Page 33 of Blinding Lights


Font Size:

“I’ve been trying since this morning. I wanted to see you, needed to talk to you face to face.”

He looks at his phone, “Sorry, I must have missed them. I have my notifications turned off. How long have you been on campus?”

“Not too long. I got a hold of Foster and saw him first.”

As we’re talking, a small group of girls walks in. A tall, pretty brunette looks over at Cole and breaks away from her friends to come over.

“Spartacus, are you going to be at the party tonight?” she asks him with a flirty smile.

“I’ll be there, Hannah.”

“Can’t wait to see you,” she reaches out to squeeze his arm before going back to her friends.

I raise my brow at him, “Spartacus?”

“Because I used to be a Gladiator, get it? It’s what the guys on the team call me.”

“She’s on the team?”

“No, her brother’s a junior.”

The jealous bitch in me wants to come out and play, but I keep her locked down. Now is not the time to freak out over what is probably nothing. He didn’t act overly friendly with her.

“Is Foster okay? Really?” I ask him.

“This injury has him down a little, but he’ll be fine. He’s stressed that if he doesn’t get to play this season, his chances to get drafted will be shot.”

“Will they be?”

“It’s possible, but him sitting in the room and freaking out about it isn’t going to fix it. I’m guessing things between you didn’t go well?”

“No, I think we broke up. If you can break up in our situation.”

Cole looks around at the rink that has cleared out.

“I need to go back to the room and clean up. Then I need some food before that party. Did you want to stay?”

He might be polite like his mom raised him to be, but he obviously doesn’t want me to stick around. He knows my aversion to parties, and I won’t know anyone else there. I’ll ruin all his fun, and I can’t even drink.

This plan to come here and break the baby news is a bust. Cole doesn’t have time to have the conversation we need to have. I’ll have months to tell them and to get a paternity test. I’ll figure it out. Emma was right. There’s no hurry.

“No, you have fun tonight. I’m going to head home. Hopefully, I’ll make it back before it gets dark.”

“Send me a text to let me know you made it safe. It was great to see you. I hope we can get together soon. Maybe you can come to some of the games this season.”

“I’d like that.”

Cole pulls me into another hug and kisses the top of my head before walking away without an “I love you” or anything. My heart sinks as I walk back to my car. I take a deep breath once inside and let it out slowly. This day hasn’t gone the way I expected it to.

The road before me is blurry through the tears streaming down my cheeks. I swipe at them with my hand and keep driving. Cole and Foster’s dismissals have left me shattered.

Why couldn’t they have been happy to see me?

Foster was so cold, like I was a stranger. No, even worse than a stranger. He made me feel like I was a nuisance he needed to get rid of. Cole was distant even when he’d hugged me. Cole’s hugs were always my favorite, but that one was dead. I have no doubt that they’re lost to me now.

I’m afraid that if they find out about the baby, they’ll assume I’m using it to trap one of them into a relationship. I have no problem with raising this baby alone, and I will not beg for a scrap of attention from them.

My phone rings, breaking the silence in the car. I see that it's Talon. He’s my last chance to save my day from total disaster. I pull off onto the shoulder and wipe away my tears.