Page 19 of Fueled Hate

“For what?”

“For finally dumping Dipshit.”

I keep walking, not responding since I’m sure he didn’t get the message. I’m not looking forward to having that conversation again.

“Hey, are you gonna be okay?” Willow asks. “I know he’s a dick, but I get that y’all have been together for years, and everything with your mom.”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Sadie,” Willow says as I look to her. “I’m here if you want to talk about it. Even if it’s a toxic relationship, sometimes it’s hard to move on.”

“I’m good. I promise. I just can’t believe he switched into the class. It seems like now that I’ve made the decision to end things, he’s all of a sudden interested in putting effort into the relationship.”

“Do you think it would’ve made a difference if he’d tried sooner?”

“No.” I shake my head, recalling his sleezy move from last night. “It’s bad enough that he kissed some random girl, but even still, it didn’t bother me. My main concern is that I still don’t care. It should make me feel something if I cared about him like I should.”

“Yeah. I think it should too, so at least you know you’re making the right decision for many reasons.”

“Agreed.” I follow Willow in to the café, scanning for any familiar faces that I thankfully don’t spot.

“Coffee is my treat today,” Willow says, setting her bag on the table as I sit in my regular chair. She hurries off to the counter to order, and I glance around, lost in thought by the time she arrives with two coffees in hand.

“So,” Willow says, setting down a paper to-go cup in front of me. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Um … studying and sleeping. I have the early shift tomorrow morning. Why?”

“Oh, I was gonna see if you’d come out to the Dome tonight.”

“Not so sure that’s on my agenda.” I grab my notebook and planner out of my bag, set them on the table, then begin writing when I feel a set of eyes on me. Looking up, I find Willow staring at me with a smile. “What?”

“There’s someone new racing tonight.” She bites the inside of her lip as I tilt my head to the side, waiting for her to reveal what has her so giddy. “Dylan.” She waits a beat, then two. “Don’t you want to see that?”

“I don’t know.” Yes. Yes, I do, even though I shouldn’t. “Maybe I’ll go for a little while.”

“Good.” Willow claps her hands together, smiling at her small victory. She shouldn’t be too proud though, that didn’t take much convincing—the name dropping was enough.

“I doubt anything good will come out of it.”

“You never know,” Willow says, glancing over my shoulder. “Parker thinks Kyle will still win, but I can hope. Dylan’s beat out Kyle in other areas thus far.”

“And what areas might those be?” I ask, waiting for a response that Willow seems to enjoy withholding.

Parker appears at our table, bends down in front of Willow, gives her a lingering kiss, then drops into the seat next to her. “Hey, Sadie.”

“Hey.” I give him a slight smile then focus back on his girlfriend. “What areas?”

“I think you already know,” Willow says, leaning her head on Parker’s shoulder as he looks between the two of us.

“Know what?” Parker asks.

“How Kyle is going to get his ass handed to him tonight,” Willow says, giving me a wink.

“Psh. Not a chance. I haven’t seen Dylan race yet, but I doubt Kyle will be dethroned tonight. In fact, so far all the bets say your boy won’t make it to the final round to even have the opportunity.”

“He’s not my boy,” I say to Parker. He doesn’t look convinced, but nods at me anyway. “He’s not.”

“Well, he can be my boy because I’m placing my money on him scrubbing the pavement clean with Kyle.”