Page 35 of Shattered Sinner
The scent of the roses seemed to follow me as I rode up to my floor on the elevator and made my way down the hallway toward my apartment. I was still stuck wondering who sent them and why. The only person I could think of that would have sent them would be Easton because this wouldn't be the first time he'd done so. We'd talked briefly over the last couple of days about the psychology presentation we needed to make soon, but he hadn't mentioned sending flowers. It was a sweet surprise and I needed to tell him thank you.
It took some juggling, but I opened my apartment door and carefully set the bouquet on my counter. I took a few steps back to admire them again. I couldn't get over their beauty.
I jumped slightly when my phone buzzed, but this time it continued to vibrate, alerting me that someone was calling me. I grabbed my phone out of my bag and looked at the screen.
Mom.
With a deep sigh, I walked over to my couch and sat down to answer her call.
"Hi, Mom," I said and curled my feet up under me. A knot formed in my stomach as I waited for her to speak.
"Why didn't you answer my text from earlier? I've been waiting for you to reach out." Not only did impatience drip from every word, but the sharpness in her tone could cut through the toughest surface.
I rolled my eyes and tried to take a deep breath to calm the rage pulsing beneath the surface. I wished I had more time to prepare myself for this conversation with her. But unsurprisingly, of course it was all about her. I didn't want to feed into her baiting me into a fight, so I swallowed the words I really wanted to say. I didn’t want any of her drama. "Sorry. I was in a meeting with my sorority. What's up?"
"I have a couple of appointments that I want you to go with me to next week."
Every alarm in my head went off because she was being vague. It was obvious that she was intentionally trying to hide something. "Where am I supposed to be going? Why am I attending appointments with you?"
"We have a couple of fittings that we need to attend."
Her words were going to drive me to the brink until I suddenly froze when realization slapped me in the face. Why did I need to go to any other fittings? I racked my brain trying to figure out why we would need to attend any fittings, but I came up empty. "I don't understand. We already have our outfits for the holiday parties I agreed to attend with you. Why would we need to go to anymore?"
"Because a new event has just popped up on the calendar." The excitement was evident in her voice, and that probably didn’t bode well for me.
Of course, she wouldn't ask me if I wanted to go. Instead, she just decided that I was going already. "What event is this? I haven't told you that I'm going to anything else, and I don’t appreciate you just deciding for me."
The next words out of her mouth shook me to my core.
"Your engagement party. Your father told Tristan that you were ecstatic about accepting his proposal."
Everything that I thought I knew about this situation had flipped on a dime.
20
EASTON
The piercing screech of the referee's whistle announced the end of our practice. While we had a small break since the end of the season, I was still happy to get out there and practice with the team.
My feelings were a walking contradiction and a double-edged sword because, while I was relieved that the things I needed to do for football would temporarily slow down, it was going to take some adjusting. Plus, there was nothing like the adrenaline that careened through your body when you were on the field.
As I entered the tunnel, I spotted Nash. Everything about him shouted that he was a man on a mission, and his eyes were set on me.
What the hell did he want?
We did our best to exchange pleasantries while in public and tried to make it appear as if we were cool, when we weren’t. Did I miss our friendship? Yes, if I was being honest. However, a part of me didn’t regret that Nash and I ended up like this because what we’d done was wrong from the beginning. It was what we deserved.
I unstrapped my helmet and wiped the sweat off my forehead as Nash stopped in front of me.
"Hey, man, great game," he said as he clapped me on the back.
I glanced at his hand on my shoulder and moved my body slightly. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was doing it for show because we were in public.
"Thanks, you too," I replied warily. If he wanted to play this game, then I could do the same. For a moment, we stood there in silence as the awkwardness settled in. A version of this conversation had replayed in my head for weeks, and now it was finally time to face him.
"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked, pulling me aside from everyone else.
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my gaze at him. "Now really isn't the best time.”
