Fallen Crest University (Fallen Crest High #5)(52)

It wasn’t an insult, but I knew what Mason was saying. Sebastian strategized. He analyzed. He thought five steps ahead, whereas I didn’t. I was two steps ahead, if I were lucky.

I nodded and murmured, “I will.”

SAMANTHA

It was fun to walk to the football game with the girls. I hadn’t enjoyed hanging out with a group of girls in so long that I almost missed what it was like. Gossip. Laughter. A few tears, but I wasn’t sure the cause for them. Some whispering. The occasional belch, followed by some farting jokes. This hadn’t happened with my old group, and it was sad to realize that Jessica and Lydia were my last real group of girlfriends. Cattiness and competition came with them.

Who knows? I skimmed over the group of my floormates. If I grew closer to them, perhaps the same thing would occur.

So far, it hadn’t. So far, I was protected. Maybe it was because I already had a boyfriend. Maybe it was because I was still kind of a loner. Maybe it was because my roommate had more to be envious about with her long legs and model cred.

A few envious looks were sent Summer’s and my way. When we got to the stadium and sat down, those looks grew more and more. When Mason ran out onto the field and the crowd started a frenzied cheer for him, the whispers in the group tripled, and so did the envious looks.

Summer noticed the looks and narrowed her eyes at the closest girls. She asked with a bite in her tone, “Yes? May we help you?”

The two girls closest to Summer froze for a second.

One whispered, “Is her boyfriend Mason Kade?”

“Yes.” Summer sat up as far as she could, so she was literally looking down her nose at her. “And, no, you cannot use Sam to meet him. They’re in love. They’re so in love that they make me want to vomit, and I probably would if I wasn’t so starstruck by Mason Kade myself.”

“Oh.” The girl shrank back but fanned herself. “We’ve seen him in the hallway, but we didn’t realize he was the same Mason Kade on the team. He’s gorgeous.”

A part of me was damn proud of Mason. The other part went on instant alert. If this were their reactions already, would I have another restroom fight on my hands? I hoped not. This was college. I wanted to assume violence like that only happened in high school and by the hands of girls like Kate.

Summer leaned in close to me. “Don’t worry. They’re all rug rats. Mason could easily step over them.”

I gave her a smile—or I tried. It fell flat. If she only knew what I was actually worried about…

“Yeah, that’s true.”

She studied me, narrowed her eyes a little, and nudged me with her elbow. “They’re not going to drug him or something. Besides, Mason is one dude who will not be coerced. You don’t have to worry about him with other girls.”

My head moved up and down. I was nodding. I was agreeing to everything she said, but her voice sounded from a distance. Football, money, looks—that was the world that Mason and Logan ruled, and I had been brought into their world. A shiver racked through me. I didn’t even want to imagine how I would’ve been if those two hadn’t welcomed me into their twosome family or if Mason and I hadn’t fallen in love.

“You okay?” Summer was still watching me, now concerned.

“Yeah,” I rasped out, coughing to clear my throat. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m good.” I forced another grin. “Peachy.”

We were halfway through the game when Summer asked to use my phone. She forgot hers. I didn’t think anything of it until the game was over. We won. Everyone was in good spirits, and I was proud of Mason.

My whole chest was full of it, but I’d forgotten that along with his fame came the thirst from others. They wanted him. They wanted what I had. They would plot, scheme, and deceive. They’d do what it took. I already knew it would end in failure, but they didn’t. They’d go the gamut to try to destroy my heart.

“Hey.”

We were following the girls through the parking lot, but I was looking for Mason’s car. I was going to text him and say that I would wait for him by it. Summer caught my elbow as I started to veer for his Escalade.

She asked, “Where are you going?”

“I—” I was about to tell her when I stopped.

Logan hadn’t come to sit with us, but I hadn’t thought about it. I’d figured he wanted to steer clear of Kitty and Nina. I would if I were him. But now, I saw him standing a few yards from us. He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me, and the expression on his face was like an invisible hand pressing down on my chest. But that wasn’t the only thing. A large and nasty-looking bruise was on the side of his jaw. I looked over his other injuries—a cut lip, a bandage on the corner of his eye, and another bruise on his forehead.

He was focused beyond me, and it hit me. Logan was staring with hatred at whoever was behind me. The loathing wasn’t hidden. It was there. It was in the open, and there was no hiding it.

A shiver trailed up my spine.

I knew who was behind me, but I turned, and everything went into slow motion.

Sebastian was staring right back at Logan. Sebastian’s face was bruised. One of his cheeks was swollen. More bruises were on his neck. Through a small opening in the crowd, I saw his hand resting on his side. His knuckles were cracked open, all black and blue, too. The crowd covered his hand up, and I couldn’t see him anymore.