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Fallon

“W hy aren’t you wearing your Sharks outfit?” Kelly pranced out of the hallway, fiddling with an earring while she looked like the epitome of school spirit.

I, however, was laid comatose on the couch in pajamas and hadn’t moved for probably four hours. “I don’t want to go,” I groaned as I looked to the ceiling as if there was a god up there willing to offer me guidance in my life.

She smacked the top of my head. “Today is the big football game!”

“I don’t want to go and see anyone. Garrett is playing and I abruptly broke up with him and slammed the door in his face. I can’t imagine he has fuzzy feelings for me. Even worse, he’s become the center of the rumors along with those other kids associated with the disgraced families. Don’t you read the news?” I stood up to shuffle over to the kitchen to attempt to eat anything after skipping breakfast.

Nausea was hitting.

She followed behind me, fussing with my clothes, trying to pull off my pajamas. “The news is for losers and Garrett won’t even see you. He’s going to be playing football! I also heard that after the game a few people are going a few towns over for a pretty sick fall festival.”

I smacked her hand away from trying to undress me. “Parties are not my jam. Tried it and I’m over it. Especially with what’s been going on lately. The mass texts are getting super weird.”

“What mass texts?”

Closing the cupboard with my hands full of candy, I nodded over to the table. “Check my phone. Haven’t you been getting them?”

She shot me a concerned look. “Um, no.”

Unlocking my phone, she scrolled through the messages, face growing more and more concerned. She looked freaked out by the time she looked back up to me.

There were three sent after the one I knew she got.

Secrets spilled create a stain just like blood.

The stakes in the game have never been higher.

Who will be the first to squeal?

“Fal, have you just assumed these were mass texts?” she asked, mouth hanging open.

I shrugged. “I guess so. If it’s just sent to me, they clearly didn’t make it obvious enough. Do you think they’re being sent to specific people now?”

Trying to maintain my composure, I pretended they weren’t sent to only me. I already had enough paranoia about the death of a supposed whistleblower, being stalked by Alexander, and Brent’s motives. Oh, and Kelly being suspicious as hell.

She’s been sneaking out, not knowing that I knew she was doing something in secret. Sure, she went out to parties and bumped coke sometimes with that boyfriend of hers, but even she was being odd lately.

And it wasn’t because of drugs.

She shifted uncomfortably. “It’s a possibility, but I don’t think you should shrug this off just yet. Maybe I can talk to-”

I held up a hand to stop her, “I don’t want to think about it. I will get ready for the damn football game if it means we don’t talk about it.”

Going to this football game was going to make me sick. I looked around at everyone mindlessly in the bleachers or in line to buy snacks and couldn’t help but feel queasy about it. My gummy worms threatened to come back up.

Kelly and I wore coordinating Sharks outfits that gave me a sense of blending into the crowd, sporting the home team. Girls were dressed like different versions of the cheerleaders—some more spirited than others.

We opted for mini skirts and barely-there crop tops with the word ‘Sharks’ across our chests. The teal green and white outfits said, ‘we love our football team’ and we hoped to take home a win.

I felt naked, making it home alive and not frozen to death would be a win for me.

Kelly leaned over to whisper to me, “Sloane incoming.”

Great. Brent's girlfriend coming over to schmooze with us again.

“Hi girls,” she waved at us, a posse following close behind her. “Cute outfits! Do you like mine?” She did a twirl while her group clapped for her in the background.

I’m not sure she was wearing much of anything to comment on. Her teal sequined shorts could pass as underwear and her white top shoved her boobs together, begging for attention.

I smiled warmly. “You look amazing as always, Sloane. Excited for the game?”

She rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist. “Who cares about the game! I’m trying to take home a hunky man tonight,” she giggled.

Kelly quirked an eyebrow. “Your beau?”

“I could never get him to be exclusive. I’ll have to take what I can get from a man like that, though I do adore him.” She scooted away from her groupies and toward us “Between us, I’ve been trying to get him off of me for a while. He’s very needy.”

Feigning surprise, I tried to step on Kelly’s foot to get her to help me out. “Wow didn’t take him for that type. Very much playboy vibes from that one.”

“Sure, he sleeps around with the occasional skank ,” she whispered, eyeing me up and down, “but he always comes crawling back to me.” Backing up to her regular position in her group, she said, “We’re going to get some snacks! See you girls later.”

And just like that she was gone after blowing us a kiss.

Kelly and I shared a look of disturbance.

“What the hell was that about?” I asked.

She looked...off but shrugged off the comments. “Dude, I don’t know. That girl is mental.”

I tried not to laugh. “I went from virgin to a skank in a few weeks. I’ll take it.”

“Such a dirty skank, you are,” she chuckled. “Want to get a pretzel and soda and get ready for kickoff?”

We settled into our seats with our overpriced snacks and drinks, getting ready to watch the game of the season. We would be close to making it to the championship game if we could secure tonight’s win.

Our sports teams boasted some truly amazing athletes. With our scholarship program for the truly elite athletes, we claimed some of the best players in all collegiate sports. It was one of the main reasons Willow Bay offered up full ride scholarships for top athletes. They couldn’t miss an opportunity to go to the richest college in the country and brush shoulders with people who could skyrocket their careers and life.

If they wanted to pay the price for fame like we paid the price for our wealth.

I never knew much about football, or sports in general, but at least I knew what a touchdown was. When our side of the crowd cheered, Kelly and I followed suit—hollering like we were sports fans.

Some of the players looked extremely athletic and after college football, they were a shoo-in to get a spot on the pro football team of their dreams.

Some tackles looked brutal, and I couldn’t help but wonder how bad injuries could get on the field.

As the ball went back and forth and opposing sides tackled each other and referees blew their whistles, we made it to the final stretch of the game. I understood how you could get sucked into a game because I was on the edge of my seat.

Tied.

The away team called for a time out.

“What do you think is going to happen?” Kelly asked, shoveling popcorn in her mouth like it was a feature film.

“Not sure, but I’m not a football buff.”

The bleachers beside us squeaked as someone approached, leaning into my ear. “We’ll win. We didn’t pay shit loads of money to lose.”

Alexander .

“Yeah, I’m sure the sports equipment we use costs a pretty penny,” I said, nonchalantly leaning away from his hot breath. He was persistent, and not in a good way.

Kelly looked up at him and waved. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replied, still looking at me. “You two going to the festival tonight? A big group of us are going and I was hoping to get some alone time with you, baby girl.”

I shot a glance over at Kelly. “Not sure yet.”

He gripped my wrist. “I’ll give you a ride. I’ll find you after the game.”

I yanked my hand away.

“No need. We’ll see you there,” I said with a tight smile.

He patted my head and stalked away.

Those looks he had were wasted with his corrupt soul. Tall, blonde, and handsome sullied by daddy’s money and deals with the devil.

Time out was over before I could digest Alexander’s odd interaction. The man had a vibe that told you to bring a rape whistle if he came around, but I was so far into the iceberg that no one would care if I used one.

Just a handful of time was left on the clock as the boys lined up face to face for maybe their last play of the game.

The ball snapped and our team sent the ball flying across the field as all team members sprinted, dodged, and tackled their way down the field.

A swift catch by one of our teammates and he was off to the end zone to score a touchdown.

That’s it, we won!

Kelly and I stood to cheer for the win with the rest of the bleachers in a victory chant while the player danced his heart out inside the endzone.

We watched the bustle of people moving from the bleachers while teams huddled in both defeat and victory. Kelly turned to me, “Do you think what that creep said is true?”

I shrugged, finishing off my pretzel. “At this point, why wouldn’t it be? You’ve seen what certain assets open you up to. Plus, we have guys who have been working their tails off to get into pro teams. Let at least those ones have the win.”

“Huh,” she said, “I didn’t think about it really. Guess there is no fair fight in this world.”

No fair fight indeed .

We filed out onto the field to exit the football arena, locked arm in arm as always, and I caught something in my peripheral vision.

A football player ran toward us.

He stopped in front of us and removed his helmet. Garrett. “Fallon! You came to my game?”

“It’s a sporting event for the school.” I tried to get Kelly to tug me along, but we were stuck under prying eyes trying to discern the drama.

“I still haven’t had a chance to talk to you about anything.” He moved closer, reaching out for me.

I tried to push his hand down. “Look, not here.” My eyes darted back and forth trying to gauge the amount of attention that was on me.

He evaded my swat to his hand and grabbed my wrist, pleading with his eyes. “Then come on, we can go talk privately.”

Unlatching from Kelly’s arm, I tried to pry his hand off me. “No, Garrett. I told you we were over, and I cannot talk to you.”

He ignored me and continued to pull me along. First it was Alexander, now Garrett. When will it end? Last semester was so much easier...

Kelly tried to stop us but got tangled up in the rubberneckers and groups of people just trying to get out of the stadium. I was on my own with Garrett dragging me away.

We got down the field where a few players mingled around, and he released me from his grip. “Good. Now we’re alone.”

I promptly smacked him across the face. “You do not get to ignore me and drag me off like that.”

A shocked look colored the rest of his face while my handprint left a nice red patch. “What the hell, Fal?”

“ Why the hell are you causing a scene like this?”

He gripped my arms, his eyes frantically searching mine. “Fallon, I have been trying to tell you what is going on and that I had nothing to do with it.”

I shook his hands off my arms and took a step back, holding my arms across my body in a protective stance. “We cannot be seen together, no matter the circumstances.” I turned my head and started to walk away to leave him standing there.

But this motherfucker gripped my wrist again.

“Hey,” a voice came from behind. “Is there a problem over here?”

Garrett’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What are you doing here, man?”

“Not much,” the voice said coolly, a tone I recognized well. “Just wondering why you’re hassling a pretty girl when it’s obvious she wants to leave.”

“U-uh,” Garrett stuttered. “You know how it is with girlfriends, man. They get mad at you.”

Brent came into view, arms crossed. “Yeah, man. I know how it is.”

Garrett’s face relaxed into a grin, thinking he could talk his way out of this. “Then you don’t mind giving us some space to talk?”

A chuckle came from deep in Brent’s chest, dark and dangerous. “Yeah, dude. I mind,” he growled, his eyes darkening with a predatory glare.

I watched as Garrett began to grow weary, more fearful of Brent. Was it wrong that I found Brent's intimidation factor kind of... hot? Garrett threw his hands up like he was facing down a wild animal. “Woah. I was just talking to her, Brent. She’s my girl-”

Before I could blink, Brent's fist connected with Garrett's face in a satisfying thwack . I backpedaled, eyes darting around as guys materialized out of thin air, drawn to the smell of rising testosterone levels and impending violence like sharks to chum.

Lots of footballers en route. Both teams.

It was a veritable football player buffet because both teams were piling in. The North Ridge Panthers, looking lost and confused, glanced around like they'd stumbled into the wrong field. Suddenly, one of them started hollering at our team, accusing us of cheating our way to victory.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus. This was about to turn into an all out, Friday Night Lights meets Fight Club brawl.

I tried to catch a glimpse of Brent, but he'd chased Garrett–about twenty feet away from the brawl in front of me–and tackled him to the ground. He was on top of him, landing punch after punch with a sickening smile across his face. He was a shark, and he smelled blood.

That man could throw down, good heavens.

Backing away into some semblance of shadows to try and stay out of view, I watched in a mix of horror and awe at how men could just... punch and kick the crap out of each other. It was equal parts terrifying and mesmerizing, like a car crash you can't look away from.

Kelly would be eating popcorn. Shit, right. I need to find Kelly.

My options were to stay in the corner in a safe-ish manner or run past the brawl in search of Kelly. The timing to find my fight or flight response was happening, and my body chose the third option—freeze. I was staying in the corner until someone came and collected me.

A few staff members, referees, and faculty came to break up the fight, claiming it was started by the away team. They weren’t technically wrong, but they weren’t right either. Brent had to be pulled off Garrett by three large men before his jacket was straightened out for him and one of the men pointed away from Garrett.

I was still in my corner, hidden from view.

He stormed over to me, blood on his knuckles and a drop of blood leaking from his split lip. His eyes burned with his unleashed fury as he closed the distance between us. “What did he say to you? Did he do anything to you?” he asked, searching for any reason to go back and kill Garrett.

“I-I don’t think so,” I forced my words out, blinking up at him. Was I hurt?

Without waiting for an answer, he gently took my hand, lifting it to inspect my wrist. There were clear marks on it from being gripped so many times over the course of about an hour from two separate men.

His jaw tightened, his nostrils flared, and the look in his eyes darkened into something feral. “Did he do this to you?” His words were clipped, he could barely contain his rage.

“M-my wrist was grabbed... I, uh, there were two of them,” I managed to spit out, my voice trembling as my mind spun in a loop. Everything swirled together and I could hardly tell which way was up.

“Two?” he growled. “Who is the other one?”

My face was blank when I looked up at him. “Alexander Fitzgerald.”

“Why are you talking to Alexander?”

I gulped, feeling small under his gaze as he tried to soften his eyes on me. “Sloane kept trying to push him on me and now he won’t leave me alone.”

If he clenched his jaw any harder, his teeth would surely shatter. “I’m so sick and tired of that girl.” His voice was a low growl before his tone softened as he turned his attention to me. “You,” he murmured, moving his fingers through my hair in a way that felt halfway between soothing me and taming the frazzled mess it had become, “don’t need to worry your pretty little head about Alexander.”

He started rubbing my arms down gently in slow, deliberate strokes. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Calming your nerves,” he said, his lips quirking into a small smirk. “You look like a baby deer caught in headlights, Blondie.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my hairline.

I flinched back instinctively, making him pause.

“What’s the matter?” His hands hovered just above my arms like he wasn’t sure if he should let go or hold on tighter.

I shook my head, trying to clear my head. “Nothing, sorry. I need to, uh, find Kelly. We’re supposed to go to the festival together.” Patting my pockets frantically until I found my phone, fumbling to send Kelly a text.

The screen lit up with multiple messages:

Kelly: where are u?????

Kelly: I can’t find u!!

Unknown: baby girl, I’m waiting for you

Kelly: where did he take you??

My stomach dropped. Deleting Alexander's number hadn't stopped him from texting me. I considered blocking him, but who knew what that might provoke. The second anonymous text I got drained the blood right out of my body.

Unknown: dirty little secrets...

A picture of Garrett and me out on a date was underneath that second unknown text. Along with a picture of me and Brent.

My hands trembled as I turned the phone and shoved it into Brent, showing him the messages.

His eyes darkened as he scrolled. “How long have you been getting messages like this?”

"I'm not sure," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "I thought they were mass texts until just now. One is Alexander. Sloane made me give him my number, but I deleted the contact before his name made me hurl. But the other one..." My hands were slightly shaking, and I felt like I was working up a cold sweat.

Who was watching me? What did they want? Another mystery to add to the already tangled web of situations I kept finding myself in.

I tried to close my eyes and breathe slowly, but it felt like it just made it worse. There was someone specifically seeking me out, sending me messages, and I was stupid enough to think it was mass texts going out.

This couldn't be happening to me... I felt the sudden urge to puke again. Bending over, I knew it wouldn’t come, but I needed my head between my legs for the nausea.

“I’ll help you find Kelly.” He held onto my arm to steady me.

I held up my hand, breathing heavily. “Don’t. I'd rather not be seen with you and have your girlfriend gunning for me too. There are too many people who want to see me fall right now before I take over my company.” God, this nausea was killing me.

Tucking my phone to my chest, I tried to stand up to move past him but was stuck behind his arm.

He rubbed his free hand across his face, a little bit of blood smearing from the cut on his lip. “You don’t need to worry about her or anyone else for that matter. I can handle it.”

“You should also clean up your hands and face. Probably before you see anyone else.”

His face softened further, and he got far too close to me. His eyes were still wild enough and his jaw muscles flickering with his thoughts. A hand came up to my face while he was still leaning over me, arm over my head. “I should.”

My eyes flicked down before I could look at his mouth. “Yeah, you should.”

“Mhm,” his lips brushed mine.

I obliged his mouth with mine, tasting the copper flavor of his blood on my tongue. What am I doing?

“Uh, guys?” Kelly’s voice made Brent stiffen and turn to face her. “What the hell happened to your face?”