Page 60 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

WILY

Waiting for Sienna to get back was torture.

I ended up pacing because I didn’t know what the fuck else to do, and then Zander got annoyed and shoved a broom in my hand.

“Make yourself useful before you drive us all batshit crazy,” he growled, clearly out of patience with me.

So here I am, sweeping crumbs into piles in the dining room while the staff I hired finish up in the kitchen and the rest of the guys rearrange furniture and get the house back to what it looked like this morning.

“What would you like us to do about the cake?” A voice makes me spin, and I turn to glare at the man… shit, the boy. He’s still got pimples on his face.

He gives me a nervous swallow, and I sigh, leaning the broom against the wall, about to tell him to just throw it out.

“Leave it on the counter.” Tyrell steps into the room. “I’ll deal with it. ”

I scowl at him, but he just shakes his head at me and trails the teenager into the kitchen.

Fuck. Satch would have loved that cake. Sienna and I picked out the design together, talking to the cake lady for nearly an hour while she came up with these cool ideas.

It’s a tiered cake with a jukebox and an ice cream sundae, music notes going around the top tier and black-and-white tiles around the bottom.

It’s a fucking beautiful cake. I had to shell out extra for the rush job, but she stayed up through the night to get it done for me, and Satch didn’t even get to see it.

Fuck!

Those girls are on my permanent shit list.

The fact that I only yelled them out of this house doesn’t seem like enough. I want to go to the dean, tell him to kick them out of Nolan U! I want to see their asses on a bus, never to return.

I want?—

“She’s back,” Zander calls to me from the living room, and I bolt into the entryway, opening the door for Sienna and battering her with questions before she can even step inside.

“Is she okay? What’d she say? How was she when you left her? Does she want to see me? Should I go?”

“Dude, give her some space,” Zander growls, grabbing my arm and yanking me out of the way so his girlfriend can get into the house. “You okay?” He lightly touches her cheek, and she looks up with a sad smile.

It’s obvious she’s been crying, and I feel like shit as I watch Zander pull her into his arms and lead her into the living room .

She’s such an empath, and her tears are making this raging inferno in my chest a million times worse.

It’s an effort to keep my voice soft and calm when I grit out, “Is Satch okay?” My voice breaks, emotion slicing through my airways. “How was she when you left?”

“She asked me to leave.” Sienna blinks, flashing a pained smile at Zander before looking back at me. “She was really upset, Wily. I felt so bad for her.”

Nylah takes a seat on Carson’s lap. He’s in the armchair adjacent to the couch, and his knee was bobbing a mile a minute until she sat down.

The murderous look on his face reflects some of the emotion I’m feeling, and all I can manage is a feral-sounding “Fuck! I can’t believe those bitches.

They tore her clothes—they hurt her! I should have done more than just yell in their fucking faces!

I should have told them if they even look at Satch again, they’ll be sorry! ”

Sienna’s eyes are so glassy. Shit, is she gonna cry again?

I will myself to stop shouting, but I’m so fucking pissed!

Zander rubs the back of her neck when she sniffs. “She told me this girl Jade has been tormenting her for years.”

“What?” My stomach drops out my ass, my legs buckling before I slump into the dining chair we have yet to put away. I hate myself for ever talking to that bitch, for ever letting her sit next to me in class. “What do you mean, for years ?”

“She was talking about these girls she went to school with. I’m assuming the ringleader was the one who ruined this party for her.

Apparently, she’s made new friends this year and turned them against Satch as well.

” Sienna blinks at tears, her lips wobbling as she tries to keep going.

“She said when she found out that Jade was attending Nolan U, she was gutted. She thought after she graduated and went to college, she’d finally be free of all the torment, but she only had one year of reprieve, and then Jade showed up with a new pair of bitches.

She thought Jade was moving to Denver, but she ended up here.

And she’s been harassing her ever since school started. ”

“Why didn’t she tell me?” It’s a thunder punch to my chest, and I lean forward, cupping the back of my head and swearing at the floor. “She didn’t say a word! I spoke to Jade a couple of weeks ago, fucking introduced her and Satch! They acted like they didn’t know each other!”

And because I’m not feeling shitty enough, I’m suddenly hit with a memory from last weekend and my conversation with her dad. He’d told me about bullies that made Satch’s life hell, and fuck! It was that girl! And her fucking friends!

I feel sick.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” I whisper on repeat. “Why didn’t she say anything?”

“This is such bullshit!” Nylah growls. “We’re in college, for fuck’s sake ! This is such grade school behavior! I want to scratch those girls’ eyes out,” she snips, and it’s like watching a chihuahua lose it.

Carson’s lips are quirking with what looks like surprised amusement as he grips the back of her neck and murmurs something I can’t hear.

She huffs and scowls at him. “I don’t give a shit. They deserve to be punished. Satch has got to be one of the sweetest, most nonthreatening people I have ever met, and they made her their target!”

My voice is hollow as I back her up. “Her dad told me she’d had a hard time in school.

Said she started hiding herself away because they wouldn’t let up.

” I growl and shoot to my feet. “And they’re still at it.

Fuck, I want to punch something!” I fling my fist through the air and Tyrell quickly dodges me, leaning out of the way and giving me a pained frown.

I send him a silent apology, then accidentally catch Zander’s eye. He’s looking just as tortured as everyone else in this room.

They’re not used to seeing me like this, but I can’t fucking hide it from them.

I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don’t keep secrets.

Unlike my girlfriend.

“This is not okay!” Nylah snips again.

“It’s definitely not okay,” Carson agrees, his head whipping toward the front door when it opens, then shuts with a creak.

“The party’s over already?” Grady wanders in, looking confused. “I was making plans to sneak in the back door, but…” He looks around. “Everyone’s gone.”

“I kicked them out,” I grumble.

“Why?” Grady’s face buckles with confusion, and Zander quickly explains. I stand there fuming, watching Grady’s expression change from surprise to an outright rage that matches the vibe in the room.

“What the fuck?” He scrubs a hand over his shaved head.

“I know, right?” Nylah bulges her eyes at him. “That’s what I’m saying. We need to do something to stand up for that poor girl.”

“She doesn’t want you to,” Sienna interjects. “She just wants to drop it.”

“Like she always does, I imagine.” Zander rubs a hand over his mouth and lets out a heavy sigh. “She’s probably been burying it for years. Taking it, escaping, and then just sweeping it under the rug.”

“Which is a really shitty way of dealing with it.”

“Hey!” I snap at Nylah, hating even the hint of insulting my girl.

Carson gives me a warning look, and I glare right back at him.

“Don’t start turning on each other. It’s not about the people in this room right now, it’s about Satch and how we can help her.” Tyrell throws a little calm into the brewing storm, and I look over my shoulder at him before huffing back to my seat.

Crossing my arms, I smack my back into the chair and shake my head.

“If they’d been guys, I would have laid into them.

Shit, I should have said more as it was.

Told them never to speak to her, fucking look at her again.

I just can’t understand why she didn’t tell me.

If I’d known, I would have kicked them out the door as soon as I saw them! ” I fling my arms wide in exasperation.

“How did they get in?” Grady asks.

We all shrug, and then I groan, scrubbing a hand down my face.

“Oh no. You didn’t invite them, did you?” Nylah asks.

“No!” I look up, horrified by the idea. But then my shoulders slump.

“I mean, I know Jade from school. We have a class together. I had no idea she was a first-class bitch, but I could have so easily invited her. I didn’t, but if I’d happened to talk to her before the party, I probably would have thrown an invitation out there. ”

“But you didn’t.” Sienna smiles at me, obviously trying to make me feel better. “So who did?”

We all look around at one another, and Zander finally says, “We did tell people to bring a friend. Maybe those girls got wind of something going on and invited themselves.”

“Fuck!” I close my eyes, hating myself for a second. “I shouldn’t have gone so big. Satch probably would have been happier with just a few of us.”

“You didn’t know.” Sienna reaches forward, lightly squeezing my knee.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” The question pops out once again—all ragged, raw and tortured.

“Shit. I saw one of those girls being mean to her weeks ago. I told that bitch to shut the fuck up and get lost… and Satch didn’t say a thing about it.

” I’m so torn up my voice keeps wobbling.

“I’m just so gutted that she’s been going through this and I’ve been…

clueless ! I could have protected her. Why didn’t she tell me? ”

“She says she doesn’t like to worry people.” Sienna shrugs while everyone else in the room squirms uncomfortably. “I get the impression that she hid a lot from her parents as well.”

“I don’t think they know Jade’s at Nolan U. Or that Satch is being bullied again. The way they were talking last weekend…” I shake my head. “They have no fucking idea.”

“It kills me that she’s been carrying this all by herself.” Sienna’s voice quakes. “I feel so bad for her. ”

Zander’s expression buckles as he leans forward and kisses Sienna’s cheek, no doubt trying to comfort her.

I want to comfort my girl.

Fuck, I want her in my arms.

But she doesn’t want to be in mine right now.

Resting my head in my hands, I fight off another wave of nausea.

“Maybe she’s battling some kind of shame?” Grady puts it out there, his voice low and gruff.

“For what?” My head snaps up. “She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Yeah, but sometimes victims try to hide stuff. They feel embarrassed that they can’t fight their own battles or protect themselves.”

“Yeah.” Nylah nods. “I mean, maybe she’s humiliated by everything that’s been done to her, and she doesn’t want you to know. She doesn’t want you to see her like this tortured victim. I get that.”

“But I could have helped her. Protected her,” I whisper, my voice losing all its strength. “Tonight was supposed to be…” I trail off, and it’s impossible to ignore the aching disappointment swirling around the room.

“I’m sorry that it wasn’t.” Sienna’s crying now, tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Hey.” Zander pulls her to his side, cupping her head when it comes to rest on his shoulder. “She’s gonna be okay.”

“How do you know that?” I shake my head.

Much to my annoyance, and heartache, he doesn’t say anything. How can he? He doesn’t fucking know, and the agonized frown he gives me tells me exactly that .

Standing up with a heavy sigh, I pad out of the room, climbing the stairs and calling Satch along the way.

Once again, it goes to voicemail. I don’t bother leaving a message. Instead, I text her, telling her I’m sorry, that I didn’t know about those girls, and that I’m livid with them. I ask her if she’s okay and beg her to call me just so I can hear her voice.

I end the message with x ’s and o ’s and three little words that will hopefully make her feel better.

Because they’re true.

I love her.

Maybe now more than I ever have.