All Chapters of 15 Days Babysitting For My Star Quarterback Bully: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The weight of piling secrets sits on my shoulders as I walk through the school gates.I almost managed to convince myself that yesterday was a fluke. A strange, isolated moment that I can neatly fold away and pretend didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.That way, lying to Tyler on Jake’s behalf doesn’t hold any serious consequence.I put on my best smile, tighten my grip on my bag strap, and keep my head up. Students move around me in clusters, their voices overlapping and laughter echoing in the hallways. Lockers slam, shoes squeak against polished floors, and for a brief moment, everything feels exactly the same as it always does.“L.G.”So much for nothing changing.Sighing, I slowly turn around. “Hey, Jake.” My eyes narrow slightly as I take him in – he looks well rested and more put together, like the version of him from yesterday never existed. “You look different.”He scoffs lightly. “What, you expected me to show up to school crying o

The sound of Tyler’s car fades too quickly.I stand in the middle of the hospital parking lot, staring at the empty space where his car used to be. My hand is still half-lifted like I might reach out and stop something that already happened.The air feels colder without him, or maybe it’s just the sinking feeling in my chest that has left me feeling dreary and hopeless.I exhale slowly, but it doesn’t stop the tight feeling in my chest, like something is pressing against it from the inside.Once again, Tyler has left me behind.It may not be in the same way as before – with insults, mockery, or that careless cruelty he used to wear so easily, but it still feels familiar. That same hollow drop in my stomach feels the same, and that one question that always lingers in the back of my mind, asking why I wasn’t enough for him to stay, is still the same.I shake my head, pressing my lips together as I pull my phone out of my pocket. “Don’t spiral, Lila,” I mut

The smell of paint and turpentine hangs thickly in the garage as I drag another frustrated streak of blue across the canvas.“Okay,” Maya says from behind me, “that brush stroke looked personal.”I ignore her, forcing my concentration on the easel before me.The late afternoon sun spills through the open garage door, catching the metallic silver finish of Maya’s new car parked proudly in the driveway. She’d spent the first twenty minutes after arriving dramatically introducing me to every feature inside it.“Seriously, though,” she continues, sprawled across the old couch in the corner of the garage. “At this point, I’m worried for the painting. It didn’t do anything to you.”“I’m not taking my anger out on the painting.”Maya raises a brow. “You literally stabbed the canvas with your brush like five minutes ago.”I glance at the mangled streak of color near the corner and sigh. “That was a mistake,” I say, even though we both know what a terrible li

By lunchtime, I’ve barely retained a single thing from any of my classes.Every time I tried to focus, my mind drifted helplessly back to Tyler – his hands on me, the way he’d looked at me afterward like I was something precious, and the fact that I’d woken up this morning with a stupid smile on my face before immediately burying it in my pillow out of embarrassment.And now, as I walk into the cafeteria balancing my tray, my stomach twists all over again at the prospect of seeing him for the first time since he dropped me off at home yesterday.I spot Noah already sitting at our table with Maya, and the sight alone makes warmth bloom in my chest.Things between us have slowly begun settling back into that familiar friendship again after Jamie imploded their relationship. And even though there’s still an occasional awkwardness between us, having him back at our table feels right.Maya waves dramatically the second she sees me. “Finally. I was two seconds awa

My body sags with relief as soon as last period ends.I trudge out of class, with Maya beside me, already dreading the whispers and pointed stares no doubt waiting for me in the hallways.A tall, gangly boy, that I recognize as a junior suddenly stops in front of Maya and I. “Here,” he says, then shoots out his arm.Confused, I stare at the single white rose in his hand, then back at his face. “What…”I don’t get to finish my question before he grabs my hand and shoves the rose into my palm, then runs off. I turn to Maya, my mouth open. “What the hell?”“Hey, Lila,” a chorus of voices call.Swiveling to the side, I watch as a couple of giddy girls skip over to me. They each hand me single white roses. “You’re amazing, girl,” one of them says, before they all run off, giggling.From then on, for every step Maya and I take towards the exit, students I barely know keep stopping me and handing me roses, some awkward and some overly excited. And by the tw