Clipped by Love (Bellevue Bullies #2) Read online

  “Well, that was a whole lot of fucks,” Mandie says, and any other time I’d laugh, but instead my fingers are moving up to my own chin. Where my mark is. That he caused.

  Fucker.

  Curling my lip, I sink farther into the backseat and search my phone for something angry to listen to.

  “I just don’t get it! How dare he fool around all damn day, making us all think that he’s down to get some, and then when it’s time, he pussies out! It’s insane.”

  “I thought we weren’t talking about it,” I say, but Delanie obviously doesn’t hear me.

  “I mean Jace was great. I mean, holy shit, he is ripped in ways that are just downright wrong. And I saw Jayden without a shirt on—you would have had so much fun. I mean, his mouth alone was perfect! Could you imagine it on your hoo-ha?”

  I had and I bet it would have been magical, not that I’m telling her that.

  “Please, Lord, kill me now,” I moan as I will myself to decide on something to drown out her voice. I love Delanie, I do, but the chick dwells on shit. Even when it’s not her shit to dwell on!

  “I mean, why aren’t you upset, Bay?”

  “—lor,” I add for her.

  But she waves me off. “Yeah, whatever, Baylor. Why aren’t you upset?”

  Letting out a long breath, I close my eyes, letting my hand drop in my lap. Why didn’t I fly home? Dad even offered to fly me home. But I said no, I’d ride home with my so-called friends, but that was the worst idea of the fucking century.

  No. Scratch that.

  Ever talking to Jayden Sinclair was the worst idea of my fucking lifetime!

  “Delanie, did it ever occur to you that I am upset, but unlike you, where I don’t verbally vomit my feelings, I’m good with just dealing with them on my own?”

  Meeting my cynical look, she says, “Who deals with their problems on their own? That’s not healthy.”

  “It’s really not,” Mandie adds. “You need to get it out of you before you go on a rampage and start breaking kneecaps.”

  “Someone break mine and bash in my head while you’re at it, please!” I yell, at the end of my limits. “I swear, guys, I’m good.”

  “No, you’re not,” Delanie yells, smacking the wheel. “You’re scaring me!”

  “Why? How? I’m chilling in the back, no worries,” I say confidently.

  “You didn’t even cry? I would have sobbed everywhere.”

  “Because you’re a little bitch,” I answer, and while Mandie scoffs, Delanie glares at me in the mirror. It may have been a bit harsh, but she’s poking the damn bear here. “When have I ever cried over a dude? I don’t cry.”

  Lies. All lies. I did cry. No one saw it though… Well, Jayden had earlier that night…but we aren’t speaking of that again in the history of ever.

  “You cried over Seth a lot,” she says, and I don’t gasp. I expected her to say it, but Mandie obviously didn’t.

  “What the shit, Del?” she scolds and I nod.

  “And we don’t talk of that,” I point out. “For the sake of our friendship, I better never hear his name come out of that pretty mouth of yours again. Add Jayden to that list too, please.”

  Looking back at me, she lets out a breath, shaking her head. “I’m just worried.”

  “Dude, relax. I promise. If there was an issue, I’d tell you. The quicker I can forget that scum, the better,” I say with a shrug. “He’s no sweat off my back. I don’t even care anymore. I just want to go home and get ready for training season.”

  “But he ruined our trip,” she says sadly, and he did, but I would never let her know that.

  “No, not at all. I had the best weekend,” I say, faking a grin. She smiles back at me, and I know she wants to say more, but I don’t allow her to.

  Looking down at my phone, I go to put on some I Prevail, but unfortunately, Mandie is turning in her seat, looking back at me. I try to ignore her, not wanting to make eye contact, but when she’s staring at me hard-core, I finally look up. Pushing pause, I say, “Yes, Mandie?”

  “Just throwing this out there,” she says slowly, and I can already tell I’m not gonna like it.

  “Yeah?”

  “What if he was really trying to be a good guy,” she asks and my brow rises.

  “How in the ever-loving fuck is he being a good guy, Mandie? Please enlighten me!” Delanie yells, and Mandie glares before smacking her in the arm, which in return causes the car to swerve. And I swear, I’m gonna die before I get into the NHL.

  “Oh my God! Mandie, you almost killed us!” Delanie screams, righting the car and glaring while I hold on for dear life in the back seat.

  I just want to go home.

  “You overdramatic crybaby, shut up and drive!” she yells back, and I swear I’m gonna die. To my utter disbelief, though, Mandie then turns in her seat and proceeds to say, “I mean, maybe he did it to be nice because you two were drunk, and he didn’t want you to regret anything. He didn’t seem like a dick to me.”

  “You are dumb,” Delanie says. Even though I had considered what Mandie is saying, I slap shot it out of my mind because he is the mayor of Doucheville.

  No, the fucking king.

  Asshole.

  “Mandie,” I say softly.

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you, I do, but if you don’t turn around right now and never allow Jayden Sinclair’s name to leave your lips again, I will hurt you.”

  Glaring, she says, “You can’t tell me you love me and then threaten to kill me all in the same sentence. I’m just trying to help here.”

  “I said hurt.”

  “Still.”

  “Whatever, I’m trying to forget here,” I remind her. “Now, let’s all say it together, Jayden Sinclair and what happened with him is now an off-limits subject.”

  “Seriously?” Delanie asks.

  “Be real,” Mandie adds. “You can’t hold it in. I can see you are falling apart.”

  “Seriously? I don’t fall apart over some dude who didn’t want me!”

  “It was pretty bad,” Delanie says, sadness in her eyes. “I mean, I would be devastated.”

  I mean, devastated is a little much. I would say a bit upset, not devastated.

  But really, who is labeling what I am feeling? Lord knows I’m not.

  Since I don’t want to drag this on any more than they already have, I shake my head.

  “Please don’t make me jump out of this car,” I threaten, and they both snap their mouths shut, probably knowing I will do it. Anything to get away from them. “Please, let it be.”

  When they don’t say anything, I thank the good Lord above and hit play on my phone. Somehow, “Elastic Heart” by Madilyn Bailey starts and I go to change it. But then I’m getting lost in the stupid, sad girlie music, and as my eyes shut, I know it’s to hold in the tears that I will never admit are about to fall. For the second time in one weekend, another song applies to my life.

  Because Jayden Sinclair didn’t break me.

  I have thick skin and yeah, an elastic heart.

  No one can hurt me.

  No one will ever get close enough.

  I have no clue why I am working on my wrister, but I’m pretty sure that when my dad comes down to find all the holes in the wall from where I’ve missed the bucket I have as my goal, he might actually kill me.

  At this point, I might be okay with that.

  It’s been a week, a whole fucking week since that night with Jayden, and I can’t shake him. I hate to say this, but I did some girlie stalker shit and I Facebook searched him. I know, it’s sad.

  When I found his profile, I looked through all of his pictures. Learned two things. His family is fucking gorgeous and he is so damn dreamy, which of course pissed me off even more. Then I started reading his wall, and really, I don’t understand why people have their stuff set on public, but he seems to be very well liked. Not only by girls but guys too. Even his mom posts on his wall, telling him how much she loves him. It was sw