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RUINED HOPES 17
So I sat quietly and listened.“Yeah. God, I can hardly wait. Five more days.”My chest constricted.They were leaving. Then it would be Lily and Kaiden. And Gav.And I’d be stuck here.“Senior year will be fun though,” Poppy said as if she heard my thoughts. “I know it isn’t what you wanted.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “But at least you’ll have me and Sofia.”“Yeah.” I wondered if my expression looked as forced as I sounded.Carrie-Anne jumped up and went over to the bar. “I thought we could celebrate.” She pulled out two bottles of champagne. “Since this is the last time we’ll all probably be together.”Lily glanced at me and frowned. “Carrie-Anne, it’s not—”“Lil, it’s okay,” I said. “She’s right. Who knows when this might happen again?”Besides, a glass or two of alcohol might settle the tumultuous storm raging inside me.Carrie-Anne let out a shriek of approval, handing around pink plastic champagne flutes. “I’ve been waiting for a reason to use these. Bryan’s parents bough
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I wanted to be so overstimulated that it was impossible to dwell on what had happened.“I’m not sure that’s—”“I swear to God, Gav, if you say that’s not a good idea, I will lose my… Ever. Loving. Shit.”“Understood.” He smirked, motioning for me to follow him out of the house and into the yard.“How’s it going then?”“How’s what going?” he asked.“You know, the pussy hunt.”“Pussy hunt.” He spluttered. “Wow, Leigh, how many of those have you had tonight?” His gaze dropped to the empty glass still in my hand.I hadn’t realized I’d brought it with me. But now I had, part of me never wanted to let it go.“I’m fine. But I do need another drink.”“Lily will hang me by the balls if she finds out I plied you with alcohol and let you drown your sorrows with the likes of me.”“What’s wrong with the likes of you?”“Nothing. I’m… Forget it.”“You’re not that bad, Gav.”“Nice, Leigh Leigh, real nice.” He slung his arm around my shoulder and led me toward the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of somethi
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I smiled at that.“Something funny?” Penny arrived with my drink.“Nah, just Aaron being a dick.”“Aaron? Is that the guy you came in with the other night?”“Yeah, he’s my… foster brother.”“He seemed nice.”“He’s a pain in my ass.” I snorted.“Aren’t brothers supposed to be?”“You have a brother?”She nodded. “Max. He’s eleven and a total pain in my ass too.” Her eyes lit up with affection. “But I love that kid, something fierce. He’s the reason I kill myself with double shifts here.”My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”“I… our mom isn’t on the scene. Hasn’t been for a long time. We live with my gran but she’s sick.” Her expression faltered. “And you didn’t come here to hear me offload all this. I’m sorry, I’ll be back with your order soon.”Penny went to walk away, but I blurted out, “Wait.”“Yeah?” Hope shone in her eyes.“Do you have a break coming up?”“It’s pretty dead, I’m sure Manny won’t mind me taking ten.”I flicked my eyes to the empty seat opposite me.“Oh. Oh, okay.”
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“Good, that’s… good.”“So I was thinking.” She scribbled something down on her notepad and tore off the page, holding it out for me. “If you ever want to meet outside of work hours…”“Pen.” I let out a heavy sigh.“I know, I know. You’re not into me like that.” I could have sworn I saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes. “But I liked talking to you tonight, and I think you liked talking to me too. And well, we could all use another friend in the world. Just think about it.”Plucking the note from her fingers, I shoved it in my pocket. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”A soft chuckle escaped her lips. “You do that. Goodnight, Ezra.”“Night, Pen.” I slipped out of the diner and shoved my hands in my pocket, my fingers grazing Pen’s number.Friends.I could do friends.And maybe she was right, maybe we could all do with another friend in the world.The house was quiet when I finally got back. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed straight for my room. It was only then I heard Sofia and Pop
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He didn’t seem fazed though, grabbing his cargo shorts and hiking them on. He glanced back at me and smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”“Oh, I didn’t mean—”“Relax. I can manage to hunt down a glass of water, some Advil, and a pancake or two.” He headed for the door, but I called after him. “Yeah?”“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”“Stick with me, Leigh Leigh, and you won’t go wrong.” He winked and slipped into the hall.And I sat there wondering what the hell had just happened.Gav didn’t return, so after washing up as best I could, I went in search of him.“Shit, sorry,” he said when I found him in Bryan’s huge, open plan kitchen. “I was just coming, I swear.”“It’s okay. Can I?” I motioned to the bottle of water and pain pills in his hands.“Sure, here.”“It was my fault,” Bryan said. “I was trying to make him see sense about college.”“I already told you, man. It’s a done deal. Mom won’t admit it, but she needs me here.”“You shouldn’t have to—”“Dude,” Gav snapped, letting out a
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Thankfully, when I got home, Mom and Dad were out, so I was able to sneak upstairs and crash.When I woke up, my stomach growled. So I pulled on a hoodie and slipped out of my room to go in search of food, but paused when I heard Uncle Jason’s voice.“Don’t like it.”“He failed senior year, Jase.” That was Aunt Felicity. “He deserves a shot at—”“She almost died.”The animosity in his voice startled me. Lily had said they blamed Ezra, but I hadn’t expected to hear such venom in his words.“She’s okay, Jase,” Dad said. “Ashleigh is a fighter; she’s going to get through this. If he’s on the team…”Team?Surely not?The last thing Ezra would ever want to do was join the Rixon Raiders. He barely made it to gym class last year. Ezra Jackson and team sports were two phrases that had no business being put together.Ezra wasn’t a team player.He was a lone wolf.Someone who marched to the beat of his own drum.Heart racing in my chest, I slowly maneuvered the stairs, heading for the kitchen b
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“You ass. I didn’t want to get my hair wet.”“Shouldn’t play with fire, Pops, if you don’t wanna get burned.” He smirked and we all caught the moment between them.Poppy and Aaron shared something rare and precious. They’d always gravitated to one another, but neither of them were brave enough to act on it, always quick to point out they were just friends. But Aaron looked at her the way Kaiden looked at Lily, and Bryan looked at Carrie-Anne. Full of love and longing. The fact she chose to ignore it was impressive. But sometimes the truth scared people. I understood that better than anyone.While I’d always been pretty upfront with Ezra about my intentions, I’d never wholly admitted how I felt about him.I got up and excused myself to go use the bathroom. I didn’t need it, but I did need a second to collect my emotions. When I returned, the guys were all in the pool playing water polo with Lily and Carrie-Anne. Sofia and Poppy were sitting on their loungers talking, but when they noti
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“It’s not… it wasn’t like that between us.”He gave me a knowing look. “But you wanted it to be.”It wasn’t a question, and I wondered if I’d confided in Gav like this before.“You haven’t,” he said as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I mean, we’ve talked about him before. But not like this.”“So why now?”“Because things are different now and I know what it’s like to feel like your life is out of your control.”“Your mom—”“Let’s not make this about me. I’m fully aware of my decisions and the consequences they bear.”“You’re doing what’s right for your family.”“Yeah.” He ran a hand down his face and blew out a steady breath. “If only it were that simple.”“I’m here. If you ever need to talk, I’m here.” It seemed only fair to reciprocate his patience and understanding, even if I still didn’t truly understand the depths of our friendships. After all, actions spoke louder than words, and Gav had been nothing but there for me since I got out of the hospital.“Thanks, Leigh Leigh
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