“What the hell, Fox!”Blaze rushes toward me, but Coach Beckett is already storming over, trailed by the rest of the team.
“Fox!”Coach Beckett snaps, his glare flicking between Ethan and me.Clay helps Ethan to his feet, and he fixes me with a venomous stare.
“What just happened here?”Coach’s gaze is hard, shifting between us.
Ethan wastes no time.“He shoved me after I confronted him, then called me a disgusting fag.”He stares at me, daring me to contradict him.He’s lying right to my face.
God, I want to break his fucking nose.
“He might be a real piece of shit, but I didn’t call him that,” I say evenly, locking eyes with Coach.
“Fox didn’t say that,” Blaze interjects beside me.
“You weren’t even there!”Ethan snaps, his voice rising as he sniffles, wiping his face on his jersey.
I roll my eyes, biting back the urge to say something I’d regret.I need to get out of here before I actually do something stupid.
“I’m going home.Suspend me if you want.”I turn, heading for the locker room, ignoring the calls from Blaze and Coach Beckett.I’m done with all of this.
As I reach the locker room, someone grabs my shoulder.I turn to find Blaze staring at me, concern etched on his face.We’ve been best friends since high school; he knows me better than anyone.
“What’s going on, man?”
I shake my head.“I’m going home.We’ll talk later, yeah?”I clap him on the shoulder and leave, not waiting for a reply.
After a quick shower in one of the stalls in the locker room, I head back to my apartment, dreading every second of the drive.Lately, even going home feels like stepping into enemy territory.All because of my roommate and the confusion he stirs up in my head.
As I step inside my apartment, a strange sense of dread settles in my stomach.I can hear voices in the kitchen, familiar laughter drifting through the hall—Cameron and another guy, talking and laughing like they’re in their own little world.For some reason, it grates on me, fueling the frustration I haven’t been able to shake all day
“You snuck out last night to save your roommate?You’re too sweet for your own good,” someone says, laughing.
“That wasn’t saving,” Cameron replies, sounding defensive.“He was just drunk and needed a ride.”
I walk into the kitchen and stop cold.Landon.What the fuck is Landon doing here?How many times do I have to tell him not to bring his little boyfriend act to my place?It’s hard enough dealing with Cameron around all the time—I don’t need this on top of it.I mean I’m still getting used to my roommate being gay, and now he’s bringing his gay boyfriend to my apartment.But who am I kidding?Part of me knows the reason I’m angry it’s not because Landon’s gay, but because he’s always everywhere, hanging around my roommate like they’re in a relationship or some shit like that.
And to make matters worse, he’s wearing Cameron’s shirt, hanging off him like it’s his own.That little bastard.
I clear my throat, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.Both of them freeze, their heads snapping toward me, Cameron’s face flushing while Landon glares.
“Hey,” Cameron says, his tone cautious.But I’m not looking at him.My eyes are on Landon, who’s still standing there in my roommate’s shirt.
“What are you doing in my apartment?”I ask, voice cold.
“Look, Fox, he just spent the night—”
“He what?!”
I feel my temper spike as Cameron’s words register.Landon stayed the night.In my apartment.Probably too close to my roommate for my liking.They obviously shared the same bed.Maybe even cuddled.The thought alone makes my stomach churn and I growl in anger.No one’s supposed to be that close to Cameron.
“Spent the night?”I spit out, still glaring at Landon.I’m not sure who I’m angrier at—him, for thinking he has a free pass to crash here, or Cameron, for letting him.
“Yeah, spent the night,” Landon says, folding his arms and giving me a look.He’s not backing down.“Cameron and I are friends.It’s not like we trashed the place.”
“I don’t fucking care if you trashed it,” I snap back.“I don’t want you here.You can have all the sleepovers you want somewhere else.”I know I’m coming off as a jerk, but the last thing I need is Landon constantly hanging around, especially if he’s going to act all possessive with Cameron.
“Fox, that’s enough,” Cameron says, stepping forward, his expression set.“Landon’s my friend, and he’s welcome here.”
There’s that part of Cameron that stands up to me.And somehow, that just ticks me off more, especially knowing he’d probably defend Landon over me any day.
