Complete Nothing (True Love #2)(44)

And then he laughed. My face burned brighter than the hot sun in the midday Death Valley sky. Anger burbled beneath my skin. Anger at him for not remembering and for mocking me. Anger at Zeus for sending him here to torture me. Anger at myself for continuing to put myself out there when clearly, I was only going to get rebuffed.

But that was what love was about, right? Taking chances. Baring one’s soul. Too bad it hurt so damn badly.

“Hey, True!”

Wallace walked up to me, his backpack securely strapped to both shoulders. He looked handsome in a gray T-shirt with the word FRINGE across the front, and a pair of well-cut jeans.

“How’s the phone working out for you?” he asked.

“Good! Oh, I got the number activated last night. Let me give it to you,” I said.

He whipped his own phone out of his back pocket. “Go.”

I recited the digits. He typed them in, then snapped my picture and looked at it. “You are very photogenic,” he stated.

I blushed. “Thank you.”

“We’d better go. Gotta get set up for the pep rally.”

“Oh. Okay.” I looked at Orion reluctantly. “Want to come?”

“That’s okay,” he said stiffly. “I’m meeting someone anyway. And there she is now.”

Then, without so much as a look over his shoulder, he turned and sauntered off down the hall, where he joined Darla Shayne. She ran her hand over his shoulder and down his arm, looking him over in an appraising, covetous way.

Get off! I thought. Get away from him!

They headed for the stairs together, and I narrowed my eyes, imagining the heel of her red shoe breaking, seeing her plummet down the stairs. As they reached the top step, she wobbled and I took in a breath, looking away. For a moment, I’d forgotten I could actually make it happen. I grabbed Wallace and stomped off toward the gym.

Enough was enough. It was time to find Claudia and get this show back on the road. Before I slipped up and accidentally killed Darla Shayne.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE


Peter


The entire team was gathered just inside the door to the locker room, listening as the gym filled up with voices. Sneakers squeaked on the polished floor. There was a peal of feedback. People laughed and talked, and a couple of chants broke out. I grinned at my teammates. This was it. The first pep rally of the season. I couldn’t help it. I opened the door a sliver and peeked out. The bleachers were jam-packed, wall-to-wall.

Gavin leaned in and whistled. “Man. This never gets old.”

I closed the door and rubbed my hands together. “I know, right?”

“I can’t believe we’re seniors,” Lester said, shaking his head. “This is our last first pep rally of the year.”

The smile fell from my face. My heart thunked. “Way to be a downer, dude.”

“Pete! You’re never gonna believe this!” Mitch Ross shoved his way through the crowd and stood panting in front of me.

“What?” I asked.

“Claudia’s going out with some guy from St. Joe’s,” he said, delivering the news as if he was half-pissed to know it and half-psyched to be the one to tell it. “Tonight.”

“What?” Gavin blurted.

“Now that’s a downer,” Lester pointed out.

Out on the court, Principal Peterson brought everyone to attention and started his opening speech. I swallowed hard, feeling as if I hadn’t had a thing to drink in days. “Do you know who it is?”

Mitch shook his head. “Apparently, she’s keeping it on the DL or whatever. But what the eff, man? She’s dating the enemy? The night before our game?”

The energy drained right out of me. What the hell was Claudia doing? And why? Did she hate me so much that she had to make me look like a total tool in front of everyone? Every single member of the team was staring at me. I had to keep it together. If I broke down right now—if I showed any weakness—they’d think I was a total loser.

“Whatever, man. Claudia can do whatever the hell she wants to do,” I said. “I dumped her ass.”

A few of the guys laughed. I saw them exchanging glances, and I knew I’d said the right thing. But inside, I was boiling. A guy from St. Joe’s? I couldn’t even imagine Claudia looking at someone else, let alone sitting at a table with someone else, laughing with someone else. . . .

Kissing someone else.

God. I was gonna hurl. I was gonna hurl right on Gavin’s new kicks.

“And now! Your starting lineup!” Liza announced into the microphone.

Was he on the team? Was he good? Was he good-looking?

“First, your defensive line, starting with number fifty-six, junior linebacker Josh Moskowitz!”

Josh broke through the crowd, yanked open the door, and disappeared. The roar of the crowd was deafening. I imagined Veronica Vine cheering for him. Him finding her in the crowd and smiling. That kid was so lucky. He had his girl. He knew where he stood. And he wasn’t thinking about how this was his last first pep rally, because it wasn’t. At that moment, I would have killed to be Josh Moskowitz.

As Liza announced each member of the team, the crowd around us thinned out. Finally it was just me and Gavin left. He clapped his monstrous hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t think about her right now, man,” he said. “This is our thing. Enjoy it.”