Page 65 of My Ex's Roommates
Hot fries and moon pies. It was a perfectly real meal and one that Jake had spent both years of our relationship making fun of, saying things like it was the white trash special. Dylan had kept the kitchen stocked with them since he realized that’s what I preferred to eat most days.
“What are you doing here?” I was so confused. “What’s going on?”
Vance shrugged. “One of us stays here when your guys have to go to class or do other things.”
“One of us stays here?” I looked around again. “Who?”
“The football team. After what happened on campus they didn’t want to leave you alone here. So we just come and hang out for a while.” He held up his phone. “I’m playing games on my phone.”
“You don’t know where they are today?”
“Nope.”
I glared at him. “Are you lying?”
He grinned back. “Yep.”
I sat down heavily on the stool next to him. “What’s happening?”
“I think you might need some fresh air and sunlight. You’ve been holed up in your room for too long.” He patted me on the back and stood up. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”
I adamantly shook my head. “I don’t want to go out there.”
“Just the front yard? No one’s going to bother you, Harper. Your guys made sure of that.”
“Why do you keep calling them my guys?” I’d fallen into a different dimension, clearly, one where nothing was the way it was supposed to be.
“Because they’re your guys? Boyfriends? I don’t know what to call them. They just march around beating their chests and sayingminea lot when it comes to you so I never got titles.” He pulled me to my feet and out the front door. “We miss you on the team.”
I eyed him from the side, wondering if there was a joke in there. It wasn’t like I didn’t expect it but I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.
“I think you somehow make Coach a little less of an ass. He’s nicer when you’re around. Not even beating USC has made him any nicer to us this week. I’ve heard him shouting at your guys no less than five times about getting you back to the field for the game tomorrow.”
I’d never noticed Vance was so talkative. “Is everyone laughing at me?”
He turned to face me. “You want the truth?”
I winced and hugged myself tight. “Yeah.”
“There are still a few assholes around campus talking shit but when we find them, we crush them like the bugs they are. It’s been kind of fun. No one on the team ever laughed at you or judged you, Harper. We’ve all seen the way Dylan, Silas, and Carter look at you. We know whatever y’all have isn’t what Jake tried to make it out to be.” He lifted one large shoulder. “Not that it’s anyone’s fucking business. Excuse my language.”
“I’ve heard fucking worse.”
Vance laughed and tossed his arm over my shoulders in a move that felt almost brotherly, especially when he reached up and patted my head. “When are you going to forgive them and get on with being happy again?”
I scoffed and slipped out from under his arm. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is.” His face turned serious. “I’ve known those three guys since freshman year. I’ve seen them during losses, wins, bullshit like Jake, everything. The night that email went out I saw their faces, Harper. I’ve never seen them look so scared.”
“Scared?”
“Scared. They couldn’t get to you fast enough.” He patted my head again. “You have them wrapped around your finger. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get back to being your wonderful snarky self on the sidelines.”
“You really aren’t going to tell me where they are?”
“With the way your guys have been on a rage spree lately? Nope.” He walked towards the end of the driveway. “Now, come on. You’re going to get a hump on your back if you don’t get out of your tower soon.”
My mind was going too fast for me to tell him no so I just let him lead me around the yard like he was taking his puppy for a walk. Vance had just thrown a lot of information out at me and I wasn’t sure what it all meant.
