Meant To Be (The Callahans Book 4) Read online

  “Um. Wow.”

  “I know.”

  She makes a little face. “You actually had sex with him? How—how was it?”

  I burst out laughing. Out of all the details I shared with her—and yes, I was pretty brief, but I still told her everything, that’s the only thing she wants to know.

  “It was.” I hesitate. There are no words to describe what those moments were like between me and Eli. “It was really good.”

  “And then he just dumps you right there in the middle of your road,” she says.

  “Yes,” I say with a wince. “I still can’t believe it happened.”

  “I can’t believe it either.” Now she’s the one pausing. “I can’t believe you kept this from me either.”

  “I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid if I said anything to anyone, then you’d all try to convince me to end it,” I confess.

  “I would’ve never done that!” She rests her hand against her chest. I can tell she’s thinking about it before she says, “Well, maybe I would’ve.”

  “Exactly. No one likes Eli. He’s such a jerk on social media, everyone at our school hates him,” I say.

  “He totally brought that on himself you know,” Ellie says.

  “Oh I definitely know. He does too. I think he likes being the local shit-stirrer,” I say. “But there’s so much more to him than that. He’s sweet and protective. He can say the worst things sometimes, but he can also say the absolute best things.”

  We’re both quiet for a while. My mind goes back to last night and Eli’s accusations. How much they hurt me, especially when they’re not true. He only said those things because he was hurting too. He lashes out. He acts first and thinks later.

  What he said…broke my heart. I’m still hurting.

  I want to see him. Talk to him. But he’s cut me off.

  Completely.

  “I’m sorry it ended so badly,” Ellie finally says.

  “So am I.” But I’m not giving up yet. No way. I can’t. It’s been less than twenty-four hours. He has to still feel something for me. I need to convince him we belong together.

  Because we do.

  “I wish we could get together for coffee,” Ellie says. “And I have to be at work by eleven. But let’s try and talk later this afternoon?”

  “For sure. Call me when you’re done with work,” I say.

  Once our FaceTime call is over, I open up Snapchat and go to mine and Eli’s conversation thread. He’s my best friend on Snap. We have the red heart next to each other’s names.

  Well.

  We did.

  The red heart is gone. Eli’s name isn’t even on my friends list. Meaning, he either unadded me or blocked me.

  WTF?

  I search for his name, but it doesn’t come up. He blocked me.

  Seriously. What an asshole.

  Now the tears flow, steady and strong. I just let them out, burying my face in my pillow and sobbing into it. I cry like this for a while, my arms wrapped tightly around the pillow. Like I want to strangle it.

  Kind of like how I want to strangle Eli.

  He must be really mad at me to block me. Of course, not so long ago I blocked him. Only because I was so sick of his obnoxious stories about my brother, about his team, his school and ours. He used to brag all the time.

  He still does. But somehow, it went from obnoxious to endearing.

  There’s a knock on my door, and before I can even say come in, my mother walks into the room, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, wearing my high school colors, which are the same colors as Beck’s youth league football team.

  “We’re leaving in half an hour,” she announces when she stops at the foot of my bed.

  I barely lift my face away from the pillow to peek at her. “Where are we going?”

  “Beck’s game.”

  I sink my face into the pillow. “I don’t wanna go.”

  “Too bad. You have to. Your dad doesn’t want to leave you alone in the house.” She smacks my leg lightly. “Get up, girly, and get ready.”

  “Are you saying Dad doesn’t trust me to be alone in the house?” I sit up and push my hair out of my face, dread making my stomach roil.

  “More like, he doesn’t trust Eli Bennett.” She raises her brows.

  I snort. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to come over. He’s through with me. Blocked me on Snap and everything.” My lower lip trembles and I press down hard on it. I don’t want to cry anymore. Especially not right now, in front of Mom.

  “Maybe that’s a good thing?” she asks, making a little face.

  I laugh bitterly. “You sound like Dad.”

  “We do hang out together a lot, so that’s not a surprise.” She tilts her head, giving me a look. A look that says, get up and get ready. “Now come on, get dressed and come downstairs so you can have something to eat before we leave.”

  “I’m not hungry,” I say with a groan. The thought of food grosses me out. I’d probably throw up if I ate anything. I feel sick over the breakup.

  I still can’t believe we actually broke up.

  “Then at least get out of bed and get some clothes on. Your father is already tense over everything that happened last night,” Mom says. “You don’t want to make him angrier.”

  “Is he really angry with me?” Dread fills me. There is nothing worse than making my parents mad. They give us the “we’re so disappointed in you” speech and that is the absolute worst. I hate all of this.

  “I don’t know if angry is the right word, but he’s definitely not happy with you or your brother,” Mom says.

  “Does Jake have to go today?” God, I really hope not.

  Mom shakes her head. “He had to go clean the bleachers at the high school. He’s already there.”

  The bleachers at our stadium are the worst. The janitors do their best to keep up, but it’s an impossible job. There is so much garbage beneath those bleachers, it would take hours. Days. Months, even, to clean them all. Sometimes, the coaches make the football players who got in trouble clean them. It’s a really sucky job.

  “I’m sure Jake will blame me for that,” I say, throwing back my duvet cover and sheets and climbing out of bed.

  “If he does, tell him he needs to take a good, long look at himself in the mirror. He was terrible last night,” Mom says, sounding irritable. “You weren’t much better, hitting your brother like you did.”

  “He made me mad.” At least my dad understood why I did it. Doesn’t make it right, though.

  “That’s not a good enough reason. If that was the case, Jake would haul off and hit you all of the time,” Mom says, making complete sense.

  I straighten my bed as best I can before I go to my closet to pick out clothes to wear. “Daddy says I have to apologize to him.”

  “As well you should.”

  “Jake should apologize to me, too.”

  “What? For watching out for his sister, who happens to be seeing a boy who hates him?” I turn just in time to see Mom’s brows shoot up.

  I blow out a frustrated breath. “It’s not like that. Eli wasn’t with me to get at Jake.”

  She says nothing, which tells me she’s on Jake’s side with this one.

  So frustrating. It’s like no one listens to me. No one takes the time to try and understand what Eli and I shared. They don’t care. Now I’m left alone, completely heartbroken. My relationship ruined and on top of everything else, I’m grounded.

  I don’t like disappointing my parents, but I don’t think they’re actually listening to me either. They’ve already made up their minds about Eli.

  They’re against him. Against our relationship.

  But I don’t care.

  If they continue to feel that way and Eli and I do end up getting back together, their disapproval isn’t going to stop me from seeing him. Eli and I belong together. It doesn’t matter what my family thinks.

  “I need to get ready.” My tone is snotty. I am giving mysel
f major Autumn vibes right now. She would use the same tone with Mom when she still lived at home. “Can you leave please, so I can get dressed?”

  Mom turns and marches out of my room, slamming the door behind her. I jump at the sound, sinking my teeth into my lower lip. Great, now she’s mad at me too. I sort of want to cry all over again.

  But I don’t. Instead, I tell myself to stop being sad. Easier said than done, but if I have to be out in public, I have to look normal. Like nothing’s bothering me. If I seem broken, and someone sends me a sympathetic look, then I’ll break even more.

  Even though my entire world just collapsed last night. No big deal.

  I’m sitting at the top of the stands at the very high school Eli attends. Talk about a stab in the heart. If I’d known the league game would be here, I would’ve fought harder to get out of coming. I might’ve even offered to clean the bleachers at our school with Jake, and that’s one of the worst jobs on the planet.

  Instead, I’m sitting here surrounded by all things purple and gold, staring at the field where Eli plays. Where he practices every day. This is his school, his home away from home, and it’s like I can feel him surround me, wrapping all around me. His essence is here on that football field, in the very air that I’m breathing, and it’s killing me slowly.

  No one would know it, though. My expression is forced indifference. Mom isn’t talking to me much. Still mad for the way I treated her earlier, which I suppose I deserve. Dad was so focused on Beck and the upcoming game as we drove here, he was oblivious to the tension between Mom and me.

  And here I was, worried over him being angry with me.

  Once we got to the school, Dad escorted my brother over to his team and stayed. He’s basically one of their coaches, though he has no official title. Leaving Mom and I alone. We went into the bleachers, me choosing to sit at the top, Mom sitting one bench below.

  Halfway through Beck’s game, I spot Wyatt Cahill walking in front of the stands, accompanied by his parents. I sit up straighter, grateful to spot a familiar face.

  “Why’s Wyatt here?” I ask Mom.

  “His little brother plays for the senior team. He’s in the eighth grade,” Mom says, turning to look at me. “You finally over your little pouting session?”

  I send her an irritated look before I train my gaze on Wyatt. I will him to look up at the stands. To see me. I want to talk to him. To hear what people are saying. If they’re saying anything about me.

  Thankfully, he finally glances up to scan the crowd, and our gazes meet. He smiles. I smile in return, though it feels foreign.

  He says something to his mom before he starts running up the steps, heading straight for me.

  “Can I talk to Wyatt for a little bit?” I ask Mom, praying she doesn’t deny me.

  “I suppose,” she says reluctantly. “But I’m not budging.”

  “That’s fine.” I hate that she feels like she has to supervise my every move. It’s clear my parents don’t trust me.

  I need to earn their trust back, but I’m not going to do anything to please them that in turn risks my relationship with Eli. He means everything to me. I refuse to give up on him. On us.

  No matter how my parents might feel.

  “Hey.” Wyatt stands on one of the benches below mine so he’s eye level, a friendly smile on his face. “Can I sit with you?” His question is for me.

  “Sure.” I pat the empty spot beside me. Mom is sitting directly in front of me, meaning she’ll be able to hear every single thing we say, which means I’m going to have to be covert with this conversation.

  “How are you?” he asks, once he settles in beside me, though not too close. “I thought I would see you at Sorrento’s last night.”

  “Yeah. No.” I shake my head. “I never go to his house parties. You should know this by now.”

  “True.” He chuckles. “Jake keeps you under lock and key from us. Not sure how you managed to find a boyfriend, considering how closely your brother watches over you.”

  “About that.” One of the team moms calls my mother’s name before she comes bounding up the steps, sitting right next to her and pulling her into a quick hug, both of them laughing and chattering away.

  I couldn’t have made that happen more perfectly if I tried. Mom won’t be paying any attention to me.

  “About what?” Wyatt asks, after I haven’t said anything else.

  “Have you heard any—rumors about me?” I send him a pointed look.

  He frowns. “Like what?”

  “Like me being with…” I lower my voice to the barest whisper. “Eli Bennett.”

  His frown deepens. “Who the hell is saying that?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.” I assume his strong reaction is based on the fact that I’m referring to Eli—and that Wyatt doesn’t like him at all.

  “I haven’t heard anything,” he says, glancing around before his gaze settles on the field, and the giant black mustang painted in the center. He makes a face. “I really hate that prick.”

  “Everyone does,” I murmur. Except me.

  “We all have our reasons, especially since he gives them to us. He is an endless shit talker.” He glances at me quickly, then does a double take. “Wait a minute. Is the rumor you’re asking about actually—true?”

  I tilt my head, picking at the artful tear in the right knee of my jeans. I pluck at the white thread again and again, unsure of how I should answer. “Maybe we were a thing. But we’re not anymore.”

  “No shit,” he breathes, sounding mildly horrified. I can’t look at him. His reaction is exactly what I was afraid of. I’m sure everyone will feel the same way Wyatt does. Shock and horror. “Are you for real right now, Ava?”

  I grab hold of his arm for a second, sending him a meaningful look. “Shh, don’t talk so loud. But—yes. We were together. Briefly.”

  Too brief.

  His eyes are wide as he slowly shakes his head. “That is some crazy shit.”

  “I know.”

  “Does Jake know? He’s going to freaking lose it when he—”

  “He knows,” I interrupt. “It all fell apart last night at my house. They got into a fight.”

  “Your brother and Eli?” Wyatt says.

  I nod. “Yes.” I’m tempted to give him more details, but I’ve probably already said too much. “We ended it.”

  “You ended it,” he clarifies.

  I don’t correct him. I’m too ashamed of the fact that Eli dumped me. That he doesn’t believe me.

  That hurts more than I want to admit.

  “You didn’t see any mention of our names together on social media?” I ask Wyatt.

  “No, not at all. I was at Tony’s most of the night, after the game, so I guess I wasn’t on my phone much. I saw your brother leave with Hannah, which surprised me. I thought they’d stay the night.” His cheeks turn ruddy because the only reason any couple stays the night at Tony’s is to hook up.

  “I don’t know why Jake came home when he did,” I say, my voice bitter. “I just wanted to make sure you haven’t heard anything. And that Jake hasn’t said anything to you.”

  “I haven’t seen him since the party.”

  “Right.” I chew on my thumbnail, watching the boys out on the field. Beck is smashing into the mini Mustangs with a vengeance. This rivalry is bred from elementary school on, I swear. “I just don’t want people to talk about us.”

  “If no one really knows about it, then why would they be talking?” Wyatt asks.

  I don’t have an answer for that. I also don’t admit that I ran over to the Mustang side after the game and tried to cheer Eli up over their loss. Why broadcast it to Wyatt if he doesn’t know? Maybe no one saw us after all. That would make things so much easier.

  My phone buzzes in the back pocket of my jeans, and I grab it to see it’s Ellie calling me. I decide to answer.

  “Where are you?” she asks.

  “At Beck’s football game. They’re
playing against the Mustangs, so we’re at their high school.”

  Ellie sucks in a breath. “Get out of here.”

  “I’m not lying.” I glance over at Wyatt, who’s watching me, but immediately looks away when he gets caught. “Wyatt’s sitting with me, so he’s making the game tolerable.”

  “Well, I wanted to ask if you’re going to the dance tonight,” Ellie says. “You are the homecoming princess of the junior class, you know. Are your parents going to still keep you at home or what?”

  I go completely still. Oh shit. The homecoming dance. How could I forget? Am I grounded from that too? I sort of have to be there.

  “Um, I don’t know.” I send a cautious look in my mother’s direction, who’s not paying attention to me at all. “I could ask.”

  “You really should. Call me when you get home and let me know if you’re going or not.” She pauses. “I really want you there. It won’t be any fun without you.”

  Please. I’m the mopey girl, sad over a breakup. I won’t be any fun.

  “I’ll call you when I get home. I promise.” I end the call and smile at Wyatt. “Sorry about that.”

  “No problem,” he says, smiling in return before he glances down for a moment. “You, ah, want to hang out after the game?”

  I make a sad face. “I can’t. I, uh, have to go home with my family.” I don’t want to admit I’m grounded.

  “I’ll see you at the dance later then,” Wyatt says casually, his gaze locked on mine.

  “Yeah,” I say with a little laugh. “I’ll see you at the dance.”

  “Maybe we could hang out there,” he says, and I see all the hope filling his dark eyes.

  Oh boy. I decide to change the subject.

  “Why’d you come to today’s game?” I ask him, my voice light. Like I don’t have a care in the world.

  “My brother really wanted me to come watch his game. It’s an important one to him, considering who they’re playing,” Wyatt explains. “Just like it’s an important one for us. I haven’t been to any of his games yet this season, so I had to show up.”

  “You’re a good big brother.” I reach over and pat his knee, keeping it completely platonic.