Beg You to Trust Me (Lindon U #2)(98)

I nod grimly. “Hate to break it to you, Griff, but the kid is nothing but trouble. You know he thinks he’s invincible.”

“Why the fuck would he need to do that?” is our tight end’s question. “He has a lot going for him, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Power trip,” Caleb grumbles.

Marks flinches. “He can, so he does. We’ve all heard him talking about the shit he does at those parties. The dude is lucky all we had to do this year is get tested for STDs. If he were drug tested…”

We’re all silent for a long stretch of time. I think about Skylar’s question—about her friend Aliyah. Our conversation makes me look away from the teammates still soaking up the news.

“Where’s Wallace now?” I ask nobody in particular.

I’m not surprised when Aiden is the one who responds. “He and Pearce are talking to the campus police. They need to get his side of things to make a full report to the local station. Then they’ll talk to each of us.”

I’m tempted to text Skylar about this, but I know she needs time to cool off. Our conversation definitely didn’t go the way I wanted, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. I hope she has the same mindset.

“Coach will let us know what’s up,” Marks says, standing up. “If this becomes something huge, that’s another player out.” He turns to me. “You are out, right? Coach said it wasn’t likely they’d let you play.”

It’s Caleb who turns to me. “Yeah, what did you decide? Last we talked, you said you weren’t sure if you were going to go through with the shoulder surgery.”

They all look at the shoulder in question, which I haven’t had in my sling for a few days now. I roll it on instinct, feeling the tightness settled into the muscles and cringe. “I’m out for the season. I’ll know when my surgery is scheduled this week.”

“I’m sorry, bro,” our running back says.

“It is what it is.” I glance at Aiden. “I know you want to have faith in Wallace, but I wouldn’t waste your time. Just because somebody is good at what they do doesn’t mean they’re a good person. If you keep holding on, he’s going to drag your ass down with him.”

He doesn’t say anything.

Doesn’t argue.

But doesn’t agree either.

With Aiden, I’ll take it.

The guys disperse shortly after that with Caleb hanging behind. He claps my back. “You good, man?”

I know he means my shoulder. “I will be. Sorry to let the team down.”

He rolls his eyes. “The team doesn’t care as much as you think. And Coach will get the fuck over it, even if he talks smack. You’ve pushed yourself harder than most of us out there. You didn’t let us down.”

“The Raiders won.”

“They probably would have won even if you didn’t get hurt.” He doesn’t sound happy about it but shrugs it off reluctantly. “But that doesn’t mean shit to us. We still have a shot. Semifinal games are a possibility yet.”

True, but now with Wallace’s situation that’s up in the air.

“Hey.” He nudges my arm. “Focus on you. Your shoulder. Your girl.” The smirk he shows me is knowing. “How’d that go, anyway? I take it Grandma Meadow didn’t scare her away?”

I snort. “They bonded over The Bachelor and their love for caffeinated drinks. I had to run to Dunkin at least ten times while they watched TV together and gossiped about women I don’t even know.”

Caleb finds it way more entertaining than I do. Then again, seeing two of my favorite people together was always nice. Even if Grandma M would shoo me away because she didn’t want to hear me complain every ten minutes during their shows.

Before I left, Ma pulled me into a hug and whispered, “I like her.” Her approval of Skyler only makes my feelings that much more cemented. Ever since I was a little kid, I’d been telling my mom that she was my number one girl. But I think she knows that spot is about to be filled with somebody else, and she’s okay with it.

Caleb smacks my chest as he passes by me to head upstairs. “You should text Skylar to hang out. Don’t worry about any of this shit with Wallace. Like you told Aiden, he isn’t our problem. The second we claim him to be, he’s going to take us down.”

We used to swear that we were a team through everything—thick and thin. But some things aren’t worth fighting for.

Some people.

“Skylar and I need some time away from each other. Things got a little tense on the drive home.” He looks worried, but I wave it off. “I’m good, man. We’ll be fine.” I hope.

“If you’re sure…”

I smack his back. “Yep. You and Raine are solid?” Last time we talked there was some sort of rift between them.

“We’ll be fine,” he says, the expression on his face looking just as unsure as mine.

I smile. “If anybody can get through it, it’s you two.” Hell, if they don’t make it work then I’m doomed.

I grab my bag and bring it upstairs, throwing it onto my bed while pulling out my cell to let my family know I got here safely. But Caleb is wrong.

If I want to prove to Skylar that I’ve got her back, I’ll figure out how to deal with Wallace before he ruins shit for all of us.