Saving Us by Wendy Million

Chapter Nine

Afew days later, I was glued to my phone as one more text message rolled in from Sebastian. Another random photo of a pretty girl in a superhero costume. A burst of laughter escaped me.

If you’re going to resist me, you’re going to need a hot superhero outfit. As my wing-woman, costumes are essential.

“Sebastian?” Annika asked from behind her laptop.

I wiped the grin off my face and nodded. “Yeah. Another stupid picture.” My tone was carefree, like I didn’t find the whole thing amusing.

Annika typed more and then rubbed her wrist again.

“Is your wrist sore?” I’d noticed her babying it a few times over the last couple of days, but I hadn’t remembered to ask until just now.

She frowned. “It’s a bit sore.” She shrugged as though it was no big deal.

I rose from my part of the sectional and went to sit beside her. I took her arm and examined her wrist. Yellow and blue bloomed on her brown skin. A fading bruise. “How’d that happen? Was it while you were coaching? Those little kids too rough on you?”

“Um.” She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder. “We left the bar because Johnny almost got in a fight with a guy who started grinding on me on the dance floor.”

My frown deepened. “Okay.” I took a beat to try to connect the dots. “What’s that have to do with your wrist being bruised?”

“Sebastian talked Johnny into walking away from the fight,” Annika said, as though that explained the mark.

“And…” I cocked my head.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to, but he grabbed my wrist a little hard when we walked out of the club. He let me go as soon as I said he was hurting me, and he apologized a lot.”

I collapsed onto the couch beside her, and my brain ticked away in silence. She said I overreacted about things because of my dad’s job, so I took an extra beat. The whole episode with Johnny had gotten lost in a flurry of text messages between me and Sebastian this week. Now, remembering his face, his rage had been frightening. “That’s a pretty substantial bruise for him just leading you out of the club.”

“You’re reading into this and there’s nothing to see. I knew you’d do this, which is why I didn’t tell you.” Annika snapped her laptop shut and faced me. “It was an accident. The guy was being rude to me, and then he was really terrible to Johnny once he realized who he was. Johnny was so wound up. He didn’t mean to hurt me. He’d never hurt me.”

I was quiet for a moment, weighing the best way forward. I had to say something. “Kristy has heard rumors about his temper.”

“Kristy is a gossip. She’d believe there were leprechauns at the bottom of every rainbow if someone whispered it to her in a conspiratorial voice.”

“So, you haven’t seen his temper?” His face, contorted in rage, was burned into my brain.

Annika sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “The thing at the bar was nothing. He got carried away, heat of the moment, and he apologized. If something happens a second time, I’ll break it off.” She stared at her wrist. “Can you get me ice?”

“You’d tell me, right? If something else happened?”

“It’s not going to happen again,” Annika said as I rose to grab the ice.

My phone pinged while I was retrieving the ice from the freezer.

Accidents happened. He was a strong guy, and maybe he didn’t realize his strength. Even as I tried to talk myself around, I wasn’t convinced. I wanted to go in there and tell Annika to break it off, that no one was worth that risk.

Instead, I took the ice pack to her but said nothing more about Johnny. My phone lit up with another text from Sebastian. The giddy feeling I’d had a few minutes ago was gone.

What was I doing?I wasn’t going to become one of his conquests, and he wasn’t boyfriend material.

Switching it off, I grabbed my textbook from the kitchen table and headed for my room at the end of the hall. I left the door open in case Annika wanted to talk. With my laptop on the bed, I started making course notes while I went through the week’s readings. Sebastian and Johnny were pushed out of my mind as I got lost in political science jargon.

There was a soft knock on my doorframe.

Annika smiled, back to her bubbling and confident self. “I’m going to practice. Do you want to come?” She twirled her necklace.

“No, I have a lot of reading this week. Have fun.” I flipped a page in my textbook. “Take lots of careful notes about the shape of his ass.” An afterthought, a peace offering.

“Johnny said a few of them might go to a pub for drinks after. Did you want to come?” Annika cocked her head.

“Are you going?” Given Johnny’s rage, unsupervised drinking time with him might be a bad idea, at least until I was sure the other night was a fluke. Sebastian would likely be there, so I had to weight his presence too.

“Yeah, it’s just a couple drinks. They have practice again tomorrow morning…” Annika trailed off, but she wasn’t giving me the usual pleading look. She was comfortable enough around Johnny and the other football players, and she didn’t need me to go anymore.

“Text me where you are, and I’ll show up.”

She nodded and disappeared down the hall. The front door closed, and I stared off into the distance for a minute, unsure whether the unease in my stomach was about Johnny or Sebastian or both.

* * *

Acouple hours later, I turned my phone back on and saw I’d missed five text messages from Sebastian, full of outrageous outfits, superhero memes, and fifteen minutes ago, a video of the bat signal.

Ridiculous. I wasn’t sure if I was referring to my giddy smile or the messages. Ugh. Why did he have to be so annoyingly charming?

I changed out of my sweats and searched for clothing that walked the line between trying too hard and looking good. No one needed to think I’d made an effort, and yet I was going to make an effort. If Annika was here right now, she’d laugh at me.

Jeans and a fitted T-shirt would fit the bill just fine. I grabbed my keys and headed to the pub that wasn’t far from our house.

The Irish pub had cozy booths and dark wood. The dim, intimate lighting made the place one of my favorites for a chat while drinking. Perfect for deep conversations over a pint or two. Annika and I had spent many nights there since we started college together last year.

Opening the heavy wooden door, I stood at the entry for a moment, scanning the booths and listening for familiar voices. When my phone pinged, Sebastian’s name appeared.

At the back.

I didn’t bother to respond to any of his messages, so how did he know I arrived? Wasn’t I supposed to be the one with superpowers?

I slid my phone into my pocket and wandered deeper into the pub. Annika’s laughter floated over, and my uncertainty vanished. Sebastian spotted me first, and a grin broke out across his face, lighting up the room.

There were five football players, including Sebastian and Troy, spread out around the booth. Annika was the lone girl, and she was tucked up against Johnny on the far side. He was watching her talk, and as she made a gesture with her hands, he leaned over and kissed her temple. She turned to him and rested her head on his shoulder, a silly sweet grin on her face.

Her hand cradled her pint glass, and now that I realized the bruise was there, it was all I could see.

Sebastian shifted and patted the seat beside him. “Wing-woman! I’ve been waiting for you.”

Annika glanced at me. “Wing-woman?” Confusion settled over her face.

“She volunteered to help me find women willing to sleep with me.” He took a drink from his pint. “She thinks my taste is questionable.”

Halfway through sipping her beer, she sputtered. “She what now?”

God, what must she be thinking? When our gazes connected, I hoped she could read my helpless expression.

“Sebastian doesn’t need to convince girls to have sex with him. They show up ready and willing all hours of the night.” Johnny’s voice was bored. He took another long pull from his drink and glanced at Sebastian. “What was the name of the girl last night? Did you get it?”

Sympathy coated Annika’s expression, and I refused to make eye contact with either Sebastian or Johnny, but then Sebastian let out a laugh tinged with annoyance.

“What are you playing at? Don’t be a dick, Johnny. There was no girl last night.”

I snuck a glance out of the corner of my eye. Was he being serious or was he hoping Johnny would play along?

“My mistake. Must have been the night before. There are so many, it’s hard to keep track.” Johnny drank his beer while scanning the bar.

Annika snatched her purse off the seat and stood up, pushing at Johnny’s knees. “Let me out.”

“Where are you going?” He made no effort to move.

“I’m not sitting here while you make my friend feel uncomfortable.” Annika gestured toward me.

When the two of them started arguing, Sebastian leaned over and whispered in my ear, “He’s in a shitty mood. There was no woman last night or the night before. Honest.”

I faced him, searching for sincerity. Not that it mattered. Sebastian and I weren’t together, and if I had my way, we’d never go beyond whatever we were right now. The speculation going on—did he or did he not sleep with girls the last two nights—would ruin me.

Annika pushed at Johnny’s legs, the two of them bickering in hushed tones.

“It’s okay, Annika.” I broke eye contact with Sebastian. “Seems like Johnny’s having trouble controlling himself again tonight.” I stared at Annika’s wrist, and he flushed.

He avoided meeting my gaze and took another gulp of his beer. After a beat, he offered her a pleading expression. “Please, just stay. Natalie said she’s okay. I’ll tone it down. Practice was awful, and I’m not handling it well. Just stay.”

Annika’s shoulders slumped, and she slid into the seat beside him. “You did fine at practice.” She took out her phone. “Here, let’s look at it. You were better than you think.”

They huddled together over her phone, re-watching sections of the practice.

I sighed and stood. Sebastian followed me, and his hazel eyes were full of questions.

“I’m getting a drink. Do you want one?”

“I’ll come with you.”