Page 29 of The Change Up
“Yes, please enlighten me on the past that you know nothing about.”
Flipping off the stove with more force than necessary, Niko turns, and his full six-foot-five attention is on me. With his shoulders back and the serious expression he wears, I should be shrinking. He might have an inch or two on me, but I’m not backing down. I deal with a bully on the daily—my dad—and I’m not scared of Niko Vega.
“If I find out that you’ve hurt her—mentally or physically—I’m going to kick your ass. She doesn’t deserve the bullshit she’s been dealt.”
I stare at Niko because I can’t figure out why he’s so protective of her. He’s genuinely a good guy and definitely doesn’t put up with talk about women in any degrading way, including some of the typical locker room talk.
I know he was raised by a single mom, so I get why he wouldn’t put up with that shit. I can’t say I agree with it either.
But he’s starting to piss me off. He doesn’t know anything about Chloe and my past. And I would never be one to hurt a girl on purpose. I’ve been living with someone who instills mental abuse on the regular, and I could never imagine doing that to someone.
“Fuck off, Niko. Don’t come into this house, insert yourself in our drama, and act all high and mighty. Yeah, Chloe and I have a past, but fuck you for thinking that I’ve hurt her physically. That’d be the last goddamn thing I would ever do to her or any girl. Yeah, I hurt her. I fucked up, but believe me when I say it was for the better.”
“What the hell did I interrupt?” Hudson says entering the tension-filled kitchen.
Niko and I stare each other down, neither one of us answering him right away. I see Hudson sit at the stool next to me out of the corner of my eye.
“Wow, who are y’all fightin’ over?” Ty adds from the doorway.
“Chloe,” I grit out, not taking my eyes off Niko. But as I say her name, Niko’s eyes widen as he stares over my head. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes because I immediately know she’s standing right there. Call it intuition, or hell, maybe my nose can constantly sniff out her floral scent like it’s some kind of bloodhound, but turning to look over my shoulder, I see her standing there right beside Billings.
“I-I,” she starts to say something, her eyes finding mine before turning to look up at Ty with a familiar smile I onceused to see on her face. “I’m going to head home. See you guys tomorrow.”
And with that, she turns and practically runs out of the house.
“Are you two fucking?” I grit the words out.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no we aren’t. We both have the same communications class and decided to work on this week’s reading together.”
Dragging both my hands down my face, I rest my head on them and prop my elbows on the counter. I can feel Hudson’s eyes on me while I have an internal meltdown.
For so long, I’ve acted like Chloe Mariano doesn’t exist. I’ve been friendly with her when I’m in social settings where she’s attended, but I’ve avoided being alone with her. And here she is, in my house, in my space, hanging out with my friends.
Seeing her with Ty almost gutted me. The thought of the two of them together, fucking on the other side of the wall that Ty and I share, I can’t think of it.
Hudson’s the first to speak. “Look, I think there’s a lot of history that hasn’t been talked about. And while I’m not one to want drama, I think it’s time the four of us got on the same page. Niko wants to kill Cody because he thinks he’s hurt Chloe,” Hudson pauses as he points to each of us as he speaks so no one gets confused about the ‘he’ Hud’s referring to.
I watch Ty’s eyes narrow at me as he wonders if what Niko thinks is true. I shake my head hoping he gets the hint before Hudson continues. “Cody wants to kill Ty because he thinks Ty is developing feelings for Chloe. And I want to kill the three of you for acting like chicks and getting your panties in a wad instead of just saying what’s on your mind.”
Hudson pauses again as he takes in a long, deep breath. “I want this season to be our season. We’ve been busting our asses for two years to get where we are today, and I’m not going to sitby and let a girl ruin our chances. So either the three of you work your shit out and then, Cody, you work your shit out with Chloe, or I’m going to Coach and getting her reassigned. We don’t need the distraction.”
And with that declaration, Hudson stands from where he’s sitting and marches out of the room, flipping us off in the process.
Nobody moves. The three of us all watch each other waiting to see who caves first.
“Chloe and I have a history that was never resolved. Yes, I hurt her.” I look at Niko as I continue. “but it’s not what you think.”
And there I sat on a Tuesday evening before a road game, spilling the secret I’ve kept about the girl who’s stolen my thoughts.
“Undefeated!” Billings shouts as we pile into the elevator after our third game in College Station. We all cheer in celebration as excitement seeps from our pores. March is here, and baseball is in full swing.
I can’t fight the beaming grin that lights up my face.
Reaching in front of me, I put my hands on Hudson’s shoulder, squeezing him. He turns and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “And we have this motherfucker to thank!”
My eyes find Chloe’s in the sea of my teammates trying to fit in this elevator car. The smile on her face has me grinning wider than I thought I could.
“Showers, and we are hitting the bar tonight,” Niko says from behind me. “You good with that, Cap?”
