Page 55 of Shattered Saint
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. He probably thinks it’s more along the lines of him treating me like a kid sister, but…” There was so much Nash didn’t know.
Raven waited a beat before she said, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Nope," I said as I shook my head. "That's a story for another day, and we should be focusing on the game."
I drew my attention to the field and a few minutes later, I said, “You know what?"
“What?”
“Being in the presence of anything related to Westwick University freaks me out.”
“Why is that?”
I shrugged. "I think it’s the vibe that the school gives off that has rubbed off on me the wrong way. I visited Iris there once and it almost felt like a dark cloud was over the school. I feel bad for Iris because she has to go there. She’s the one who is supposed to be meeting us here.”
“She can’t transfer to Brentson?” Raven asked.
I shook her head. “Nope. It’s family tradition for her to go to Westwick, so she’s doing it.”
I didn’t elaborate any more, because I didn’t want to tell more of Iris’s story than I should. It wasn’t my place to tell anyway. A cold breeze blew, and I shivered under the jersey I was wearing and the coat I threw over it.
I was freezing my butt off in this stupid jersey and I was regretting the choices I’d made.
“Bianca?”
I jumped and turned to face the person that called my name. I couldn’t fight the grin that took over my face.
“Iris, hey!” I quickly pulled her into my arms before she had a chance to react. When we broke apart, I gestured to the woman standing beside me. “Iris, this is Raven. She’s my brother’s girlfriend. Raven, this is my friend, Iris.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Iris said as they shook hands.
“Likewise,” Raven replied. “I’ll move down and you can sit on the other side of Bianca.”
I was happy that Raven and Iris had the opportunity to meet. I moved so that Iris could get comfortable and turned my attention back to the game momentarily.
When my phone rang, I pulled it out and saw that it was a text message. I reread the message repeatedly, but I refused to show any emotion on my face. I didn’t know if the person who sent me the text message was watching me or not.
Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and showed the message to Iris before I handed my phone to Raven so that she too could read the message. I was freaked out, but I refused to show it.
Unknown Number: Be careful what you wish for, B.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to tell Nash about this, because telling the police was the last thing I was planning to do. It would lead to my parents getting involved and that was not something I wanted to deal with. But with Iris being stalked, I needed to be careful. Could it be the same person?
Westwick and Brentson were close, so it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for whoever it was to be stalking us both. But given what Iris said, whoever was texting me hadn’t taken it to the extremes that her stalker had. So, at least there was that.
What also confused me was what the hell had I wished for?
I’d wished not to have to deal with my father’s career or Easton after the way he treated me years ago. But not many people knew about my feelings toward either of those things. So, I was lost, and none of this made any sense.
Then again, what did make sense in my life nowadays?
I shrugged off the unknown number's message and refocused my attention on the football game. Raven, Iris, and I talked quietly as we watched the game, but the excitement was building. The score was close. The crowd roared with excitement as each play brought us one step closer to the conclusion of the game.
We were up by two points in the fourth quarter when Raven nudged my shoulder, and I was convinced it was because she was nervous. Nash was doing well, making accurate passes, and the rest of the team was doing their part against their division rivals. As if on cue, Westwick’s quarterback threw an interception that turned the tide of the game. The stadium cheered as our team scored two more touchdowns to clinch their victory.
“Thank goodness,” I said as I listened to the cheers around me erupt when the clock hit zero. It took some time for the stadium to clear out and for us to make it to where the Bears were.
It took even longer for the football players to exit, but as soon as I saw Nash, I knew what was going to happen. When Raven and Nash’s eyes met, it was game over. She turned to smile at me and Iris briefly. We nodded our heads as I saw Nash jogging toward her, and soon he pulled her into his arms and gave her a huge kiss. I couldn’t help but be happy for them, especially after everything they’d been through. It was wonderful to see my brother happy again.
