Tyler's house is already packed when I arrive.. I edge past them, scanning the crowd for Ethan.
The living room is packed to the brim, everyone riding the high of the championship win. I spot Naomi by the makeshift bar and start to head her way when I heard Ethan's voice. "You think you're so fucking special, don't you?" I follow the sound to the kitchen, pushing through a circle of onlookers. Ethan stands with his finger jabbed against Luca's chest, his face flushed red in a way that tells me he's already had too much to drink. Luca looks bored, one shoulder propped against the refrigerator. "Move your hand, Palmer. Now." "Or what?" Ethan pushes harder. "You gonna hit me?” "You wouldn’t want to find out.." Luca's eyes noticing my presence, then back to Ethan. "Trust me." I step between them before Ethan can respond. "Hey! What's going on?" Ethan's eyes narrow when he sees me. "Well, look who decided to show up. You tell him why this guy here was just telling me how I don't deserve you." I whip my head around to glare at Luca. "You did what?" Luca shrugs. "Just speaking facts. I didn't realize the truth would hurt his feelings so much." "Stay out of my business," I hiss. "Gladly." He moves to leave, but Ethan blocks him. "No, let's hear it. Tell her what you really think, Archer. Tell her how you've been…" "Back off, Palmer." Luca's voice has dropped to dangerous level. "This is your last warning." I grab Ethan's arm, pulling him away. "Come on, this is stupid. We just won the championship. Can't you two…" "There is no we," Ethan snaps, wrenching his arm free. "He is taking all the glory." "That's not fair," I say, even though part of me knows it's true. Luca was really incredible tonight. "You also played great. The whole team—" "Save it." Ethan turns away, then pauses to look back at Luca with a sneer. "Oh, and by the way? The only reason she defends you is because she feels sorry for you. Poor little orphan boy, shipped off because nobody wanted him." "Ethan!" I shove him, hard. "What the hell is wrong with you?" For a second, I think Luca's going to hit him. His hands curl into fists at his sides, and there's a tremor running through him. But then he steps around and walks away leaving Ethan, who looks simultaneously relieved and disappointed to avoid a fight. Ethan turns to me, expectant, like I should be congratulating him. "You need to calm down. I don't know what happened between you two, but that was cruel." "Oh, so now you're really defending him?" "Stop being a jerk." "Whatever." He reaches for a beer on the counter. "I need another drink." "Wait," I grab his arm. "Actually we need to talk. About earlier. About…" "Not now, Lily." He jerks away from me, sloshing beer onto the floor. "I'm not in the mood for one of your discussions." The way he says it, like my feelings are an inconvenience, like I'm being unreasonable for wanting basic respect makes my leftover patience snap. "Fine," I say, stepping back. "Find me when you're ready to act like an adult." I turn and walk away, ignoring the talks that follow me. I just need a minute to breathe and think clearly. I wander through the party, accepting a cup of something strong from someone I barely know, then another. The alcohol burns my throat but eases the knot in my chest. Two drinks in, I decide to look for Ethan again. We need to clear the air. I need to ask him about that perfume. I check the backyard, the den, the garage converted into a dance floor. No sign of him. Finally, I head upstairs, wondering if he's cooling off in one of the quieter rooms. That's when I see them. They're partially hidden behind a vending machine in the upstairs hallway, but not hidden enough. Ethan has Megan Davis,our cheer captain pressed against the wall, his hands tangled in her long blonde hair as he kisses her neck. She giggles, and the sound pierces through my soul. "Ethan," she moans, loud enough for me to hear. "We shouldn't. What about—" "She doesn't have to know," he murmurs, hands sliding down to her waist. "Besides, you're the one I want." Time seems to stop as I stand there, watching my boyfriend; my boyfriend of almost two years with his tongue down another girl's throat. The same boyfriend who accused me of caring too much about someone else not fifteen minutes ago. I don't remember moving or crossing the distance between us. But suddenly I'm there, Megan's eyes widening in panic as she spots me over Ethan's shoulder. "Lily…" she starts, but I'm not interested in her excuses. I tap Ethan on the shoulder. He turns, his smug smile fading as he registers my presence. "Lily, I…." The sound of my palm connecting with his cheek is so satisfying I almost want to do it again. Ethan's face pales beneath his flush. "Lily I can explain…" "Don't bother." I step back, surveying them both with a calm I don't feel. "You deserve each other. Hope she enjoys dating a loser who can't even win without blaming everyone else." "You're overreacting," Ethan reaches for my arm, but I jerk away. "Come on, it was just…." "Just what? Just a kiss? Just a quick fuck after practice?" My voice rises, and I don't care who hears.. "How long, Megan? How long have you been fucking my boyfriend?" Megan's face crumples. "I didn't…" "Save it." I look between them, disgust rising in my throat. "We're done, Ethan. Don’t ever call me again." A crowd has gathered at the end of the hall, drawn by the commotion. I see the shock on their faces, the phones already recording. I turn to leave, only to find Naomi pushing through the crowd. "Lily!" She grabs my arm, pulling me away from the scene. "Come on, let's get you out of here." She drags me downstairs and out to the back porch and only then do I realize I'm shaking. "I'm so sorry," she says, rubbing my arms. "Are you okay?" "You knew." It's not a question because I can see the guilt in her face. "You knew he was cheating." Naomi looks away, biting her lip. "I only found out recently, I swear. Caught them last week…during night practice. I thought maybe it was nothing. I didn't know how to tell you. You were already so stressed. And you know, honestly? Most of these sports guys are like that. They are literally testosterone machines. You think they just save that energy for the court?" "You're my best friend. You should have told me." "I know. I'm sorry. I thought…" "You thought what? That I'd rather be humiliated in front of everyone than hear it from you?" I push past her, heading back inside. I need a drink. Several drinks. I need to forget the image of Ethan and Megan burned into my retinas. "Lily, wait—" I walked away from her ignoring her calls.I slipped through the back door while Lily was still running down the street, probably crying her eyes out. Good. That’s what needed to happen.I took the stairs two at a time, trying not to think about the times I’d climbed them to sneak into her room. The nights I’d listened for her parents’ footsteps before creeping down the hall to slip under her covers and hold her until she fell asleep.That was over now. Had to be over.My room looked the same as always, but it felt different knowing I was about to strip it bare. I pulled my duffel bag from the closet and started throwing things in without much thought. Clothes, toiletries, the few books I actually cared about. I took the volleyball trophies on the shelf and the photos pinned to my bulletin board. Let Mr. and Mrs. Graves wonder what happened to their perfect foster son. Let them think I was just another ungrateful kid who ran off without explanation.My phone buzzed on the dresser, and I already knew who it was before I looked
I’d thrown myself onto my bed and cried until I couldn’t anymore, until my throat felt like I’d swallowed glass and my eyes were so swollen I could barely see. The pillow was soaked and my face felt puffy and hot, but the tears had finally stopped coming. Now I just felt hollow.I kept replaying his voice saying those words. “You weren’t supposed to hear that, but since you did, I guess it saves me the trouble of figuring out how to bring it up later.”“The bet was Tyler’s idea.”I grabbed my pillow and screamed into it again, but no sound came out. My voice was completely gone.My phone buzzed on my nightstand. I reached for it without thinking, hoping maybe it was him calling to tell me this was all some sick joke, that he hadn’t meant any of it. But it was just Naomi.“Girl where are you?? Your coworker said you left work early and you’re not answering”I stared at the text until the letters blurred together, then turned my phone off.I rolled over and buried my face in the comfort
I stepped out from behind the shed, and they both turned to look at me. Maya’s expression shifted to something that looked almost pleased, like she’d been hoping I would overhear. Luca’s face went completely blank, all the warmth and affection I was used to seeing there just… gone.“What are you doing here?” he asked, and his tone was so casual, so unconcerned, that it made everything worse.“Are you for real? Is that seriously what you’re going to say right now?” I was shaking all over, fury and heartbreak warring in my chest. “That’s what’s important here? I brought you lunch, you bastard”I looked at him, waiting for him to deny it. To tell me this was all some misunderstanding.Luca looked at Maya, then back at me.“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” he said simply. “But since you did, I guess it saves me the trouble of figuring out how to bring it up later.”“Bring what up? Luca, what is going on? We were fine this morning. You held my hand under the fucking table during breakfa
I woke up the next morning in a good mood with that fizzy feeling you get when everything in your life seems to be falling into place. Luca had his scholarship, we had our plans, and for the first time I felt like we were actually going to make this work.I was eating a leftover pizza around noon, when an idea hit me from nowhere and scrolling through my phone. Luca would be finishing up with his afternoon group of kids soon, and he’d mentioned being too busy to pack lunch. Perfect excuse to show up with sandwiches and maybe steal a few minutes together before I had to get ready for my evening shift at the pool.I bought two turkey clubs with extra pickles the way he preferred them and walked the few blocks to the community center, already imagining how his face would light up when he saw me. Maybe we could sit on the bleachers during his break and watch the little kids attempt volleyball serves.But when I got to the outdoor courts, I stopped walking so abruptly that I nearly tripped
My phone buzzed with a text from Naomi asking how the parents-are-back situation was going, and I was in the middle of typing back a summary of this morning’s mortifying kitchen conversation when Luca reappeared.He was grinning like he’d just won the lottery.“Well?” I asked as he slid back into the driver’s seat.“It’s official.” He held up a packet of papers with official-looking seals and signatures. “Full ride to Washington State University. They’re even covering books and meal plans.”I threw my arms around his neck, genuinely thrilled for him. This was everything he’d worked for, everything he’d dreamed about since he started playing volleyball seriously.“Luca, oh my God! This is incredible! I’m so proud of you.”“It feels weird,” he said, hugging me back. “Like, this is actually happening.”“You deserve this so much. All those hours of practice and training and putting up with Coach Martinez yelling at you—it was all worth it.”He hugged me back, burying his face in my neck f
I woke up feeling like I’d been wrung out and hung up to dry, which was probably what happened when you spent half the night alternating between guilt about fighting with your boyfriend and relief that you’d made up. The whole thing felt like emotional whiplash, but at least we were okay now.And now I was lying in bed trying to figure out how to face my parents after the mortifying conversation Mom and I were apparently going to have.The smell of pancakes was drifting up from the kitchen, which meant Dad was in a good mood. He only broke out the blueberry pancake recipe when he was feeling accomplished about something, probably still riding the high from successfully navigating Great-Aunt Millicent’s legal mess without anyone getting disinherited or arrested.I dragged myself downstairs in shorts and a tank top, hoping I could grab food and disappear before Mom ambushed me for round two of the most awkward mother-daughter talk in history.Luca was sitting at the kitchen table, scrol