Page 61 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

ELIZABETH

I’m woken from a restless sleep by my phone. I’m cursing the idiot who would call so early until I notice it’s my mother and it’s actually not that early.

It’s nine thirty, and I normally would have been up for a few hours. Yes, even on the weekends, I’m an early bird. It doesn’t seem to matter how late I stay up, my body clock wakes me right on time.

Except for last night, because I’d lain awake crying for so long, then had the worst headache and couldn’t switch my tortured brain off. I think I’m running on about two hours’ sleep, and I feel like shit.

My voice is raspy when I answer. I sound like a groggy drunk.

“Bessie? Sweetheart, are you okay?”

I shake my head, but she can’t see me. All I can manage is a soft sniff as a fresh batch of tears rises up my throat. My eyes burn, and I don’t even bother trying to fight them .

Tears trickle out of my aching, puffy eyes, running down either side of my nose.

“I was… calling to find out how the party went, but it sounds like I just woke you up or something. Sweetie, I’m sorry. I thought you’d definitely be awake by now. I can call you back later. You’re probably in bed with that hunk of a man of yours and?—”

“Mom.” I wail her name, and she immediately stops talking.

Then she hangs up.

Two seconds later, my phone is ringing with a video call.

I close my eyes for a moment, sucking in a breath before answering it.

She takes one look at my face and her eyes glass with instant tears. “What happened? Did you two break up or something?”

I shake my head.

“Oh, thank God.” Mom pats her chest. “He went to so much effort with your party. That boy is so in love with you. It’s the sweetest thing in the world.”

“You knew about the party?”

“Of course I did.” She lets out a watery laugh. “I’ve been fielding text messages and calls from Wily all week. So… what went wrong?”

Biting my lips together, I stare down at her for a long beat, and I’ve got this feeling that she knows what I’m about to say before the words are out of my mouth.

“Jade,” I croak. “Jade Buchanan.”

My mother’s eyebrows buckle. “She wasn’t there, was she?”

I nod, my insides churning .

“How?” Mom bulges her wet eyes at me. “W-when? I mean, you haven’t seen her and those horrible girls since high school!

How would they even know? I made sure not to mention a word to any of their parents.

You know me, I tend to avoid those couples like the plague.

And I wasn’t telling everyone at the diner what was happening.

Just a few trusted friends. They—” Her voice cuts off when she takes in my pained, no doubt guilty expression.

And then her lips part and she looks about as heartbroken as I feel.

“What have you not been telling me, Elizabeth?” The words tremble out of her.

My chin shakes, my mouth curling into an ugly frown before I manage to confess, “She goes to Nolan U now.”

Her skin pales to a near-translucent white. “What?”

“I saw her about a week after school started, and I couldn’t believe it. She’s made new friends, and they hate me as much as she does.”

Tears line Mom’s lashes, the buildup about to spill over and down her cheeks. “Have they been harassing you?”

I tip my head to the side but have to nod.

“A little. When they see me. I’m perfecting the art of avoiding them, and Nolan U is a much bigger campus than high school, so it’s easier.

But then I got together with Wily, and he’s so popular and everybody knows him and…

” My voice trails off. I don’t even know what else to say.

“Oh, my sweet Bessie girl.” Mom presses two fingers against her lips, blinking rapidly and unable to speak for a moment.

I cry quietly, waiting her out.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she eventually asks .

With a little sniff, I shrug. “I didn’t want you to worry. I know how much this kind of thing hurts you.”

“Because we love you, sweetheart. We want you to be happy and safe.” Mom’s voice pitches and she lets out a short, desperate sob before asking, “What did they do to you at your party?”

Closing my eyes, I can’t even face my mother as I blubber out the story, then profusely apologize. “I’m sorry,” I whimper. “All your hard work and it got destroyed, and I couldn’t stop them. I tried to fight, Mom, but they were so strong, and I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Mom’s crying full tears now, battling her own sobs as she quickly forgives me. “I don’t care about the outfit. I can make you another one.”

“But it took you months.”

“I loved every moment of it.” Her voice gets suddenly strong. “I was making it for you. Of course I loved doing it, and I will do it again without hesitation.”

I swipe away my tears with the back of my hand.

“What’s killing me most is that you got treated that way.” She huffs in anger. “Those girls! Wily must have been livid. What did he do? Is he there now?”

I go still, a cold ache blooming in my chest until it’s hurting every bone and muscle in my body.

I ache all over, my head pounding as I rub trembling fingers over my frown lines. “I’m at my dorm. Alone.”

“Why?”

“I was so humiliated. I didn’t want him to see me that way. He’s so…” My expression crumples, my throat swelling, making it impossible to speak.

“He’s so what?”

“So… perfect,” I squeak. “And I’m just me, you know? I’ m just the fat, uncoordinated, socially awkward, completely uncool?—”

“Okay, stop talking,” Mom cuts me off, sniffing and swiping the tears off her face. “You are not sitting there telling me that you think he’s better than you.”

“But he is.”

“No! Elizabeth Satchwell!” Her voice gets firm. “You do not talk about my daughter that way. She is incredible!”

“You have to say that. You’re my mom,” I grumble.

“I say it because it’s true! And I’m not the only one who thinks that.

” Pulling a Kleenex out of the box, she dabs at her cheeks.

“Do you honestly believe that Wily would have gone to so much effort for you if he didn’t think you were worth it?

He sees something in you that those… prissy, horrible, mean-spirited…

she-devils will never see! And it’s their loss, you know?

They could have had a wonderful friend in you, and they missed out. ”

She’s so firm, I don’t bother arguing with her.

“Bess, sweetie, I love you more than anyone ever could, but one of your greatest weaknesses is that you’ve always thought of others as better than yourself… and they’re really not. You are on an even playing field with the rest of the world.”

“Mom, I’m not.”

“Okay.” She nods. “You’re right. You are way above those scummy girls.”

I cringe and start rubbing my forehead again. “Mom, come on.”

“Please,” she begs me. “Please stop comparing yourself to people you don’t even want to be like.”

“But— ”

“No, no.” Mom shakes her head. “Don’t sit there and tell me that you want to be skinny and always wearing the latest fashions and worrying constantly about your looks. You would feel awful about yourself if you went around harassing people. Do you honestly believe those girls are happy?”

She’s making so much sense that I can’t argue with her, but the stubborn part of me can’t admit it, so I just shrug.

“Wily doesn’t want someone like them. He wants you .”

“But he could do so much better.” The words slip out before I can stop them, and I curse my vulnerable condition for pulling my guard down.

Mom sighs like the words hurt her, and I wince, scratching my stomach and biting my lips together.

“Sweetheart, you’re the only one who’s convinced you don’t deserve good things.

I have no idea why you do that.” She gazes at me through the screen, her eyes bright with conviction.

“But you are worthy of all good things. You are worthy of a loving relationship. You are worthy of joy and happiness.”

I give her a weak smile.

“And Wily’s not too good for you. You’re equally good for each other. And you will regret it forever if you walk away from that man because of what those girls said. Because you’re embarrassed or think you’re undeserving.” Her expression crumples with desperation. “He loves you.”

“But why?” My voice catches. I’m trying so hard to believe all the nice things she’s saying to me, but seriously… Wily and I look like such a mismatch. “I don’t un derstand how someone as beautiful and amazing as him would want me when he could have anybody else.”

Mom licks her lips, shaking her head like she’s trying to summon some kind of calm. After a painful beat, she looks at me and smiles. “Why don’t you go and ask him? Find out for yourself.”

I frown. “He’s too nice to tell me the truth. He’ll just say something sweet, even if he doesn’t mean it.”

“And now you’re projecting.” Mom rolls her eyes, obviously losing patience with me.

“Why do you let those nasty people get in your head? I think the fact that you walked away and left him hanging is probably breaking his heart. He’s probably just had the worst night of his life, knowing how upset you are and not being able to do anything about it.

It’s cruel, Elizabeth. You can’t just leave it like this. ”

I swallow, guilt hitting me like a battering ram.

Oh my gosh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. He’s been calling and texting, apologizing, begging me to get back to him, and I’ve been hiding myself away. Wallowing in self-pity and not even considering how he must be feeling.

How could I be so selfish?

I fist my pajama top, feeling sick.

“Love doesn’t have to be complicated. When it’s right, it’s the simplest thing in the world. And I know, because I married the man I was meant to be with. We fell in love within weeks of meeting, and we knew it was right. We could feel it in our souls.”

I love the way Mom’s face softens when she talks about Dad.

“Do you love Wily? Does he light you up? ”

I nod. “Yes.”

“Then you go and do something about it. Don’t you dare let those girls steal something beautiful away from you. You go and you fight for what you want. And don’t call me again until you have.”

“Mom—”

“I mean it.” She points at the camera, and I’ve never seen her so stern before. “You go and you get your man right now, young lady.”

All I can do is nod.

“Okay. I love you.” She tinkles her fingers at me, blows a kiss, and then hangs up like we’ve just been having a chat about the weather.

I stare at my black phone screen, then rest my head back against the wall and gaze across the room until my vision goes blurry.

I’m so tired.

A big part of me just wants to lie back down and burrow under the covers.

But Mom’s words won’t leave me alone. They eat and fester until my entire body is itching. But this itch is different. It’s not a hot, stingy burn. It’s an antsy sensation that makes it impossible to sit still.

So, I get off the bed, battling a plethora of emotions as I grab my comfiest dress and softest cardigan from the closet. I brush my teeth, wincing at my blotchy reflection in the mirror, then head for my boots.

I have to go.

I can’t keep Wily hanging like this, and a text isn’t good enough.

I need to see him, look him in the eye.

Snatching my bag off the hook, I drop my phone inside and pause by the door. My fingers are shaking as I get ready to leave the safety of my room.

But Mom’s right.

Jade and her friends have been haunting me for years, stealing my high school experience, shitting all over this new opportunity in college.

Am I really going to let them take Wily too?

He might not want you after last night.

Hide. Just hide away. It’s safer.

“But it’s lonely,” I argue. “And I deserve to be happy.” My voice breaks when I repeat my mother’s words.

Everybody deserves a little happiness, don’t they?

Why should I be the exception?

Holding my breath, I fling the door open and march into the corridor, heading for the elevators at a fast clip and willing myself to keep moving forward, no matter what awaits me on the outside.