Page 78 of Endgame

Whatever.

Refusing to be one of those girls who dwelled on their size when they were perfectly healthy, I grabbed my bag off the bed and my car keys from my night stand before making a run for the front door, dreading the drive I was about to embark on to the fortress of eternal doom – aka high school. Yeah, avoiding Rourke was high on my agenda today and every day for the foreseeable future.

Rourke

EARLY MORNING FOOTBALL practice sucked ass. Getting up at the crack ass of dawn, having barely slept a wink, was not helping my already foul mood. Running drills in the heat of the early morning sun until I felt like puking didn’t help much either.

Goddamn, Six!

She fucked me up. Six weeks of her living in my house and I was a wreck. My game was off, my mind unfocused, and my attention elsewhere. I had no doubt if I didn’t pull it together by the game of the season Friday night, I would be getting my ass handed to me by Pattendale’s defense.

“Someone get this man a pussy before he combusts right here on the field,” Mason snickered, jogging towards me, when I turned the ball over for the third fucking time this morning. “Or some lube forpalmand her five friends.”

“You better run, Mase,” Daryl ordered in an exasperated tone, intercepting me and ruining my plans on kicking the living shit out of Mason. “Calm your ass down,” he added, looking at me. “Now.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I shook Daryl’s hands off and turned around. It was a lot easier to stem my homicidal tendencies when I wasn’t in direct view of the douche who drew them out of me. Images of him kissing Six flooded my mind then and I balked.

“God fucking dammit,” I roared. Dragging my helmet off, I stalked off the field. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t fucking concentrate. In less than an hour, Six was going to be here, in my school, and I would have to watch these fuckers ogle her. I knew they would; they weren’t blind and she was beyond beautiful.

Fuck.

My.

Life.

Mercedes

IT TOOK ME ALL of five minutes at my new high school to learn that Rourke Owens wasn’t just a bastard; he was an influential bastard with a throwing arm that rivaled a professional athlete.

Apparently, my stepbrother was a pretty huge deal at this school, playing first string wide receiver for Ocean Bay Academy’s all state winning varsity football team.

Fuck my life…

Determined to seem unaffected by it all, byhim, I kept my head held high as I walked through the hallway towards my locker with at least hundred pairs of eyes on me. It was pretty clear that since their star wide receiver hated my guts, his minions did, too.

Molly and I had compared schedules this morning when I collected mine from the office and it turned out we shared all the same classes with the exception of three. I was relieved

“Wow,” Molly chuckled as we walked out of second period World Politics and headed down yet another identical hallway. “You’re either a total badass and don’t care that everyone is looking at you, or you have an awesome poker face.”

Poker face, I thought to myself. I had a great poker face that I’d primed to perfection over the years. I’d had to; this wasn’t my first time as a newbie in school. Unlike my dating history, when it came to the number of times I’d been the new girl at school, I was a complete slut.

“My locker’s here.” She stopped beside a row of blue lockers and smiled. “Want help finding yours again?”

“No. I’m good,” I replied, waving Molly off. “I’ll see you in class.” I was determined to figure this school stuff out on my own. I was happy to have a friend, but I didn’t depend on anyone for anything.

Rounding the corner, I felt an immense sense of relief and victory when I realized I had found my locker without getting lost in the maze of Ocean Bay Academy hallways. The school was bigger than I had anticipated; with three upper level floors and an underground pool and weight room.

According to Molly, sports were a pretty huge deal around here and everything about the Academy was directed towards their athletes, with their stars getting extra attention. I scoffed at the thought. It was like I had fallen asleep and had woken up in a goddamn movie.

Ignoring the stares and whispers around me, I walked right up to the locker I had been assigned and began to unload my bag.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Rourke’s familiar voice came from somewhere close behind me and I inwardly groaned. He was back to theyou shouldn’t be hereshit? Really?

Frozen in my spot, I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep, calming breath before answering him. “We’ve been through this. I have no choice.”

“No.” He appeared beside me then, towering above me, looking entirely too good in his uniform. “You shouldn’t behere. In this section.” He opened the locker directly next to mine. “Your surname starts with J, not O.” He turned to face me then, his blue eyes heated and locked on mine. “Your locker should be down the hallway.”

“Well, take it up with your father when he gets back from his trip, Rourke,” I whispered, forcing the words out, as I stuffed the books I didn’t need until later on in the day inside, ignoring the fluttering sensation in my stomach and the extreme pounding of my heart in my chest. “He’s the one who filled out all the school paperwork.”

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