The Revenge You Seek by Tracy Lorraine
Letty
The second my wrist slips from his grasp, my legs can't carry me away fast enough.
I don't look back as I flee from the lecture hall and I don't come to a stop again until I run into a very solid chest.
A familiar scent surrounds me as strong hands clamp down on my upper arms to steady me.
"Whoa, Letty are you okay?"
A sob bubbles up my throat as his concerned deep voice hits my ears and I only just about manage to contain it.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Can we just get out of here please?"
"Uh… sure. Let me take th—" His words trail off as he reaches for the books in my arms, but I don't need to look behind me to find out what's captured his attention. I feel it. I feel him.
"Legend," Luca spits as if his name tastes bitter on his tongue.
He looks down at me and then back to Kane once more. His jaw is set while anger and confusion battles in his eyes.
He has no reason to know there's anything between Kane and me. I never told him for a very good reason.
They already hate each other enough.
I didn't need Luca going after Kane and risking the career he was building for me. Because I knew he would in a heartbeat if he knew the truth.
"Luca, let's just go, please?"
"Y-yeah, sure. Come on."
He turns, putting his back to Kane and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me tight into his body, a move that I'm sure pisses Kane the fuck off.
I've never been Kane's but for some fucked-up reasons he can't stand anyone else having me. Well, one person aside.
I blow out a relieved breath as Luca quickly navigates us out of the building and away from Kane's hateful stare full of wicked promises and the pain he's planning to inflict.
What he doesn't realize is that I've already suffered the worst kind of pain because of him and anything else will be like child's play compared to the past year of my life.
"What the hell was that?" Luca asks, coming to a stop once we're safely away from him, the building, and anyone else who might be interested in listening.
"Not here. Don't you have practice?"
"I've got an hour," he says softly, lifting his hand so his fingers tuck under my chin to stop me from hiding from him, which he knows I'm desperate to do. "Wanna show me your dorm?" he asks, giving me a cheeky wink.
"You're a nut. Come on." I thread my arm through his and turn toward where I think my building is, but just before I spin, I find him watching us.
Our eyes hold for a beat, the tension cracks so violently between us it feels like a physical blow to my body.
Luca notices my hesitation and follows my eyeline but he's too late, Kane's slipped into the shadows.
"You're in a dorm with West and Brax?" Luca asks as we approach the main door.
"Yeah. Please don't tell me they're bad guys," I beg as we walk into an almost empty communal area.
Micah is the only one sitting at the dining table with his laptop open.
"Afternoon," he says to me before doing a double-take at Luca.
"Christ, don't let Ella know he's here or she'll be clawing at your door like a cat in heat," he says in a disgruntled tone as I lead Luca to my room.
Luca snorts as if it's a totally normal thing to say to him.
"You didn't see us, okay?"
"Sure thing, Princess."
My steps falter at his use of that nickname for me.
"W-what did you call me?"
"P-princess? Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just, he's the king and… it was meant to be a joke. Forget I even said anything."
"I'm sorry," I say quickly feeling bad for assuming anything ill of him. Micah is good people. All the guys here are. I need to not let Kane get inside my head and force me to start questioning everyone. He's the only twisted motherfucker around here.
He looks a little sheepish behind his laptop.
"I'm just not a fan of the nickname. Queen suits me better."
Luca snorts a laugh behind me and thankfully, Micah smiles before I unlock my door and gesture for Luca to step inside.
He whistles as he takes in the small room.
"Momma Hunter did good scoring this place at the last minute."
"Right? I have no idea how she did it. I'm not complaining though. I'm loving not having to share a bathroom."
"It's pretty sweet. You know where is better though?"
"No," I say suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at him, as I drop down onto my bed while Luca takes the chair at my desk.
"We've got a spare room at our place. If you'd have—"
"No," I say cutting him off. "I need to do this myself. I can't live under your shadow for the next few years. Plus, I refuse to live with sweaty, smelly football players."
He pretends to be offended by my words but he knows just how smelly they can be.
"It's not just football players. A couple of girlfriends live with us too."
"Which I am not."
He stares at me for a beat too long. The teenage girl inside me starts jumping to conclusions but I quickly shove her back down. So much time has passed and so much has happened since she had her all-consuming crush on her best friend. It's too late for all that now.
"Maybe not but—"
"No, Luc. I appreciate the offer, I really do. But after—" I cut myself off, not wanting to start down a path I have no intention on continuing with. "I just need my space. I need to start over myself."
"You've had space, Let. You've been gone for two years. I…" He drags his eyes away from mine and stares down at his feet for a beat. “I missed you.”
I gasp when his green eyes find mine once more.
My heart aches for the vulnerable boy I see hiding behind the king of football persona that everyone else sees.
“You were my best friend, Let, and… and…"
"And I left," I finish for him.
He laughs to himself. "Shit, that sounds like I blame you for chasing your dream. That's not what I meant at all."
"I know, Luc. I get what you mean. We lost touch. I'm sorry."
"Me too," he says sadly, standing from the chair and coming to sit beside me on the bed.
He reaches for my hand and threads our fingers together, staring down at them.
"What happened earlier, Let? What aren't you telling me?"
He looks up at me, his green eyes darkening around the edges in concern as he begs me to open up to him.
"N-nothing." It's not a lie, nothing did happen other than I freaked out and then he spent the entire class trying to get a rise out of me. He was right, it was just like high school all over again.
I let out a sigh. I thought all that shit was over the day we drove out of Harrow Creek in favor of Rosewood all those years ago. It seems fate had other ideas.
"Don't lie to me, Letty," Luca snaps, a hard edge to his voice. "You ran out of there terrified. What did that motherfucker do to you? Is he trying to get to me through you?"
I pull my hand from his and push from the bed so I can pace back and forth as I try to decide how much I'm willing to share right now. I already know I can't go the whole way because I fear it might send me straight back into the black hole that I've only recently managed to claw my way out of.
"I never… um…" Fuck.
I lift my hands to my hair and push it back from my face as I continue with my inner battle.
If Luca knows the kind of shit Kane has pulled over the years then he'll go after him, and I don't want to make the war that's already brewing between them any worse.
"Letty, just tell me."
I glance at my best friend as he rests his elbows on his knees, his dark hair falling down into his eyes, his teeth already deep into his bottom lip as he chews it while waiting for me.
Fuck it.
"I never told you everything about my time at Harrow Creek."
"Go on," he encourages, still watching my every move.
"Kane, he…" Out of the corner of my eye, I see Luca's entire body tense just at the mention of his name. "He hates me."
Luca's lips part to say something but only air rushes out.
He's silent for a few seconds as my words sink in.
"As in he avoided you at all costs, hates you, or he made your life hell, hates you."
I come to a stop in front of him.
"What do you think?"
"Fucking hell, Letty. Why didn't you ever tell me this? I'd have flattened the motherfucker for ever hurting you."
"That," I say, pointing at him. "That is the exact reason why I never told you."
"So I wouldn't hurt him?" His brows draw together in confusion. "That's fucked up, Let."
"No, you idiot. I don't give a shit about protecting him. I was protecting you."
"What?" He jumps up and reaches for me, stopping me from wearing the floor out and forces me to stop in front of him.
He's a whole foot taller than me at six-four and he stoops down so he can look into my eyes.
"How badly do I need to hurt him?"
"No, Luc. No." I throw my hands up in exasperation. "I don't want you in the middle of this. That's the whole point. You need to focus on the game, on your future."
"Fuck that, Let. I'm not letting him get away with hurting you. That's bullshit."
"He hasn't hurt me." Not for eighteen months anyway.
Luca's brows rise in suspicion.
"Please, Luc. Just stay out of it. It's not your fight."
Lifting his hands, he cups my cheeks and I can't help but lean into his heat. He always makes me feel so safe and secure.
"If he hurts you, then he hurts me, Let. I wish you'd told me this years ago."
I shrug. "It doesn't matter," I say, trying to play it down.
"It really fucking matters."
Leaning in, he presses his lips to my forehead and wraps his arms around me.
His scent and warmth surround me and I soon lose myself in the feeling of his hard body against mine.
"You're my girl, Letty. I'll do anything for you."
"I know," I mumble against his chest, tears filling my eyes faster than I want them to.
I can't cry. I'm scared that if I allow myself to do that again then I might not stop.
I swallow down the giant lump in my throat and pull back from him.
"Thank you," I whisper, staring up into his soft eyes, needing him to know how much I appreciate his support. "I'm sorry I allowed us to lose each other."
"Me too."
He pulls me into him once more and drops his lips to the top of my head.
* * *
"He just let him walk onto the team," Luca says when I return with a drink for each of us a while later. I know our time is running out, he needs to get to practice but now I've got him alone, I don't want to let him go.
"Can he do that? Isn't there protocols to follow or something?" I ask because really, I have no clue about any of it. I've tried to remember all the things Luca and Leon have attempted to explain to me about football over the years but mostly it goes in one ear and out the other.
"Yeah, you'd think. Coach is adamant that it's all above board. He's planning on making him first string. He's going to be playing alongside Leon and me. Fucking joke."
"He is good," I say, after taking a sip of my water. "What?" I ask when he stares at me as if he wants me to go up in flames. "You know it's true. You've said it yourself before now."
"Ugh." He drops his head into his hands and pushing his fingers through his hair, dragging it back painfully from his face. "I know, I know. I just wish I wasn't blindsided by this."
"You need him, don't you?" It's no secret that the Panther's best wide receiver opted to enter the draft early in the spring and got snapped up to play for… someone. I have no clue where he went other than he went.
"Do I have to answer that?"
"No, it's written all over your face."
Silence falls between us but it's not uncomfortable. Things are never that way between the two of us, it's one of the things I love about him so much.
"Zayn told me to come to meet you after class. He's worried about you. Should we be?"
Yes. "No, of course not. I can handle Kane. You need to focus on the upcoming season."
He nods but I know it's not going to be that easy. There’s already more tension than there should be between teammates, I really don't need to add to it.
"I wish I could stay and hang out more."
"I've got a ton of work to do, don't worry about it."
He leans over and drops a lingering kiss on my cheek.
"If you need anything, if he so much as looks at you the wrong way, you know where I am."
"I know, but it won't be necessary."
He climbs from the bed and walks to my door.
"Oh, party Friday night. You in?" Excitement sparkles in his eyes at the prospect of letting it all go for a night.
"You got it."
"Sweet. See you tomorrow?"
I smile at him as he slips through the door and disappears.
* * *
I'm making myself dinner later that evening when Brax and West come stumbling into the dorm, both fresh from the shower.
"Evening, beautiful," Brax sings. "That smells insane. Enough for three?"
"Funny you should say that," I mutter as he wraps his arms around me from behind and peers over my shoulder.
"Giiiirl, I think I love you."
I laugh at his antics as he smacks a wet kiss on my cheek.
"Just gonna dump this and you can fill us up good."
As they both disappear to their rooms, I pull down three plates and start dishing up.
I didn't need to make this much, but something told me others would be grateful.
After Luca left, I figured I'd be safe because Kane would be at practice with him, so I headed to the on-campus store for ingredients for dinner and everyone's breakfast in the morning.
Cooking always used to be something that helped me to relax but I've barely done it recently, but with all the nervous energy zipping through me after the events of the day, I knew I couldn't just sit in my room and attempt to work on my assignments.
"How was practice?" I ask when they both return and take their seats.
"Brutal. And Luca was fucking pissed."
"I've never seen him like that before," West adds.
My stomach knots knowing that I didn't help with that situation.
"What the fuck was that with you and the new guy earlier?" Brax asks, his eyes drilling into the top of my head as I stare at my dinner.
I knew the question was coming. They were unlikely to forget jumping to my defense in statistics earlier.
"It was nothing?"
"Nothing?"
"Luca wants to kill him and he treated you like a piece of shit."
"He barely spoke to me," I argue.
"Maybe not, but the way he looked at you. It was like he wanted you to go up in flames right in that spot."
