Page 63 of The Game
On Monday, I’m prepared for Alexander to find me, but he never does. I’m working in my office and even make a few trips over to “his” wing of the building where the players gather, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
I’m tempted to ask Noah, but I decide against it.
As the day winds down, I feel disappointed that he hasn’t sought me out, but then again, I don’t really have a reason to expect him to.
I was the one who ran from him, not the other way around.
Monday leaves me feeling hollow, and I wake up on Tuesday with a pit in my stomach.
As the vulnerability returns, I retreat into hiding, even though something tells me he’s not actually looking for me.
Maybe this was just a ruse for him after all.
Perhaps a rejection was enough for him to move on to someone else.
Tuesday evening, I head to the airport to pick up Jessica.
I’ve been trying to reach her over the past few days, and when she finally answered her phone, I could tell something bad had happened between her and Luke.
We devour the fast food; my bestie needed some fuel after a long trip all the way from Australia.
We catch up on our internships and all the crazy things we get to experience.
Jessica is traveling the world, waking up each week in a new country, sometimes even a new continent. And me, maybe not traveling the same distances, but living out the reporting dream nonetheless.
I turn to her with a serious expression on my face.
“Okay, so now that all the school and work stuff is out of the way, spill what’s happened between you and Luke.”
She tells me about their amazing time together, exploring new cities and meeting his sister.
Then everything changed when he suddenly broke it off with her, and the only explanation was “he can’t do this anymore.”
And right there, ladies and gentlemen, we see the problem with men, but also women, as I basically did the same thing with Alexander.
Seeing the hurt my best friend is experiencing stirs up my own insecurities about Alexander.
No one wants their heart to be broken, and if I ever trusted him fully, my heart would definitely be involved.
Would he cherish it and keep it safe?
Or hurt me, like Luke did with Jessica?
Seemingly out of nowhere, after they’d had a fantastic time together.
Jessica keeps talking and tells me about a gala they attended, which was supposed to be their first official date out in public, but Luke broke her heart before they even got that far.
He chased her down at the gala after she danced with his rival, but nothing seemed to have changed, leaving Jessica heartbroken.
“Either he’s hiding something and won’t tell you, or he’s just a fucking idiot for letting you go. I’m sorry, Jessica,” I say, leaning over to hug her.
I hold my best friend, letting her pour her heartache out, soothing her as well as I can, cursing Luke Hastings for ever hurting my best friend.
When I’ve dropped Jessica off at her parents’ house, I head home to my dad’s place.
The anniversary of my mom’s death is just a few days away, and I plan to make the trip back then as well.
“Hey, Dad,” I call out as I walk in.
