Saving Us: A novel of love and friendship (Northern University Book 1)

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Saving Us: A novel of love and friendship (Northern University Book 1) Page 29

by Wendy Million


  “Okay,” I said. “Okay, I’ll tell my dad to come see you.”

  “I thought,” Annika started, then stopped. “I thought I wanted to remember. But it’s so much worse. I had no idea. I just—” Her voice broke, and I wished I was there to give her a hug.

  “I’ll come with my dad and ditch my class.”

  “No.” Her voice was a little stronger. “I don’t want to be responsible for you missing more class.”

  “I don’t care about my class. If you need me, I’m there.”

  She took a deep, shuddering breath. “It might be easier to get through retelling it if I’m stating the facts to your dad. If you come, I think I’ll—I’ll fall apart.”

  My heart sank, but I understood. “Okay. But if you want to talk later…”

  “I need your dad to tell me what I do now.” Her voice took on an unnaturally high pitch as though on the cusp of panic.

  “I’ll go talk to him, okay? We’ll figure it out, Annika. It’ll be okay.”

  “I gotta go.” Her voice was strangled, and she hung up.

  I threw on my robe and rushed out to find my dad drinking his coffee at the table.

  “Annika remembers,” I said. “She said she remembers it all. She wants to talk to you.”

  The cup clattered onto the table, and my dad got to his feet, grabbing his notepad and pen off the table. “I’ll have to take the police with me. Does she have a lawyer?”

  I shook my head. “Not sure.”

  “I’ll call her parents on the way.” He grabbed his keys off the side table by the door and then stopped short. “I didn’t see you last night when you got home. But Sebastian played a hell of a game.”

  My heart swelled at my dad watching Sebastian play, cheering him on.

  “Oh, Dad,” I said. “I can’t believe you watched.”

  He gave me a slight smile from the door. “They’re back today. Pepper spray and Taser with you. If Annika remembers everything, and Johnny finds out, he might think he’s got nothing to lose.”

  I sunk onto one of the kitchen chairs. My phone pinged, and I snatched it off the table to find a text from Kristy.

  Are you and Sebastian on or off?

  Frowning, I texted her back: We’re on. My brain kicked into overdrive. When there was silence on her end, I texted her again to discover what was going on.

  Shit on Instagram. Probably nothing.

  Sebastian never posted anything, ever. He called social media a time suck. I opened the app, searching for whatever Kristy had seen. There was nothing on his page or my home feed. I searched the hashtag for the National Championship. Then I saw it. A GIF of Sebastian making out with another girl.

  Nausea rushed over me like a tsunami, wiping out sanity. I went to my text messages to check whether Sebastian sent me anything. Nothing. What did that mean? I checked my missed calls, but there was nothing there either.

  Sebastian didn’t post the GIF, another player did, but they’d tagged him. Such a tiny moment to capture. I watched it again, a knife stabbing me over and over.

  He wouldn’t.

  Would he?

  I’d watched Sebastian pack his bag. Had that shirt been in the pile? I tried to be rational while my stomach threatened to revolt. Standing up, I went to my room. Tossing gym clothes into a bag, I snatched the Taser and pepper spray off the counter on the way out the door. I couldn’t sit around here wondering. When I asked him about it, the truth would be written on his face. Lying over text or the phone was too easy. They were flying home tonight. I could wait.

  Maybe the GIF was nothing.

  Maybe he got drunk and made a mistake.

  My conversation with Annika months ago returned in a rush. There were always girls around him, circling. Temptation was everywhere.

  I should have gone to the game. Why didn’t I go to the game?

  While I walked to the gym, my head and heart fought a bitter battle. Every possible scenario played out. If Sebastian did get to the NFL, this could happen. Would I always be wondering what to believe, who to believe? My stomach rolled, and I pressed a hand to my gut.

  I worked out at the gym until the lightheaded feeling got the best of me. My phone was off because I was unable to face whatever else might appear. Was it one girl? A single post?

  What would I do if it was true? Could I overlook one mistake?

  If he didn’t sleep around while we were broken up, he wouldn’t do it now. He was Team Nattie. He wouldn’t.

  My brain kept circling. One minute I was convinced there was no way he was making out with a random girl last night. My next ideas encompassed the ways it might have happened.

  Class was a bust. I couldn’t concentrate on the lecture and ended up having to ask someone else for their notes. Walking home, my brain kept ticking off the possible scenarios, every reason the video might have been posted.

  I cleaned the house from top to bottom while I waited for Sebastian to return. My dad and I exchanged a few texts, but I couldn’t ask him whether Sebastian might have cheated on me. The one person I wanted to talk to already had too much on her shoulders. My drama was so trivial in comparison.

  When the door handle rattled and a set of keys jangled around midnight, I froze in the middle of washing the baseboards. All the furniture was pulled out from the wall, a bucket beside me, a rag in my hand. I dropped the rag in the bucket and yanked my phone out of my rear pocket. Still nothing from Sebastian. He was supposed to be back hours ago. I sighed, sitting on my haunches. My dad would take one look at me and know something was wrong.

  Braced for an interrogation, I watched the door swing open. My heart stutter-stopped when Sebastian poked his head in.

  “Nattie? You still awake?”

  “Yeah.” I sat on the floor, frozen. “You scared me.”

  “Shit, sorry.” He stepped in and dropped his things with a thud. Exhaustion coated his features like a thin layer of paint. When we made eye contact, he grinned. “We won!”

  I smiled, not moving off the floor. “It was a great game. You guys must have had a lot of fun last night.” The words came out of my mouth, wooden.

  “It was all right. I kept wishing you were there. Then I lost my phone somewhere. Did you try to text me?” Shaking his head, he rounded the couch and plopped down. “I haven’t seen you in days. I hoped I might get a bit more of a greeting.” He took in the chaos of furniture and cleaning supplies. “What are you doing?”

  “Cleaning.”

  “Okay,” Sebastian said slowly.

  Silence hung between us.

  “All right, what’s going on? You’re freaking me out. Did something happen while I was gone?”

  I grabbed my phone off the ground beside me. Scrolling through the hashtag on Instagram, I found the post and gave Sebastian my phone.

  His brows pulled together, and he frowned as he watched it. “What the hell is this?”

  “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

  “You’re wondering if this is from last night?”

  “It was posted last night by one of the guys on the team. Malcolm, I think.”

  “Did you look at it?” He peered at me, not defensive but curious.

  I rolled my eyes. “A few times.”

  “So you realize it’s from the frat house, right?”

  “What?” I sat beside him and peered over his shoulder.

  Using his finger, he pointed out everything in the background of the GIF. “I don’t understand why Malcolm posted this last night, but this is old. Like, when I first got to campus, old.”

  I pressed a hand to my forehead while relief cascaded through me.

  “Nat, you gotta stop thinking the worst of me.” He put his arm around my waist and kissed my temple. “I swear there isn’t a woman alive who compares to you. There just isn’t.” He held my phone between us.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Taking a deep breath, he tugged me until I straddled him. “Look at me.”

  Reluctantly, I raised m
y eyes.

  “What do you need to hear?”

  Shaking my head, I broke eye contact. “What if you get super famous and this happens?”

  His eyebrows pulled in. “What if what happens?”

  “If it looks like you’re cheating on me.”

  He smoothed my hair with both his hands and then leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “I realize what I’ve got with you. There will be no cheating. I promise.”

  “There’s always going to be other girls after you.”

  “Not always. Someday I’ll be old and fat.”

  I laughed and shoved his chest. “You know what I mean.”

  “I do.”

  When I looked at him again, my favorite half smile was on his face.

  “You think I don’t worry about the same thing?” he asked.

  “I don’t have guys hanging off me everywhere I go.”

  “You’re smart. You’re gorgeous. I worry you’ll wake up one day and realize you can do so much better than some football player with an okay GPA.”

  “That won’t happen.” I cupped his cheek before kissing him.

  “If you ever wonder where we’re at, how I’m feeling, ask. Honesty, always, okay?”

  I nodded, playing with the bottom of his shirt. “Honesty, always.”

  “Where’s your dad?” Sebastian looked around. “Sleeping?”

  I scrolled through my messages. “Looks like he’s not coming home tonight.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  Meeting his worried gaze, I said, “Annika remembered. She remembered it all.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  My dad stuffed the last of his papers in his bag and then wandered around the living room, checking for anything he’d left behind.

  “They’re arresting Johnny today?” I asked again from the couch.

  “Yes.” My father’s voice was laced with deliberate patience. “They’re picking up Johnny, Jeff, and Theo.”

  “They found Annika’s tights, phone, and purse in the wheel well of Jeff’s car, right?”

  Dad stopped gathering the last of his things and stood staring at me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. It feels weird to have you leaving. Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?”

  He smiled and came over to give me a hug. “I’ll return once the trial starts. But I need to get back to work. I’m out of personal days and holidays. The police have a good case. The pills complicate things, but it’s a strong case. Annika remembers. If they can convince Jeff or Theo or both to roll on Johnny, they’ve got an excellent shot at a conviction.”

  I’d spent the last four weeks lamenting my dad’s lack of tidiness and his general presence, but I was going to miss seeing him, bouncing ideas off him, knowing I wasn’t alone.

  “Annika still planning to return to school in a couple weeks?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  He grabbed his bags and placed them by the door. “Sebastian’s here soon?”

  “He went to the gym and to class.” I checked the clock. “Should be here any minute.”

  “Pepper spray and Taser with you at all times, okay? They’re arresting him, but he’ll probably be given bail. He could still get off these charges, so he’d be dumb to come after you. But hotheads like him can be unpredictable.”

  “I got it, Dad.”

  He enveloped me into a hug. “I love you, Natalie Ann. I’m proud of the work you did on this case.”

  My grin was going to split my face. “Really?”

  He placed one hand on each of my shoulders. “Really. You’re remarkable. Your mother would have been so proud of how you’ve handled yourself. I know I am.”

  At the mention of my mom, my throat tightened. “Thanks, Dad. Thanks for everything.”

  “I’m just a phone call away. You need me for anything, you call.”

  “It’ll be okay.”

  With one final hug, he picked up his bags and headed to his car. From the door, I watched him drive out of the parking lot. Anxiety fluttered in my chest, and I locked the door.

  When I took my phone off the side table, there was a text from Clay. He’d been keeping his distance since Sebastian returned, but he and Annika were in regular contact.

  Taking immense pleasure in Johnny and his boys at the station.

  How are you seeing that?

  Local news. Watch it. It’s amazing.

  Going around the couch, I snatched the remote off the coffee table and flipped to the news station. Sure enough, Johnny, Theo, and Jeff were walking through a crowd of reporters flanked by lawyers and police officers.

  Every time Johnny put up his hand to shield his face from prying questions and camera flashes, the sunlight caught his championship ring. Seeing it sent a jolt of anger through me. So unjust for his success and Sebastian’s to be linked.

  Keys jingled outside, and Sebastian came in the door. His gaze strayed to the TV, and he grimaced. Rounding the couch, he sank into a seat, elbows on knees.

  “I hope it’s enough,” he said as Theo, Jeff, and Johnny were walked into the station.

  “Me too.” I scanned his face. “Nothing from the coach?”

  “Not yet. He’s probably waiting to see where this heads with the guys.”

  “You’re not worried?”

  “Not worried at all.” He leaned into the couch. “I caught the damn ball and did a hell of a run during a nationally televised game. Yeah, Johnny threw it, but I caught it. He’s not going to kick me off the team because of Johnny’s arrest. He either goes down with him for the drugs or he coaches next year.”

  Johnny’s lawyer took up the whole screen. We both stared at the TV, only half listening as he made a statement declaring Johnny’s innocence.

  “What’d your dad say before he left?”

  “It’s a solid case. Who knows?” My summary was close.

  Sebastian grabbed my free hand and drew me across the couch beside him. He grabbed the remote and switched off the TV.

  In one swift movement, he flipped me so that my back was pressed into the material and he was lying on top of me. Sometimes his strength and speed were breathtaking off the field too.

  I grinned at him. “Alone at last.”

  “I should start looking for a place to live,” Sebastian murmured.

  “Why?”

  “Isn’t Annika coming back in a few weeks?”

  “She says she is. I’m not so sure.” I sighed as he nibbled on my earlobe. “You could live here for now?”

  “Nattie, are you asking me to move in?” His hazel eyes danced with merriment.

  “Maybe.” I drew out the word. “Could you can handle it?”

  “I like the idea of going to bed with you, waking up with you every day.”

  “There’s also dishes, laundry, cooking…” I rattled off the other things we’d have to negotiate.

  “I’ll do everything.” He gave me a quick kiss.

  “I have standards.” I kept my voice light, but I wasn’t joking. My own father didn’t meet them.

  Sebastian chuckled. “I can take it, Nattie. I wanna do this with you.” His face clouded. “If Annika does return…”

  “I’ll talk to her. She might enjoy having you here.”

  “If she doesn’t, I’ll move out, okay? It’s not a big deal. Maybe when the lease is up here?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Really?” he asked. “You’d do that?”

  “As long as Annika is doing okay by then, yeah, I’d live with you.”

  He scooped me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bedroom. “We’re gonna need to seal the deal.”

  “The roommate deal?” I laughed. “Seal it with what?”

  “A little close contact.”

  “Just a little?” I teased.

  He tossed me on the bed, and as I bounced, I giggled. He followed me down, scooping up my lips.

  “Maybe a lot.”

  “I’m so glad
Johnny’s been arrested.” Even as the words left my lips, I remembered his bail and my dad’s warning. Until Johnny was locked up for good, he was a danger to me, to Annika, maybe to Sebastian too.

  “Hey,” he said. Something in my face must have given me away. “We got this, Nattie. He’s going down. I’m sure of it. Okay?”

  Stroking his face, I kissed him, and I wished I could be as confident. At the edges of my happiness was a deep unease. Johnny didn’t seem like the type to go down without a fight.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  I grabbed the last bag out of Annika’s car and held it until Sebastian came around to my side and took it from me.

  “I’ll take it in.” He gave a small smile and brushed a kiss across my lips.

  Annika reached into her vehicle and grabbed her final things.

  “I realize you’re here, but are you sure this is a good idea?” How many times had I asked her this question? A million, maybe more.

  The college had been supportive of her grades and classes. She’d completed work from home already. Annika didn’t want to lose a year. Part of me thought she should be transferring schools, even if leaving was unfair. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

  Johnny was out on bail, and with Annika back in the city, I was worried.

  “I’ll be fine. I promise. The nightmares are mostly gone. I’m not numb anymore about what happened. Remembering has been hard, but it’s helped me.” The words came out like a speech she’d rehearsed.

  “And you’re sure you’re okay with Sebastian being here?”

  She slammed her car door and shoved more garbage into a McDonald’s bag. “Yeah, it’s fine. Honestly. You said it was until the end of the year, right? It’s March, so it’s not that long.”

  I nodded. I hadn’t told her we were moving in together the next year. He came out of the townhouse and down the small pathway. Watching him walk toward me made my heart too big for my chest. The confidence oozing out of him spoke to me on a deeper level.

  He caught me staring and grinned. Once he reached me, he looped an arm around my waist and tipped his head at Annika. “You got everything?”

  She sighed and peered into the car. “Yep.” Stepping past us, she headed up the path to the townhouse.

 

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