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“What…” Sawyer could get no other words out, so I rolled my eyes and clicked on the play button myself.
It was kind of funny; I could tell what parts of the video played not by the sounds the video made—my volume was off, due to just being in class—but by the expressions flitting across Sawyer’s handsome face. At first, confusion. Then shock. Last was anger, although I knew it was mixed with a bit of resigned contempt.
He was not a happy camper.
“You owe that lip to Travis,” I told him. “Travis sent me this.” He didn’t so much as send it as he did take the whole damn video on my phone, but Sawyer didn’t need to know all the details. “You’re a fuckup, Sawyer.”
He laughed, practically shoving my phone back at me, though I could tell his laugh was phony. “I understand why you did it, then,” he muttered, not happy in admitting it. His eyes shifted to our side, and I could tell he was thinking about Travis’s involvement, wondering whether or not Travis was even his friend.
Poor rich boy.
“You can dress them up like me, you can make them look like me, but they’ll never be me.” I locked my phone screen and slid it into my back pocket. “What were you thinking? Why would you do that? I mean, that’s fucked up. Making a girl dye her hair before—” I stopped myself from saying it, not wanting to put more words to it. I’d seen the video, that was bad enough; I didn’t need to go on and on about it.
I…I didn’t like picturing Sawyer with anyone else. Stupid, I knew, because he was the playboy of all playboys, but I couldn’t help how I felt. It just was.
“You were supposed to be simple,” Sawyer muttered, his brows furrowing, a heated glare turning my way. “You were supposed to fall for me like everyone else does. You were supposed to be on my side, not Declan’s. Declan is the one who killed Sabrina—he’s in the wrong, not me.” The emotion was evident in his voice, and I knew he truly believed Declan was the bad guy here.
That’s the thing. He wasn’t.
“You lost your sister, but you didn’t have to lose a friend. I could write in a note that I’m the queen of fucking England and it doesn’t make it true. I could say I’m a distant cousin to Barack Obama, and guess what, that wouldn’t be true either. Just because there was a note blaming Declan doesn’t mean he’s responsible for her death. You’re just being selfish, looking for someone to blame.” I kept myself from bringing up Travis again.
Sawyer wasn’t listening to me. He was too busy shifting the blame to me. “You messed it all up,” he said. “You took my plan and fucked it in the ass. You…” He let out a shaky breath, and I could tell he was having a rough time trying to keep his cool. What he really wanted to do was explode at me, yell at me, maybe even get rough with me. “You’re going to regret everything you’ve done, Ash, I’m going to make sure of it.”
A threat, and while most other people would believe it, I just stood there, waiting. “Are you done now, rich boy? Because I have to get back to class. Unlike some people, my grades matter. I can’t buy my way to a job after this.” I turned on my heels and started back to the door, feeling his stare on me.
He stopped me by saying, “Travis…”
I threw a glimpse over my shoulder, taking in his slumped shoulders and frowning face. “I would ask him about it,” I advised. “Because it seems like a lot of your problems with me involve him.” I said nothing else as I returned to class, smiling to myself.
Turn the two alphas against each other. What would happen? Who would stand victorious? Who would win? Honestly, it was a fight I’d pay to see, but I knew it was also a fight that I probably wouldn’t witness.
I had a feeling it would be glorious.
Chapter Seventeen – Sawyer
I skipped the rest of my classes that day. I couldn't bear to sit in any of them, let alone see Declan’s face. And Travis? Fuck. I had no idea what to believe. Why would Travis tape me and Brooklyn together, and why would he send it to Ash? He must’ve known how she’d react, and…
That’s, I realized, what he wanted. Travis wanted Ash to hate me. He didn’t want her to fall for me at all.
He fucked up our plans, for what? For a girl? For some pussy? I was all for getting it, but not destroying friendships along the way. Bros before hoes, and until today, I’d thought Travis was my bro. My friend, the only real friend I had left. Now I wondered differently.
I sat in the living room of my house, staring at my hand on my knee, watching as my knee bounced over and over again. I was antsy, jittery, anxious in every way. I knew there were many tiny pills in the kitchen that could help me relax, but I wouldn’t sink to that level again.
Fuck it. I should really just throw them away, flush them down the toilet. Why had I kept them for so long?
I ran both hands through my hair, letting out a long sigh. Ash saw me with Brooklyn, so of course she was upset with me. I didn’t think there was any way to salvage it, to use her like I’d originally planned.
I couldn’t use Ash, and it was Travis’s fault.
I got my phone out and texted him to come over. I left it at that, not wanting to get into specifics over the phone. Things were always easier to misconstrue over text messages, and when I asked him about what he did, I wanted to be staring at his face.
After setting my phone on the couch beside me, I glanced at my hand, at my knuckles. I’d cut them up a little after punching that mirror, but the small cuts were healed. My lip took a bit longer, mostly because the wounds were deeper. Ash’s teeth had cut into me so fast, she was in and out, up and off me, before I could blink. The bitch. She needed some payback of epic proportions, but right now all I could think about was Travis.
Travis, and the betrayal I felt.
If I didn’t have Travis, who did I have? If I couldn’t trust him…who the hell could I trust?
In that moment, I’d never felt more alone. It was mostly of my own doing, but that didn’t make it any better. After Sabrina’s death, I’d pushed everyone away. Travis was the only one I kept close. Me, him, and Declan, growing up we were near inseparable. I couldn’t stand to lose both him and Declan at the same time, but now—now it seemed I was losing him anyway.
