I don’t hear his response, but a second later, the sound of the door closing is heard through the quiet room. With that sorted, I pull my shirt up over my head and drop my pants before leaning into the shower. I wait a moment for the water to warm before sliding into the heavenly stream.
I let the water wash over my head and close my eyes, enjoying the feel of the relaxing water. Trying my best to feel like a regular human being again, I scrub myself, shave my legs, and even go as far as washing my hair.
When I turn the taps off, I feel somewhat like my usual self and grab a towel. I dry myself off before wrapping the towel around my body and pulling it tight.
I walk back into my room to find Brooke walking in. The second she sees me, her eyes widen and a gasp comes sailing out her pretty pink lips. She drops her bag and tosses her phone to the bed, unintentionally hitting Nate in the ribs. “Ohmigosh,” she rushes out as she hurries towards me. She throws her arms around me, loosening the towel with the movement. “Are you ok? Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m fine,” I tell her as she holds onto me. “Just… I don’t know. Sad.”
“Yeah, I know,” she says as she pulls back, making my towel drop. I catch it between my fingers, but not before I give everyone a peep show, though, Brooke’s seen it all before and Nate, well, he knows my body better than I know it myself. I’m just lucky Jesse isn’t here. I couldn’t imagine the comments he would have come out with.
I head off into my closet and let the towel fall completely off before searching through my clothes to find something comfortable. I get myself dressed in no time and walk back out a moment later to find Nate now on his feet. “Come on,” I say to Brooke. “I need to get out of this room.”
“K,” she says a moment later as both her and Nate follow me out of the room.
We walk down the stairs and I find a bag sitting at the bottom. “What’s all this?” I ask.
“I stopped at the gas station and picked up a few things for you. Magazines and chocolates. You know, stuff to help.”
I give her a grateful smile. “Thanks,” I say as I reach down and scoop the bag up.
She reaches out and takes my hand and together we walk out the back while Nate stops in the kitchen. Brooke and I take a seat in the outdoor couches and relax into the cushion as the sun soaks into our skin. “This is better,” I say with my eyes closed.
“How’re you doing?” she questions after being quiet for a moment too long.
I let out a heavy sigh and run my hands through my wet hair. “If I hear that question again, I think I’m going to scream.”
“Alright,” she says with a tight smile. “Then tell me what you need and your wish is my command.”
“I need to get my mind off it,” I tell her blankly as Nate comes out the door carrying a few glasses of orange juice while Jesse follows behind with take out.
“Ok,” she says with a cringe. “There’s a new transfer at school.”
I look up at her in confusion. “And?” I prompt, not liking her cringe one bit.
“And he’s apparently taking over as the new quarterback.”
My stomach drops. “Oh no,” I groan. “Don’t tell me…”
“Yeah,” she sighs. “Jackson transferred and is now the star of the football team. It’s all anyone could talk about today.”
“You’re shitting me, right?” Nate grunts as he practically slams the orange juice down on the table.
“I wish I was,” she says.
Great. Not only do I have to deal with all the bullshit that comes along with being Nate’s girlfriend, but I also have Jackson Millington to look out for. How did I get so lucky?
I look across at Nate to find a heavy scowl on his face and nothing but confusion. “What’s up?” I ask as I nudge him with my foot.
He looks up at me and that confusion doesn’t dare move from his face. “He’s up to something,” he muses. “Jackson was in line for a scholarship. No way would he just up and leave his school on short notice like that. It doesn’t look good.”
“I guess,” I say, not really knowing anything about school sports.
Jesse starts rifling through the bag of take out and hands out burgers to everyone. “Our team is undefeated though, so really, he’d have a better chance at getting into a college team with us.”
“Yeah, but… I don’t know. Something doesn’t seem right about this,” Nate says. “He’s never been shy letting us know what he thinks of our school.”