy smile came over her face. “I’m in love with our RA.” She pointed at me with her cup as she sat at her desk. “She’s in love with you. A little Blaze bird was gushing to her about your stepbrother sometime this morning, and she wants to meet his obsession.”

I cringed. “Really?”

She watched as I climbed out of bed.

I grabbed the latte first. My robe was second. I had priorities. Even before slipping on the robe, I had to take a sip. It was caramel heaven. “Thanks for this.”

“If you can’t find me, don’t be surprised if I’m camped out on Ruby’s floor. She knows the best way to make friends with freshman girls hoping to fight the freshman fifteen—feed our caffeine addiction.”

I grinned, putting the latte on my desk.

“So…” Summer took another sip, her eyes darting to my bed. “I couldn’t help noticing you this morning, right before I almost stepped on you.” She rolled her eyes. “Why I chose the top bunk, I’ll never know. Can I be a nosy roommate who’s hoping to be a good friend and ask about your change of heart last night? I thought you were getting a ride back with Logan?”

“I was.” I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. A little chill swept over me, and I finally pulled on the robe. “I went back with him and crawled in bed with Mason.”

A sigh left Summer’s mouth. “The football legend.”

I stopped. “Uh, yeah. Anyway, Mason brought me back. We’re doing the whole thing where I actually live in the dorm, at least for a month.”

“I don’t mean to sound all creepy, and I’m not lusting after your soul mate because he’s gorgeous, but I’ve had a thing for Mason Kade for years. I know almost all his records and stats since his sophomore year in high school. It’s a football thing for me. For real.” She blinked at me a couple of times. “Most girls would be thinking of eight different ways to kill you, so they could take your spot, but that’s not me. It’s the football. That’s all.”

I narrowed my eyes. She seemed sincere, and she had gotten wistful the night before when Logan and Nate were sharing old football memories. But she was a girl. And Mason was Mason. I frowned. I should’ve heard alarm bells clanging against my skull, but there was none.

I shrugged. “I’ve had girls go nuts and try to hurt me, but if you’re going to try, good luck.” I kept my eyes level as I stared at her.