Page 9 of Replay

“That pussy bitch,” Maverick growls.

“What?” I ask, remembering Graham telling me they didn’t vote Graves into the house, mainly because of the twins.

“He tried to fuck Cash’s girlfriend, Tori, freshman year. He knew exactly who she was too. No one disrespects my brother like that. I’ll never trust the punk.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know what the fuckshesees in him.”

His words have heat crawling all over my skin. I fucking hate they know her as being his.

“Yeah, he’s always been like that,” I bite out and turn to Nola. “I don’t have shit to say to him, so nah, you won’t see us interacting, unless it's with my fist in his face.”

“I knew I liked you.” Maverick chuckles. “So do you know Berkley too? I can’t imagine anyone from her hometown not knowing that girl… The first time I saw her, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. But Graham threatened our lives if we even tried anything with her.”

I smirk, giving Graham a look of appreciation. “Good.” Surprisingly, I don’t feel jealousy at hearing this; I just hope she knows how beautiful she is. Berkley has always been one of thosegirls who’s gorgeous beyond words and her own comprehension. No matter how many times I told her. My heart literally aches thinking about the way it feels to have her smile in my direction. I consider how much I should tell them, and I surprise myself again by deciding to open up.

“Yeah, I know Berkley…”

I close my eyes, trying to articulate the overwhelming emotion I feel thinking back to that day and all the months after. “I’m the one who broke her heart…and ripped mine out in the process. So as hard as it is knowing she’s with Graves, if that’s what she really wants, I deserve to sit here and watch. Doesn’t mean I have to fucking like it or make it easy on him, though.”

They all sit there in silence for a few seconds before Cash asks, “Did you break up with her because of the long-distance relationship?”

Again, I answer truthfully. “That’s what she thinks.”

Three

If I hear the name Nathan Outlaw one more time, I'm going to lose my fucking mind.It's bad enough I'm currently avoiding all my favorite places in Mountain Ridge to ensure I don’t have any accidental run-ins with him, but listening to basically every guy and girl in town talk about him is driving me mental.

I wish I could rewind the clock eight months and prevent the stupid injury that ultimately caused him to leave Texas Tech. Yes, I knew about his injury when it happened. Even though I blocked his number and his socials, it’s all Graham and the twins would talk about. But never in a million years did I think it would lead to him transferring here, of all places.

Bellamy joins me while I sip my smoothie in the quad before we head into the campus bookstore. She came home yesterday after only four full days of me begging her. Darby is still away on her “lovas” weekend, but she’ll be back by tomorrow night. I need them both here. I crave to feel some sense of normalcy again.

“Are you aware that you’re literally scowling at the world right now.” She takes my cup and steals a taste, her green eyes shining back at me with mischief.

“Am not,” I retort.

“Are too. I swear if we weren’t synced up, I'd say you were getting your period,” she quips.

I take my smoothie back from her and gulp it down. Attempting to fix my face, I smile at her.

“I was deep in thought… That’s my thinking face.”

“Thinking of he who shall not be named?” she asks, flipping her long red hair over her shoulder.

“Shut up!” I swat at her arm playfully. She’s well aware of my history with Nate and his now sudden presence at MRU, since that was part of my case I pled to get her back to me. She, Darby, and my friend Lottie were my guiding lights during my freshmen year. My beacons leading me out of the depression hole I dug myself after he left me.

She chuckles in return. “Well, if it’s not him, then it’s certainly enough to have you all kinds of wound tight. Are you backed up or something?”

I stifle the laugh threatening to spray my strawberry-peach smoothie out my nose. “Backed up?”

“Yeah! I know two months is a long time not to get laid, but I'm sure you and Carter are making up for lost time, no?”

I roll my eyes to hide the truth. One would think we would be banging like rabbits after a summer apart, but that’s not the case. We’ve had sex once, maybe two times since I’ve been back.I find myself making up every excuse to avoid being intimate with him. My brain is not in it…at all, and I refuse to admit where it’s traveling off to.

Remaining silent, I continue to sip my smoothie while Bellamy switches topics and starts talking about how gorgeous some of the new hockey players are. I listen contently as she gives me a rundown of every player, their positions, and whether they’re single, as well as what parties will be coming up this week. I’ve been friends with Bellamy for over two years, and well aware of how she hides her inner turmoil with boy talk, partying, and jokes. She’s the epitome of a girl who never takes life too seriously. A great person to have around, but I just hope one day she’s brave enough to face the demons she tries so hard to hide.

Regardless of who she is swooning over, Bellamy is definitely a stan for hockey, whereas I prefer football. She also always has the inside scoop because her two stepbrothers, Maverick and Cash, play on the MRU team. They also happen to live in The Wolves Den, along with Graham, Nola, and now Nate.

This is what I mean when I say his presence is everywhere. I can't even enjoy going to The Wolves Den, which used to be our favorite hangout spot. We even host Sunday dinner there since their place is huge and so much nicer than our condo. UGH! Why does he have to ruin everything?

“Come on, grump, we need to get moving,” Bellamy says before taking my smoothie one last time and slurping it.

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