Take Me for Granted (Take Me #1)(82)

“Hey, Ari,” Miller said cordially.

I nodded my head at him and then continued to pack up.

The group moved to the living room, and I stomped into my room to find my boots. It was still cold out there. When I returned, they were all cuddled up together. Cheyenne was sitting on Vin’s lap on the couch. Gabi had her head on McAvoy’s shoulder. Shelby and Miller were sitting side-by-side. I wondered how much Shelby knew about Miller and Sydney, but I didn’t care to bring that up right now.

After grabbing my peacoat off the back of the chair, I put it on and threw my backpack over it.

“Hey, Ari?” McAvoy said.

Our eyes met across the room.

“Yeah?”

Miller sat up straight. “McAvoy, no.”

“Shut up, Miller. No one else is going to talk about it. We need our brother back, so seriously, just shut up.”

I resolutely stood there, wondering what the hell they were talking about.

“So, are you going to talk to Grant?”

“It’s not like he wants to talk to me.”

“Really?” McAvoy asked incredulously. “That’s the line of reasoning you’re going to go with?”

“What else am I supposed to think?” I asked, feeling my frustration turning to anger. “If Grant wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me.”

“Maybe you should remind him. He’s been acting like a f**king idiot since you left, and he might have forgotten.” McAvoy sighed and shook his head. “We’ve been trying to get signed for years, and now that we’re this close, Grant is talking about quitting because he’s so f**ked-up about your relationship. Maybe think that over, and stop being so selfish.”

My mouth dropped open. “Selfish? He cheated on me!”

“Not the way we’ve heard the story,” Miller piped up. “I think you have a lot of things to talk about.”

“Whatever,” I ended lamely. I didn’t know what else to say. There was too much of what they’d said that didn’t make sense, and I needed to process.

Everything that the guys had said was swirling around in my mind. Grant was thinking about quitting ContraBand? Why the hell would he do that? He loved the band and his brothers and everything about music. It simply couldn’t be about me. That made no sense.

And the guys had said that he hadn’t cheated? I’d been there on New Year’s. Donovan and Hollis had told me that he’d gone off with someone else, and he’d never messaged me. I’d never messaged him…but still. It seemed likely with Grant’s track record. Did the guys just not know he’d slept with someone on New Year’s? And if he hadn’t slept with someone…did that mean I’d cheated with Henry?

No. I hadn’t wanted that kiss. Well, a part of me had, a drunk part of me, but I’d stopped it.

God, there are too many things to think about. I didn’t want to go rushing over to Grant’s house like a dog with my tail between my legs. We had a lot to talk about. The few weeks of us being apart had felt like an eternity, and at this point, there was so much that needed to be said. It felt like we’d built a wall between us, and I wasn’t sure how ready I was to climb that. It might be easier to try to tear it down with my bare hands.

Deciding that O-chem took precedence over my floundering love life, I drove to the library in a hurry. I found the study group with ease, but I stopped myself from joining them at the last minute. Not only did I not want to have to deal with teaching the group instead of actually learning anything myself…Kristin was with them.

Her mousy brown hair was in a braid over her shoulder, and she was tugging on it as she flirted with some guy from our class. Disgust washed over me. Did the girl never stop?

I hated that I kept seeing her…that I would continue to see her. We had organic chemistry together as well as molecular biology and calc IV. I seriously couldn’t escape the conniving bitch.

Backpedaling, I found a secluded spot on the same level and pulled out my assignment. I quickly got lost in the equations before me. I was finishing up the assignment, my head buried in my book, when I heard someone clear her throat next to me.

I glanced up and groaned. “What do you want?”

“Hey, Aribel,” Kristin said, rocking back and forth on her toes. “I thought you might have been at the study session.”

“Well, I wasn’t. And you’re free to go now.”

“Mind if I take a seat?” She gestured to the chair in front of me.

“Yes, I do mind,” I snapped.

“Is someone else meeting you?”

“If this is you trying to get to Grant, then you can turn around right now and leave. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. Just leave me alone.”

“This isn’t…I mean, that’s not why I’m here,” she said hastily.

“Then, why are you here? Simply to annoy me?”

“No!” she cried. She quickly glanced around and lowered her voice as she said, “I came to apologize.”

“What for? Being a slutbag whore? Or did you do something else to me that I don’t know about?”

Kristin pulled out the chair and sat down, ignoring the fact that I hadn’t given her permission to do so. “I know I deserve that.”