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Page 87 of Call the Shots (For The Arena #1)

JUNE

LIKE A CAGED ANIMAL

Too many of my things were in Bear’s room, I hurried to pack an overnight bag, brushing away the tears with the back of my hand.

There’s the truth and there’s lies. Two entirely different things, right?

Except I never told Bear I knew about his pictures and the longer I held on to that fact, the more I wanted it to be true.

It was selfish, I knew it was wrong. Every time Bear asked me to consider something more serious between us, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I had to tell him, I just couldn’t do it.

Outside of Roman Villa, I saw Xavier coming up, and I swore under my breath, choked with tears. “Would you leave me the fuck alone?! ”

“Hold on—you stormed out of Gianna’s pretty quick?—”

I elbowed him away, heading to the parking lot. I didn’t know where I’d go first but I knew I had to get away from RV.

“June, you go running to Marrs with your tail between your legs, what happens?”

“I put a fucking gag order on you.”

“Because of the NDA, Marrs would want to keep the lawsuit quiet, your parents would want to keep it quiet, my parents would want to keep it quiet, look at my fucking face and tell me any judge wouldn’t want to keep this off my record—you know what’ll be permanent? ”

“Get the fuck away from me?—”

“We both know why it was so easy for you to take down Bear’s nudes—because he’s a fucking guy! Yours are going to be fifty times harder. Politician’s daughter, football player’s girlfriend? Your stuff will be on every hard drive for a hundred years!”

“I don’t care! ”

“You know who’ll care? Every future employer!” He laughed. “Not to mention the texts! I could change timestamps, make fake ones, it wouldn’t matter!”

I stopped at the start of the parking lot, breathing hard. My hands were shaking, I felt like a caged animal.

“They’re not pulling me into some behavioral meeting,” he warned. “You don’t know the kind of damage Bear did to my reputation. What were you thinking, I’d let this go? They want to cut me out of everything—I’ll have nothing left!”

“That’s your fucking fault.”

“No, it’s yours, because you ignored the rules of our game—you were supposed to keep it between us. Instead, you had to open your legs for?—”

I punched him in the face, and he stumbled back. The punch wasn’t good enough, I used my fingernails, clawing at him in any way to get purchase but he was way stronger than me, and easily shoved me away.

“Go right ahead, you can try, ” he said. “Do it with witnesses though.”

I recoiled, fumbling for my bag.

“That golf cart you ran into the lake, screaming at me at the office, taking my furniture, purposely staying on campus so you’d be close to me— you’re my psycho ex!” he taunted. “You know how easy this’ll be to sell? Go ahead, hit me! It’ll look great!”

I scrambled away from him, and he grabbed my bag, jerking me back. My heart leaped to my throat. “Let go, let go! ”

“You might as well play along,” he warned. “You don’t have a choice.”

I spent the night in a hotel, frantically texting my friends. The picture of the fight had been sent to King’s coach and most of our friends—it’d been awful.

At least him and his coach talked it out, but there was no way that’d happen with the rest of it. Because it’d be out of the program’s hands and on every front page.

My stomach rolled when Xavier texted me again.

Unknown Number

My house - 5pm

Before we left Gianna’s, Xavier said he had the perfect opportunity to begin the fake relationship. His parents were throwing a summer party for friends and family. It’d be a trial run before my apology tour.

I had no fucking intention of going through with it.

Fine, I couldn’t stop Xavier from posting everything, but I could slow him down.

There were three things I needed to get before I left his house—the folders, Xavier’s phone, and his laptop.

I’d bring them to Cleo and hopefully prevent the floodgates for King.

I knew I wasn’t thinking clearly. The heartbreak with Bear threatened to spill over and I pushed it down, struggling to focus.

I could mourn later, right now, I stuck to being numb. Going through the motions like a robot.

With a deep breath, I knocked on the front door to his parent’s house. Xavier’s mother opened it. “June!” Her forehead crinkled. “You look…tired?”

“Did you tell Bear about the party?”

“Bear?” Shawna repeated.

“The stepson you’ve ignored all his life.”

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. “Why would you say something so nasty?”

“Because it might shatter me into pieces if I see him, but I think I deserve that.”

I shoved past her to the wide entry room. There were pretty sculptures and pottery pieces decorated like an architectural magazine. I scowled at them. His mom didn’t even like those, they were so performative. An act. Something to sell to the neighbors.

“I hate this fucking house,” I muttered, disgusted.

New footsteps approached and his mom sighed. “Can you do something about her?”

Xavier grabbed me by the arm. “You were pretending to be in love with King for years, I don’t know why this would be so fucking difficult for you.”

“Maybe because I like him as a person?—”

Xavier whirled me around at the double doors to the outside gardens. “I got you when you starved yourself so bad, your fucking ankles were swollen. You’re telling me I got that and King and Bear got the homecoming queen?” he snapped. “That’s not fair, I want her .”

I bared my canines.

“Get it together,” he warned. “My family’s coming tomorrow, I want you perfect.”

Numb, I followed him while he talked to the workers outside, putting things together for the party. Warren tried to strike up a conversation, but I told him to get fucked. His parents were concerned with my behavior, but Xavier didn’t care. Why would he? He still had me under lock and key.

My heart lurched at the new guest by the gate.

It was his family’s house, but I didn’t expect to see Bear. That was my Bear, looking so exhausted and downtrodden, it hurt to look at him.

Without bothering to tell Xavier, I left his side, walking to the fence.

“My dad texted me,” he said, his voice hollow. “He told me not to make a scene.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, pressing against the side of the house, my eyes on the grass. “I’m really sorry, Bear.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“I thought you were abandoning your family, pushing away from everyone, and then Xavier said your nudes were up, and I was so mad. He constantly made jokes about it, and I thought it was like a coping mechanism or something.” I folded my arms over my chest, suddenly cold in the Houston heat.

“It didn’t feel right but I didn’t stop it. I’m sorry.”

“The Kérouacs?—”

“I didn’t know who they were. I thought you put up the pictures yourself.” I swallowed. “I wanted to tell you. I didn’t know how.”

He was quiet for a moment. “So you and Xavier…?”

“Fuck him. I’m collecting some of my things, you won’t see me here tomorrow. I’m never coming back to this house.”

“Oh.”

I finally looked at him. “I think you should go, Bear. You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever met, you made my problems feel small enough for me to overcome, and…thank you. Thank you. For everything. You deserve somebody new, somebody who’s not connected to your family.”

I didn’t have anything else to say to him. I couldn’t tell him the actual reason and risk Xavier sending screenshots early. Reluctantly, I returned to Xavier’s side.

“Don’t touch the snacks,” he warned me. “I want you to fit in the dress tomorrow.”

I grabbed a handful of cookies and shoved them in my mouth. Fuck him. Fuck him hard.

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