Page 69 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

ELIZABETH

I admit it—I left the hospital, tucked myself around the corner of the building, and had a decent cry. The cold air made my tears feel like icicles, but I just stood there in the glacial breeze and let them fall.

I didn’t sob.

There was no jerking stomach or hiccups popping out of my mouth.

These were silent tears that swelled my throat and made it ache.

I wasn’t crying just because of Wily not introducing me as his girlfriend. It was everything. It all caught up to me in a rush, and I wept for Wily’s heartbreak, for the pain he was going through, and all that he’d still suffer on his road to recovery.

I wept for the fact that his parents didn’t seem to be lavishing him with the care and understanding I felt he needed.

And yeah, I cried because he didn’t claim me.

I’m not sure why he didn’t .

The pained look on his face when he caught my eye before I left the room told me there was more to it.

I need to let logic win on this, keep calm and force those ugly emotions away.

They’re battling to break down the bridge we built over the weekend.

They’re mocking me and whispering in my ear, “He never really wanted you. You’re not worth his time. He was just being nice when he said he loved you.”

But each nasty taunt is countered by the look on Wily’s face when he told me I’m amazing and made me promise to believe him.

He meant it, right?

He wasn’t lying. And he wasn’t just being nice.

He really does think I’m amazing.

So why wouldn’t he tell his parents that?

There has to be a decent reason. Wily’s too kind to just throw me off a cliff. Something was holding him back, and I need to find out what it is.

Curling my fingers into fists, I start walking back to my dorm. It’s too far to go the whole way on foot, but the cold, crisp air stings my cheeks, and I welcome it.

I walk for a good fifteen minutes before stopping at a diner for a bite to eat.

Craving comfort, I order fries, a slice of chocolate pie, and a Coke.

All the fat and sugar tastes delicious, and I down the meal in record time, momentarily relieved. Although, as I pay, the sad emotion I tried to bury under all that food quickly resurfaces, and by the time my Uber arrives and is dropping me off outside Buckley Hall, I’m back in the war zone again .

Shit.

Why didn’t Wily tell his parents the truth?

Is he ashamed of me?

I don’t want that to be right, but he must be embarrassed because?—

“There she is.”

I hear that familiar female voice and immediately tense.

No, no, no!

Not tonight.

My entire body convulses, my skin instantly breaking out in an itchy burn as Team Evil 2.0 clip toward me. They’ve obviously been waiting to pounce, and I so can’t face this right now.

Hunching my shoulders, I grip my bag strap and mumble, “Not tonight, you guys. Please.”

“Oh, this is happening, Fatty Satchwell.” Jade grabs my coat sleeve and pulls me to a stop. “We were humiliated at the party!”

I can’t help a scathing scoff as I spin to face them. “Oh no. Did someone embarrass you?”

My words are drenched in such a thick layer of sarcasm that all they can do is scowl at me, like how dare I have the audacity to mock them.

Are they seriously not getting the irony here?

They have been humiliating me for most of my life!

Anger fires through me so hot and fast it takes everything in me not to lash out with my fists. I want to grab their perfect shiny hair and rip chunks of it out of their scalps. I want to kick and maim and unleash a little hellfire in retaliation for all they’ve done to me.

I have no idea where this rage is suddenly coming from. Maybe it’s because of the harrowing afternoon I’ve just had trying to process my boyfriend’s devastation. But it’s like the lid just flew off my boiling pot of water, and I’m so beyond pissed off that fear has taken a back seat for once.

Damn, it actually feels quite good.

I’m not stupid enough to act on any of this anger coursing through me, but it does give me the strength to turn and try to walk away.

“Rumor has it your boyfriend’s in the hospital.” Viper Girl spits out the words. “What happened? Did you try to ride him, and you broke his poor body?”

Oh. That. Is. It!

They can insult me, but they are not saying a word about Wily. He’s going through hell right now, and they’re mocking it?

“Shut the fuck up,” I seethe.

“What did you just say?” Jade’s indignant surprise makes me spin, just so I can get a glimpse of her horrified expression.

It’s with a sick sense of smug satisfaction that I walk back toward her and yell right in their faces. “I said ‘Shut the FUCK up!’”

Jade leans back, her eyebrow arching as she crosses her arms and sneers, “Oh, you must be on crack if you think you can speak to me that way.”

“Yet you’re allowed to speak to me any way you want?” I argue. “What makes you so special?”

Jade gives me a pointed look, like “Isn’t it obvious?”

But it’s not.

It’s seriously not.

These girls may be beautiful on the outside, but they’re horrible people, and they’ve made a sport of trying to ruin me.

Well, fuck that.

I’m not letting them make my night any worse than it already has been.

Staring at them, Mom’s words filter back to me, and even though she probably had the same message through my high school years, for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m actually getting it.

Jade is unhappy.

And her little minions are too lost to think for themselves… so they’re unhappy too.

Their treatment of me has nothing to do with who I am as a person and everything to do with them.

Expelling a pitying laugh, I shake my head.

“You know… you have been tormenting me since I was ten years old. And I never did anything to deserve it.” I scan Jade’s expression for even just an inkling of remorse or guilt, but all I catch is a slight squirm from Kelsey, who hides it by crossing her arms the way Jade is doing. “You made me feel so small.”

“Small?” Viper Girl lets out a mocking laugh.

I ignore it and keep going, fueled by a courage I’ve never felt before.

“Small and insignificant and like I was less than you.” I point to myself.

“But that’s all bullshit! None of this is my problem—it’s yours!

” I point at them, my voice rising. “So whatever hole you need to fill by putting people down all the time, you have to fix that shit and stop making me part of your problems.”

Jade’s face contorts into a comical frown. “What the fuck?”

“I’m a good person!” I slap a hand against my chest, and it finally starts to dawn on me like the sun rising over a lake. Staring past them, I let the words soak into me and whisper, “I’m a really good person. I’m… I’m fucking amazing.” I smile, the look on Wily’s face coming back to me in a rush.

“You have to believe that. Promise me you will.”

My eyes snap back to the girls, and I look each one in the eye, something I’m not used to doing. I think it unnerves them a little, and it gives my voice the strength it needs to be unequivocally clear. “I’m not going to let you do this to me again.”

“What?” Viper Girl looks at her friends, pointing at me like I’m weird.

So I spell it out for them. “You’re not my problem anymore. Your opinion means nothing to me.”

Jade’s eyes narrow into a dark glare.

“And you can try to taunt me or hurt me, but it’s not gonna work.

I have people in my life whose opinions actually count, and they think I’m beautiful.

And they love me just the way I am. They don’t have to mock me or rip my clothes or ruin my birthday party to feel better about themselves.

They care about me, and they treat me like I’m important.

And they’re the people who deserve my time and attention. ”

My mind flicks immediately to Wily lying in a hospital bed, tortured and vulnerable.

Shit, I shouldn’t have let his father kick me out of that room.

I don’t know why Wily didn’t claim me, but I should have claimed him … no matter what the consequences were.

Because I love him .

And I need to stop letting my doubts and insecurities take away the things I want most, like being there for my boyfriend when he’s hurting and stressed.

Shit, I need to go to him.

Right now.

I step sideways, ready to walk around the girls and order another Uber, but they move into my path, pushing me back

I stumble but find my ground before I can fall over.

Fear pinches me, begging me to run, hide, get away before they tear up my clothes and scratch me again.

But fuck that.

Fuck them!

I’m not going to let these stupid, petty, immature girls keep robbing me of my dignity!

Standing as tall as I can, I pull my coat straight and glare at them. “I never should have let you hurt me for so long.” My voice is hard. Steely. I’ve never heard it like this before… and neither have they.

Viper Girl’s forehead wrinkles, while Kelsey glances at Jade for guidance.

Their leader is glaring daggers at me, but this time I face them head-on.

“Say whatever you want to me… it’s vapor now.”

She scoffs.

And I smile, pointing between them. “We’re done here.”

I’ve never spoken with such firm authority in my life, and I fucking love it!

Pride bursts through me as I pull my shoulders back and move around them .

This time, no one tries to grab for my coat, although Jade does throw one more proverbial knife my way.

“You’ll always be a fat harpy, and you’ll never deserve him!”

Spinning back around, I thunder toward her, getting right up in her face and hissing, “Enough! This is over.”

She goes to touch me, but I shove her back before she can.

With a yelp, she stumbles against Kelsey, who only just catches her. They wobble on their feet, trying not to fall over, and I glare at all three of them, giving them one last warning.

“It’s over!” I shout before spinning around and going back to the curb.

“Psycho bitch.” I don’t know which girl says it, but for some reason, it makes me laugh as I stalk away, pulling out my phone and ordering an Uber as I go.

I need to get back to Wily. It’s all I can think about as I walk down the street with my head held high.

I’m not running.

I’m not hiding.

I’m heading to see my boyfriend, and whatever awaits me, I’m gonna somehow handle it.

Because I just put my lifelong tormentor in her place… and I’m still standing.

Fuck yeah!

I am still standing!