Author: L A Cotton
Category: Contemporary
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/l-a-cotton/page,7,606415-ruined_hopes_an_enemies-to-lovers_romance_rixon_high.html
“Thanks.”
I pulled out my cell, unsurprised to find a string of text messages from Aaron.
Aaron: You should come party with us.
Aaron: E, man, come on. Everyone’s here. Leigh is here…
Damn him. Dangling her in front of me like temptation I wasn’t strong enough to resist.
But I had to. Because me going after Ashleigh would only result in more pain and anguish.
Too many people were involved now.
I had to stay away.
Even if it fucking killed me.
I clenched my fist as I considered my reply.
Me: I’m out.
Aaron: On a hot date?
Me: You wish.
Aaron: Yeah, I do. Maybe if you got laid, you wouldn’t be such a grumpy asshole.
I smiled at that.
“Something funny?” Penny arrived with my drink.
“Nah, just Aaron being a dick.”
“Aaron? Is that the guy you came in with the other night?”
“Yeah, he’s my… foster brother.”
“He seemed nice.”
“He’s a pain in my ass.” I snorted.
“Aren’t brothers supposed to be?”
“You have a brother?”
She nodded. “Max. He’s eleven and a total pain in my ass too.” Her eyes lit up with affection. “But I love that kid, something fierce. He’s the reason I kill myself with double shifts here.”
My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I… our mom isn’t on the scene. Hasn’t been for a long time. We live with my gran but she’s sick.” Her expression faltered. “And you didn’t come here to hear me offload all this. I’m sorry, I’ll be back with your order soon.”
Penny went to walk away, but I blurted out, “Wait.”
“Yeah?” Hope shone in her eyes.
“Do you have a break coming up?”
“It’s pretty dead, I’m sure Manny won’t mind me taking ten.”
I flicked my eyes to the empty seat opposite me.
“Oh. Oh, okay.” She slid onto the bench. “This is… unexpected.”
“I figured you could use the company as much as me.” I shrugged.
I didn’t want her to get the wrong impression, but there was something about her admission a minute ago that struck a chord with me.
“So you look after your brother?” I asked.
“Something like that. My gran raised us, did a fine job too. But she fell sick right before my senior year. She had to stop working but the bills didn’t stop coming, you know? So I begged Manny for a job and I’ve been here ever since.”
“You take classes at Rixon Community College too?”
“Yeah. Only part-time though because I need to work. I want to be a teacher one day. But until Max is old enough…” She trailed off.
“I had no idea.”
“Well, we’ve never really talked.” She gave me a shy smile. “What about you, Ezra Jackson? What’s your story?”
“You know my story.” I slouched back and ran a hand over my jaw.
“No, I only know what I’ve heard around town and from Manny.”
“The accident…”
“People talk, Ezra.”
And wasn’t that the truth. But it had always been background noise before. When I’d moved to Rixon and become the Bennets’ foster child. When I didn’t fit in with the kids at school. When I wandered around town in my hoodies, keeping my head down and my mouth shut.
Rixon was a small town. Everyone knew everyone. They greeted each other in the street or at the store. They came out on game night to support their beloved Raiders. The football team were local celebrities, worshipped and adored.
And I was the outsider.
The strange boy from out of town plucked up by the Bennets and given a shot at a better life.
The boy who to everyone around him, was squandering that chance.
“Yeah, well people don’t usually know what the fuck they’re talking about.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, E.” A dark shadow lingered in her eyes. “Just because they talk doesn’t mean I listen to what they’re saying.”
“Is that right?”
Shit. It sounded like I was flirting.
I wasn’t.
Was I?
Pen was cute, sure. Easy to talk to, and like me, she clearly had baggage of her own. But I wasn’t about that. Not with her. Not with Ashleigh or anyone else.
Yet, it felt good to know that maybe someone got it.
Ashleigh had always tried to understand, to pick me apart and understand what made me tick. But I’d always felt like a science project; a puzzle she needed to solve. She had the perfect life. The perfect parents. A lovely home, and a bright future. I was nothing more than a square peg in a round hole. I didn’t fit.
I couldn’t make myself fit.
So no matter how much Ashleigh pushed, no matter how much she wanted me—and I knew she did, it was in her eyes every time she looked at me—I would never let myself trust her motivations because we were from different worlds. Two planets set on entirely different trajectories.
Pen gave me another smile. She didn’t push or dig or try to get me to open up. She was content with the silence.
Just like me.
“You’re heading out?” Pen asked me some time later.
She hadn’t sat and talked for long. A group of people just passing through town had arrived, looking for something to eat before they got on the road again. But I’d stuck around, happy to watch the world go by. Trying my best not to think about Ashleigh at that fucking party.
Even after everything that had happened, she would bounce back. Ashleigh’s friends and family would make sure she felt like one of them still. And it was a selfish fucking thing, a masochistic thing, but part of me wondered if it was better she didn’t get those missing memories back. The ones of us together, her following me around, pushing herself into my space. Her unrelenting attempts at breaking down my steel reinforced walls… The occasional times she slipped through, and she had. Ashleigh had forced her way into my life and buried herself under my skin in a way I hadn’t expected.
So yeah, maybe it was for the best she didn’t remember.
Remember me. Us. And how epically I’d fucked things up.
“Yeah, it’s late,” I said. “I should get back. Someone is around to help you lock up, right?”
Manny had left earlier when they stopped taking food orders.
“Yeah, Jarod is out back somewhere. He gives me a ride home.”
“Good, that’s… good.”
“So I was thinking.” She scribbled something down on her notepad and tore off the page, holding it out for me. “If you ever want to meet outside of work hours…”
“Pen.” I let out a heavy sigh.
“I know, I know. You’re not into me like that.” I could have sworn I saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes. “But I liked talking to you tonight, and I think you liked talking to me too. And well, we could all use another friend in the world. Just think about it.”
Plucking the note from her fingers, I shoved it in my pocket. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
A soft chuckle escaped her lips. “You do that. Goodnight, Ezra.”
“Night, Pen.” I slipped out of the diner and shoved my hands in my pocket, my fingers grazing Pen’s number.
Friends.
I could do friends.
And maybe she was right, maybe we could all do with another friend in the world.
The house was quiet when I finally got back. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed straight for my room. It was only then I heard Sofia and Poppy’s muted giggles.
Drunken giggles.
Rolling my eyes, I kept walking, until I caught a name.
Ashleigh.
“Did you see her with Gav? They make a cute couple.”
Gav?
My body went rigid.
“I don’t thin
k they’re into each other like that,” Sofia said.
“Yeah, but they could be. I heard him tell Kaiden and Bryan he’s not going away to Maryland. He’s staying in Rixon. Something to do with his mom and sister.”
“I always figured Ashleigh would wear Ezra down. The two of them would be so good together, but it’s like he’s…”
Their voices became muffled. Probably a good thing. I didn’t want to hear whatever Sofia had to say about me.
Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.
Heading for my room, I closed the door behind me and peeled out of my clothes and dropped onto the bed.
Ashleigh and Gav.
It shouldn’t have bothered me half as much as it did. He was an okay guy. Seemed to care about her in his own way. They’d gone to prom together as friends. But I didn’t know how to feel about the fact he would be staying in Rixon.
I guess it didn’t really matter now. Ashleigh needed friends. She needed people in her corner and Gavin McKay was the perfect candidate.
I’d added Penny’s number to my contacts, so I scrolled through and found it. She would be home now. Possibly even asleep.
Fuck. I wouldn’t even know what to say anyway.
The vibration of my cell phone startled the shit out of me, and I pulled up the message from an unknown number.
Weird.
Until I read the words and my stomach dropped into my fucking toes.
Unknown: Everyone keeps telling me you’re avoiding me because of what happened. Because you blame yourself. But I know you, Ezra… something else is going on. Just tell me, please… Please talk to me.
Fuck.
Fuck!
I clenched my teeth together until it hurt, needing the flash of pain to ground me. Ashleigh knew—of course she fucking knew—something was wrong.
My fingers hovered, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t text her back and explain.
Even if I wanted to.
So I did the only thing I could.
I deleted her message and texted Penny instead.
Chapter Ten
Ashleigh
“What the—” My eyelids fluttered open, my stomach lurching as I tried to get my bearings.
Strange room. Unfamiliar bed. Half-clothed boy beside me.
“Please tell me we didn’t—”
“Stop. Talking,” Gav grumbled from somewhere under his hair. He was face down on the bed, hair falling into his eyes.
“What the hell happened?”
“Vodka. Too much vodka.” He finally rolled onto his side, meeting my horrified stare. “Good morning to you too.”
“Why are we in bed together?”
“We’re not in bed, we’re on it. And it was either crash here or sleep outside. I figured you’d appreciate somewhere more comfortable than Bryan’s loungers.”
“I… damn, my head hurts.” I fumbled for the nightstand, grabbing my cell phone. There was a couple of messages from my parents, telling me to enjoy the party and be careful. Another saying they were happy for me to stay over so long as Lily was too.
I exited out of the message thread, but my eye caught on another thread.
Oh no.
Ezra.
I’d texted Ezra last night. But how had I—
The memory slammed into me. Stealing Aaron’s cell phone to get Ezra’s number while we were all soaking up the copious amounts of alcohol with cold pizza.
It was pretty astonishing for someone as drunk as I’d been. But it didn’t matter because Ezra hadn’t replied. I’d pretty much begged him to tell me what the matter was… and he’d completely ignored me.
If that wasn’t a giant sign, I didn’t know what was.
“Hey, you okay?”
I glanced over to find Gav watching me. “Yeah, fine.”
“Wouldn’t happen to be anything to do with that drunken text message you sent Ezra, would it?”
“I told you about that?” My eyes widened.
“I have vague memories of you making me check it for spelling accuracy.”
“I did not.”
“No.” He chuckled around an amused smirk. “But you told me you were texting him.”
“Oh.” My stomach sank deeper.
“I’m guessing from the glum expression that he didn’t text back.”
I shook my head, my cheeks burning with dejection.
“His loss.”
It didn’t feel like it, but I swallowed the words.
“I need water… and a shower… and something to soak up this hangover. Maybe not in that order.”
Gav sat up and kicked his legs over the side of the bed, the sheet sliding off his body, revealing his very bare, very muscular legs. He didn’t seem fazed though, grabbing his cargo shorts and hiking them on. He glanced back at me and smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
“Relax. I can manage to hunt down a glass of water, some Advil, and a pancake or two.” He headed for the door, but I called after him. “Yeah?”
“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”
“Stick with me, Leigh Leigh, and you won’t go wrong.” He winked and slipped into the hall.
And I sat there wondering what the hell had just happened.
Gav didn’t return, so after washing up as best I could, I went in search of him.
“Shit, sorry,” he said when I found him in Bryan’s huge, open plan kitchen. “I was just coming, I swear.”
“It’s okay. Can I?” I motioned to the bottle of water and pain pills in his hands.
“Sure, here.”
“It was my fault,” Bryan said. “I was trying to make him see sense about college.”
“I already told you, man. It’s a done deal. Mom won’t admit it, but she needs me here.”
“You shouldn’t have to—”
“Dude,” Gav snapped, letting out a sigh of frustration, “I said leave it.”
“Fine.” Bryan held up his hands in defeat. “But I think you’re making the wrong call.”
“It’s only college. I can reapply next year.”
“Hmm, something smells good.” Carrie-Anne wandered into the kitchen, looking far too bright and breezy given how rough I felt.
“Morning, Kitty Cat.” Bryan hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.
Gav caught my eye and shook his head as if to say, ‘told you,’ but I’d seen enough of their PDA last night to know they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“Where are Lily and Kaiden?” I asked. Poppy and Sofia had gone home with Aaron and Cole last night, but Lily had promised she wouldn’t leave without me, so I assumed she was still here somewhere.
“Oh, don’t expect them to rise until at least ten.”
“Yeah, they were awake most of the night if the noises coming from—”
“Bry.” Carrie-Anne nudged his ribs with her elbow.
“What? Lily is a—”
“Lily is a what?” Kaiden appeared in the doorway, brow cocked.
“Is a sweetheart, of course,” Bryan stuttered and we all snickered.
“I’m glad you think so.” Lily strolled into the kitchen so full of confidence and poise, it was almost like looking at a different girl to the one I’d known ten months ago.
How time changed things.
She came over to me. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I drank my body weight in vodka.”
“You did a pretty good job.”
I flipped Gav off and he chuckled.
“I was worried,” she whispered.
“I’m fine. I think I just needed to let loose, ya know?”
Her pinched expression told me she didn’t. But I couldn’t really explain it beyond that. Watching them all together, it was hard. Harder than I anticipated. Like being present but unable to reach them, a crystal-clear glass wall separating us. I could hear them, see them, and communicate with them. But I wasn’t with them.
So I’d gone out
side with Gav and we’d drank and talked and drank some more. It wasn’t my brightest idea ever, but it was what I needed in that moment. And surprisingly, as the night went on, I could understand why Gav and I had become friends over the last few months. He was witty and smart and didn’t take himself too seriously. But he also let me talk. And he wasn’t afraid of the silence. The stilted moments when neither of us wanted to speak or knew what to say.
It wasn’t like that with Ezra. Every conversation we’d ever had was hard work. Usually me fighting, clawing for every word and response from him. And in the rare moments he did open up to me, he never really let me past his defenses.
I was beginning to wonder why I’d bothered. He clearly didn’t care—not the way I did.
He hadn’t visited me in the hospital. He didn’t text me back or speak to me at the store. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to ignore me.
It hurt, knowing that the boy I’d always rooted for, the boy my heart had long ago decided was hers, had written me off so easily.
Had something happened between us that I couldn’t remember? Is that why things were so awkward between us? Why he didn’t want anything to do with me?
We were obviously still talking for me to be in his car the night of graduation. But what had happened leading up to that, I had no idea because he wouldn’t talk to me.
“Your mom and dad will kill me if they find out you were—”
“That’s why we won’t tell them.” I flashed her the best smile I could muster.
The truth was, I felt like I could sleep for a week. And maybe I would now we were another day closer to Lily leaving and senior year commencing.
I had zero desire to be a senior again. Especially when everyone around me knew the truth. Maybe I could talk my parents out of it? I was nineteen in a couple of months. An adult. Surely, it was my decision to make?
Oh, who was I kidding? They were just doing what they thought was best for me. But I wasn’t sure spending another year with Ezra was a good idea. We’d be forced to see one another, to take classes together, and play nice.