Rival Hearts (Rival Love #2)

by Natalie Decker

  “Sky still hasn’t called?”

  I shake my head. I’m not about to tell Kayla about the text. She sighs. “I’m sorry. I know how much this must suck for you.” She shrugs. “I mean, you guys are so cute together. And then the whole incident happened. And now the whole long-distance thing. Maybe it got to be too much for her. Maybe she wants to see how or where everything fits while her life changes all over again.”

  “I know.” I’ve been trying not to think about it. If she decides to stay in New York, where will that leave us? Will she end this?

  Kayla smiles. “I’m sure everything will work out, though. She told me she has a few pictures of you guys on her phone and on her nightstand that she looks at. But other than that she hasn’t really said much about why she’s not talking to you. She did say school is fifty times harder than here and she feels like a retard. She also swears her grade point average is going to go into the toilet if she doesn’t get a tutor. Then she laughed and said, ‘Me, with a tutor. I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.’”

  I know I should say something, but instead I nod.

  What more can I say? The girl I love is slowly killing me.

  Chapter 4

  Skylar

  Obviously, I don’t pay a lot of attention when it comes to things happening around me. For instance, Malcom is in all of my classes. Yeah. Every. Single. One. It gets better, too. He’s a macdab genius. Which makes me super jealous.

  I catch a glimpse of Mr. Annoying’s last test and have to hold back a scream. Another A+. Before the move to New York, the only thing I got was A+’s. My eyes dart down to my own paper and I frown at the C- before me. In my last class I got a B and I thought that was the end of the world. This … this is like the end of the universe.

  My life has officially hit rock-freaking-bottom. I need a tutor fast, before I can kiss even my partial scholarship to Duke goodbye. The bell rings and I already have my stuff in my hand, heading out the door, when I hear, “Oh, hey! Babycakes, have you finally started stalking me?”

  I turn my glare to Malcom. “Why do you keep calling me that? And no, I’m not stalking you.”

  “To answer your question, you wrinkle your nose every time I say it, and I find it cute.” He nudges my side. “But seriously, I must ask, what’s up with the frown? No peanuts for your parade?”

  “Huh?” Who says that? And what the hell does that even mean?

  He laughs and shrugs. “Sorry, my dad has all these dumbass sayings and they rub off.” He smiles. “So, what’s up? You don’t usually look so depressed. Guy troubles? Lacking some attention in the downstairs department?” He nudges me.

  “No. Jeez. What’s wrong with you?” What a pervert. But as his words sort of play around in my head, I stop and ask, “And how would you know how I usually look?”

  “Damn, the gig is up. Well, I’ve known you were in all my classes since day one. Fun is a good thing, you know. You should try it.” We leave the school and head down the busy sidewalk.

  “You know what else is a good thing? Mace.”

  He chuckles and turns a corner, and I follow. No longer on the right path to my new house. Malcom glances over at me with a cheesy grin. “You seem to be following me now, though.”

  I sigh. “Can I see your tests from today?” I don’t know why I’m asking. I got a peek at them in class.

  He hands them over and I can’t help but become green with envy as I see the two, big A+’s on them.

  “Happy?” He starts to pull the tests back into his own possession.

  I narrow my eyes and shove them back at him. “Would you be up for catching me up? Apparently I’m not as prepared as I thought.”

  He smirks while his eyebrow pops up. “Well … I might be willing to. What’s in it for me?”

  I don’t like what he’s insinuating. Flinching a little, I say, “I don’t know. What did you have in mind? Money?”

  “A date. With me.”

  “No. I’m … ” What am I, in a relationship? I’m not even sure that’s correct anymore. I’ve avoided Caleb’s calls and texts for almost a week. I’m pretty sure he’s about fed up with me. Anyone else would be. I swallow and finish, “ … in love with someone.” That’s not a lie. I am in love with Caleb, I just don’t want to put him through a long-distance relationship. He’s got too much other crap to worry about. I’ll be a distraction, holding him back.

  Malcom nods. “Fair enough. How about a friendly breakfast? You can pay for your own meal and I’ll pay for mine. We’ll talk about non-romantic things like the weather, disasters, and whatever else might come up. Sound like a deal?”

  I nod. “Okay.” I stick my hand out but quickly drop it when he doesn’t shake it.

  He just laughs and says, “Come on. My place is a few blocks this way.”

  ***

  After entering Malcom’s room, I officially claim him as the dorky version of me. Well, that’s if, of course, my dorky side was into comic books and collected action figures instead of playing sports. His room is OCD spotless, and all his comics are in protective coverings and set in volume order as well as alphabetical. But it also goes by brands, too, like Marvel, DC comics, Dark Horse, and the list goes on. This isn’t the only thing I noticed we have in common; two guitars rest in the far corner.

  “You play?”

  His eyes leave whatever object he’s looking at and find mine. “I told you that.”

  I shrug. “I didn’t think you were serious.”

  “I’m always serious, babycakes.”

  “You need to stop calling me that,” I groan.

  He rolls his shoulders and laughs. “Not making any promises.” He winks and I’m regretting my decision to ask him for help. With a sigh, I plop down in the chair at his desk. He shakes his head and tsks. “Uh, how are we to study if you’re all the way over there? This isn’t a lecture hall, Skylar.”

  “Oh, so you can say my name,” I tease and move the chair closer to where he sits on his bed.

  He smiles and starts laying out his books. “What subject would you like to start with?”

  “Let’s go with physics.” Since it’s the class I got a C- in. I’m not letting him know this, though. I already feel slow enough coming here and asking for his help.

  He nods and pulls out his physics book. We start working through our homework together, and everything is fine, until it isn’t. It feels wrong, and familiar all at the same time. My mind flicks back to memories of a boy laughing, with a smile that makes my insides feel like Jell-O. But when I shake myself from my thoughts, that boy isn’t in this room with me, it’s Malcom. I stand as sweat forms and sticks to the nape of my neck. Panic surges through me, and without a word, I grab my things and bolt out of the room.

  I’m two blocks away from my dad’s house when my phone rings. I dig it out of my back pocket and answer it without checking the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey. You answered.”

  “Caleb?”

  “What? No. It’s Malcom. I got your number from your sister. What happened?”

  I look around at the trees and sigh. “Nothing. Look, maybe it was a bad idea to ask for your help. I mean, it is only my first week. I’m sure if I read the material I’ll get it. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

  “I have a feeling you’re hiding something but it’s cool. I get it. I’m so sexy you can’t be around this without wanting a piece, right?”

  I make a face and groan. “Do you ever stop with the pick-up lines?”

  “Nope. So, what are you doing tomorrow night? I know Lidia isn’t taking you to the mad party at Kyle’s penthouse, so I figured you can come with me.”

  “Um … that’s nice and all, but I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve got … um … ” I’m trying to think of an event but my mind is blanking.

  “That’s what I thought. I’m coming to get you at seven so be ready. And if you aren’t, well, you’ll see what wil
l happen.” Then he hangs up before I can even argue.

  Crap.

  Chapter 5

  Caleb

  Saturday mornings after football season are usually awesome. I sleep in until noon, eat whatever, and play video games with my boys for most of the day, then we go hit the parties. So me being up before noon is rare and not on anyone’s schedule. I walk into the kitchen and immediately dodge Uncle Bri who almost scalds me with his morning cup of coffee.

  He blinks a couple of times. “I’m sorry, Caleb. You’re up awfully early. Busy day?” He wipes up the spilled coffee on his shirt and grabs a rag to clean the mess on the floor.

  Erin steps into the kitchen, house phone in hand, saying, “I know it’s a little harder sweetie, but do you feel like you’re learning more?” She drops her stare to my uncle and me standing around by the island. “Good morning, you two.” She covers her hand with the phone, and whispers, “Caleb, I’m glad you’re up. Would you mind helping me talk Liv down from the ledge? She got her first C ever and she’s really upset. But nothing I’m saying is helping.”

  She hands the phone to me before I can even object. Skylar hasn’t talked to me for what feels like forever. In fact, as soon as I say hello I bet she’ll hang up. Or demand I put her mom back on the phone. But I’m selfish, and I want to talk to Sky more than anything. I need to hear her voice.

  So I leave the kitchen, phone pressed to my ear, and head upstairs. Skylar’s sniffling, and my heart breaks a little more with each sob. I want to be on my flight to her right now so I can hold her and make this misery go away. But I’m not, so I have to do the next best thing, listen, and tell her how everything will be okay soon enough.

  “I just … I never felt so stupid in my whole life.” She pauses. “Mom, are you listening to me?”

  “Hey.”

  “What the … are you kidding me? She gave the phone over to … wait, Caleb? Is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s not my uncle. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch the whole story, your mom just caught me off guard and said you were upset but nothing she said was helping. So she asked if I could give it a whirl.” Ugh! I can’t believe I just said that. Out of all the things I’ve been wanting to tell her, this is what comes out. Shoot me now.

  She hiccups. “Well, I guess I could start from the beginning. I had two tests the other day and we got our grades back yesterday. I completely bombed both tests. I know it probably sounds like I’m being weird, but I got a B and then a C-. I’ve never got a B let alone a C- on anything, ever.” She sniffles a little. “And to top it off there’s this annoying know-it-all in my class named Malcom who’s friends with Lidia, go figure, and he got an A+ on both tests. And Mom told me maybe the material here is a little more advanced and all I really have to do is read. Maybe ask for a tutor to help catch myself up. And that things will be fine.”

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Your break is coming up soon, right?”

  “Yeah.” She sounds odd, like she’s not sure what I’m getting at.

  “You’ll have plenty of time to catch up then. I’m sure you’ll have all those books memorized and be getting your perfect scores in no time. You know?” I don’t mention the fact I plan on coming up there and taking her back with me. But the more she talks about school, and how she feels like her education is lacking somehow, I feel a little guilty. What if she decides that school here isn’t challenging enough and refuses to come back? Or worse, that she doesn’t want to be around me so she’ll stay there?

  “You’re right. Thanks. I feel a little better.” She pauses again. “Caleb, I’m um … ”

  “It’s okay. You’ve been adjusting. I miss you. I wish I could—”

  She cuts me off. “I don’t want to have a long-distance relationship. I don’t want you to go through that. That’s why I’ve been avoiding your calls. I’m sorry. I want you to be happy, and I know if you’re feeling like I am, you’re not. Feel free to hate me.”

  My biggest fear has come true, and I can’t stop it. So, I do the dumbest thing ever. “It’s okay. I mean, it was bound to happen, right? But now that we got that over with, you can stop avoiding my calls. Probably talk as friends, right?”

  “Oh, uh … yeah, if you want that.” She sounds confused and if I were her, I’d be confused too. Because I sound like a complete asshole. Like I have no feelings for her whatsoever. And that’s not true at all. I want to tell her I love her. I want to tell her that she changed me. I actually want to challenge myself, started reading books from her collection that she left here. I’m playing music all for her, and I love her for pushing me. I love her for making me want to be a better person for her and her alone. But I can’t say any of this now. She doesn’t want me.

  “How are things at school?” she asks.

  I shrug as a reflex and realize she can’t see me. “Fine. We got cameras in the lunchroom. A lot of the winter programs are cut and so are the spring ones.”

  “I’m sorry.” She sighs heavily into the phone.

  “It’s not your fault. You know that, right?”

  “I feel responsible for it. I was—”

  I butt in. “Stop it! Just stop it right now. This isn’t your fault. And they shouldn’t have put it all on you to save the programs. Sky, they should have noticed the funds were missing a lot earlier, like two years earlier. Don’t blame yourself for something you had no control over. Let’s talk about something else, like, are you planning on playing any sports there?”

  “There aren’t many sports here. It’s more of an educational school, so they have things like track, or archery, but not softball. They have baseball, but it’s whatever. I can always go to Columbia in the fall and possibly transfer somewhere else, I guess.”

  “But … ” I’m about to tell her that’s not her dream. Her dream is to play sports and attend Duke. Not give up sports for the rest of her senior year and attend the university her father teaches at in the fall. But she already sounds so depressed, and it’s killing me. I want to make her pain leave, but saying the things I want to say won’t do that. It’ll make this so much worse. So I sigh. “But … that’s not a bad plan. I mean, it could be worse, right?”

  “Could. I guess. I should probably get back to my homework. I’m sure you’ve got places to be anyway.”

  I want to tell her I don’t have anywhere to be. I’ll spend my whole day and night on the phone with her, but again, she doesn’t want to hear this. “Yeah, I was going to go hang out with Kayla and Lance.”

  “Tell them I said hi. And I’ll talk to Kayla tomorrow.”

  “Sure. Bye, Sky.”

  “Bye, Ca—”

  I hang up so I don’t have to hear her finish my name. If I ever find out who fucked up the pool area and ran Skylar’s name in the mud, they’ll be sorry. Sorry they ever thought, let alone completed, the task of tagging our school.

  Anger crashes into me like waves tumbling into cliffs. I know I need to control it, but it’s too late. My hand latches onto the nearest object, which happens to be the cordless phone, and I launch it across the room into the nearest wall. It hits, shattering into pieces.

  My door springs open and my uncle looks at me. I move from my bed, debating whether to pick it up right away or just leave the broken phone there.

  “Caleb, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Bullshit. I know something is wrong. What is it?”

  I shrug. I’m not telling him the girl I’m in love with just told me she doesn’t want me. I’m not going to tell him that girl happens to be Erin’s daughter. And I sure as hell ain’t going to tell him she’s the reason I’m changing. She’s the reason everything feels pointless. Parties seem lame. Video games all seem the same. No matter what the levels are or what new challenges are there, it all seems like I’ve done them before. And sports, they don’t even feel challenging enough, and that there is crazy talk.

  “It’s nothing. I just need a break.”

  He nods but it doesn’t look
as if he believes my lie. “All right. Well, Erin and I were thinking about going out for breakfast. Want to join us?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He glances over at the corner where the cordless now lays in pieces and eyes me. “Caleb, I’m not sure what’s got you like this, but I thought we fixed this.” He’s talking about my anger. I thought it was fixed, too. I haven’t had an issue with breaking stuff for years. I don’t have to ask him, I can see the worried look in his eyes. He totally thinks I’m going back to how I was for the first two years of living here after my parents’ death.

  For both of our sakes, I hope I’m not. Everything in my room will be boxed up or replaced with plastic items. He might take it a step further and pad my walls.

  “It was an accident. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  He nods. “Better not.”

  Chapter 6

  Skylar

  Twenty minutes until seven and I’m in sweats and a t-shirt. I have no doubt that Malcom will show up and drag me out of the house, but I’m not changing. I don’t plan on looking like I’m available or cute because my chest still hurts from the conversation I had with Caleb this morning. I thought breaking up with someone wouldn’t hurt the person doing the breaking. Whoever said that was so wrong.

  Lidia skips around the kitchen in a skimpy skirt designed for a hooker. Her top is no better. She coughs when her stare lands on me. “Oh, please tell me you aren’t wearing that?”

  “I am.” I shrug and ignore her eye roll. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on telling anyone I know you.”

  “Everyone knows you’re living with me. I can’t have you going to a place where people know me, looking like that!”

  I won’t even dignify her complaint with a response. Looking for a non-diet soda in the fridge, I grumble, “Do you all seriously not drink or eat anything real in this house?”