Page 55 of Unloved

Ro doesn’tneedanyone.

But right now, she’s in my arms and I’m the one givinghercomfort.

I bask in it.

There’s no way in hell I’m letting her ride an hour back into town alone at 10 p.m. at night in a rideshare. I’ll carry her the entire fifty-something miles back to Waterfell before I let that happen.

“Rosalie?”

Saying her full name feels intimate in the quiet dark, pressed against each other like this. Still, she looks up and pulls away, gently wiping beneath her eyes.

“S-sorry.”

I shake my head. “Nah, none of that.” I try to pull a smile from her with one of my own. “Can you wait here for me to check on something?”

Her eyes scrunch, but she nods and sits back down, moving her long, lean legs to stretch out in front of her.

My skin feels too tight, heart thundering and mind scrambled as I make my way to the bus where Bennett is standing next to Coach Harris. They both stop speaking as I approach.

It isn’t until I’m standing next to them both that I realize I left my bag with Ro.

“Your girl okay, Freddy?” Coach asks, brushing a hand through his short, well-kept beard. His stance is serious, face displaying zero hints of how he feels, as usual.

“She’s my tutor. And she got left here. Is there any way I can ride back with her? I don’t want her to go alone.”

Coach purses his lips and shakes his head mildly, straightening his suit jacket. “You know the school would have my ass if I let you break that rule. You have to ride back with us.”

My stomach drops while my mind flies in thirty different directions, trying to come up with some sort of plan.

“What’s her name?”

“Ro, sir.”

“Tell Ro she can ride on the team bus.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

He looks offended. “I would never leave a woman stranded, Fredderic. Have a little more faith in me than that.”

“Of course, Coach.” I smile and nod, resisting the urge to pick him up and twirl the man around in the air with my gratefulness. Instead, I jog back to Ro and quickly convince her to get on the bus. She is hesitant, but agrees, which helps to finally relax some of the tension in my shoulders.

Only some.

Ro is quiet, holding her arms around her middle in a way that makes my stomach hurt. Small and curled in on herself, she walks up the short stairs of the charter bus. The chattering stutters to silence as the guys spot the leggy brunette decked out in Waterfell gear and I say a silent prayer that none of them makes a joke.

The anxiety of it is enough to make me wish she was here with someone else, someone worthy of her. That no one would raise their eyebrow at me to ask if I was bringing her home or assume silently that I’m sleeping with her.

Ro doesn’t deserve that.

Rhys stands and wrinkles his brow, stopping her midstride with a soft touch to her arm.

“You okay?” he asks, voice low.

“I’m fine.” She matches the quiet whisper of his voice. “Please, please, don’t tell Sadie about this.”

Sadie, the figure skater our beloved good-guy captain enjoys breaking his heart over.

It’s strange for me to remember thatmyRo is best friends with a girl nearly infamous for her unapproachable demeanor and bad behavior—a stark contrast to the vibrant, friendly, and almost overwhelmingly welcoming Rosalie.

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