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Ironically enough, it wasn’t Declan who lashed out.
It was me.
Sawyer was so busy taunting Declan with the insinuation that we had sex that he neglected to see me positioning myself before him and jerking my knee up so hard I was sure he saw stars. Hit him right in the fun bags, where it hurt. Sawyer doubled over, his face instantly turning a few different shades of red as he started to swear.
“I might be a freaky bitch,” I said, knowing my reputation—if I ever had a good one to begin with—was ruined. These people would never believe Sawyer and I didn’t have sex, not now. I’d be waging a win-less war on my side, trying to defend myself against what he’d said. “But at least I can last longer than thirty seconds.”
Travis smirked behind Sawyer, and more than a few partygoers started laughing. Some had whipped out their phones, filming all of this. Sawyer’s humiliation was caught on camera, and I prayed with a vindictive heart it would go viral. The bastard deserved nothing less.
As Sawyer started calling me a colorful string of names, I grabbed Declan’s hand and said, “Let’s go.” I tugged him out of the house, away from the party. The night air had gotten a bit cooler, or maybe it was just because I felt so hot that I noticed it more.
We made it back to campus, crossing the four-lane road that separated campus from the rental houses. We were a safe, comfortable distance away from Sawyer’s house, with no one following us, when Declan pulled his hand from mine, squeezing his eyes shut as he heaved an explosive sigh.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I asked him, tossing a quick look around us to make sure we were alone. Besides the cars driving by, there was no one else on the sidewalk. It was late for the normal students, and too early for the other partiers to be going home. We were as alone as we could get. “Why did you come to the party?”
Declan was slow to open his eyes, meeting my angry stare. Every second that passed, he started to look more and more like the Declan I knew, not the raging one that had met Sawyer’s shouting with his own. The way he looked at me made me feel…small. Like I’d made a mistake.
How unfair. All of this was unfair. I didn’t ask for any of this drama; it was just spilled onto my lap by a group of boys who thought it’d be fun to include me in their little game of revenge. I didn’t want any of this. The only thing I wanted was a normal life, a normal college experience. Was that too much to ask?
“Why would you sleep with that dickhead, after everything I told you about him?” Declan asked quietly, trying to hide his rage behind a whisper. But I heard it. I also heard faint traces of something else.
Jealousy?
“I didn’t—”
“Someone sent me a picture of you and Sawyer together. You looked pretty chummy.”
The rest of my denial died in the back of my throat. Someone had taken a picture and sent it to Declan? A picture of Sawyer and me? I didn’t recall anyone else in the bedroom, but maybe someone was hiding in the closet—or was he talking about when we were dancing, for those few short minutes? Either way, I was ticked. Either way, I shouldn’t have to explain myself to him.
I wanted to be Declan’s friend, but friends didn’t act like this. Friends didn’t own each other. Friends didn’t get pointlessly mad at each other and say insulting and hateful things.
Since it was pointless to deny it, I said, “How did you find the house?”
“They sent me the address, too.”
I let out an incredulous laugh. “They sent you a picture and the address? Declan, it sure as shit sounds like they wanted you to come to the party. They wanted drama. And guess what—they got it. You fell right into their trap.”
I started walking in the direction of our dorm building. My arms were folded across my chest, and I bit my bottom lip. I wanted to say more, so much more, but I knew I’d only explode. Sawyer and Declan exploding tonight were enough. I didn’t need to join them. What I had to do was calm my ass down.
Declan walked a few feet behind me, his hands stuck in his pockets. I threw a glimpse at him over my shoulder, instantly hating how sad he looked. So sad, when just minutes ago, he’d looked like he was capable of murder. I hated how easily these boys could flip their switches.
He muttered under his breath, “I should’ve known it was a trap. I should’ve known it was all to hurt me.” Declan’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment. “Sawyer and Travis are in it together.”
Travis? What did Travis have to do with this? I didn’t know, so I decided to ask, “Travis?”
“Travis was the one who sent me the picture and the address. He and Sawyer are still close.” I slowed down to walk beside him, and he studied me. “I’m sure you saw him there. He’s got a lot of tattoos—a lot—and—”
I knew who Travis was. Declan didn’t know that I knew him, of course.
Travis had taken a picture of me and Sawyer together and sent it to Declan? Why? Was tonight just one big plan to get me there, sleep with me, and then use me to hurt Declan? I knew I shouldn’t have let my guard down around Travis. I’d been smart enough to keep it up while around Sawyer—mostly—but around Travis I’d let myself relax.
What a mistake. I couldn’t trust any of these guys. Even Declan…I wanted to be Declan’s friend, but there was no pretending tonight didn’t happen, no forgetting about it. Declan had shown a side of himself I never knew existed, and it was a little scary.
We walked across campus in silence, heading to the elevators in our dorm building. Once we were in our room, the door and walls blocking out the rest of the world, I watched him. He sat at his desk, his shoulders slumped. He had his laptop open, but nothing was on it except for his desktop. He was literally staring at the desktop on his laptop to avoid looking at me.
Did he think me a slut? Did he think I was dirty now, tainted by Sawyer and his cock? Oh, come on. This was the twenty-first century. People had sex all the time. Even if I did have sex with Sawyer, which I so obviously didn’t, he had no right to judge me.
“Declan,” I spoke his name, feeling the need to tell him exactly what happened tonight. Which was stupid, I knew. I didn’t owe Declan anything, yet I couldn’t bear to leave it like this. I didn’t want to spend all weekend avoiding my roommate, or the rest of the year, for that matter.
