My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,55

that was a horrible mistake?”

“Because it’s Sanders. It was always going to be a horrible mistake.”

“Ouch,” I said.

“It’s the truth.”

My brain hurt, and all I wanted to do was sleep. But I couldn’t because I couldn’t stop thinking—about Sanders, annoyingly, though also about Pacey and everything else.

My life had gotten far too complicated for its own good, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do next.

Chapter 15

Pacey

It had been a week since I’d gotten home, and I was finally at a hundred percent. That’s how quickly I recovered when I took care of myself—something I needed to remember the next time I got sick.

Thankfully, my professors had been pretty good about exams and papers, and I was able to keep up with the notes and things thanks to friends—mostly Mackenzie. She had been a godsend. I had missed three days of classes, but she had taken such detailed notes, it was like I was there.

And it gave us an excuse to study more together. Not that I needed an excuse to spend time with Mackenzie these days. Something had changed when she sat next to my hospital bed. Maybe it’d even shifted in the ambulance, though I hadn’t been conscious for most of that. But we were different. I didn’t know what that meant, other than the fact that I was falling for her. And I shouldn’t. She wasn’t in a place to fall for anybody. We were still playing around, or at least that’s what I told myself. We weren’t supposed to be anything more than rebounds, friends who had sex and fun. And yet, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like something more. I needed to remind myself that I couldn’t want anything more from her than what we already had. It would be bad for both of us. Wouldn’t it?

We were in my bedroom since Miles had another study group over. He had more study groups than the rest of us, but he needed to with his classes. There were a lot more group projects, and when they gathered, they tended to take over the living room. I didn’t mind so much, and I knew the others didn’t, either. We made do. And there was so much fucking space in this house that it wasn’t a problem. It was the main reason I liked staying here, even if it came with its own set of complications that I wasn’t ready to get into.

“Damn it,” Mackenzie said as she stomped inside and tossed her phone on the bed next to me. I raised a brow.

“Everything going okay, love?” I asked and held back a wince at using the endearment. Thankfully, she didn’t read much into the word, but I tried my best not to use it with her even though I used it casually with others. Not when things were getting oddly serious, especially when we hadn’t expected them to.

“It’s Sanders,” she grumbled.

“What?” I asked, grinding my teeth together. I did not like to hear about Sanders. It didn’t matter that they were no longer together. He had been a huge part of her life. And she was excellent about never mentioning him. Was she still hurt because of it? Maybe. That’s why he and she had started together, after all, but I didn’t like this jealousy I felt towards him. He was nothing, inconsequential, and yet, perhaps he was far more important than I cared to admit.

“What did he do?” I asked.

“He texted me when I was leaving the hospital with Tanner, saying that he needed to meet urgently. First, he said at the end of the week, then he texted again saying it was an emergency and it needed to be right away. Then he bailed, giving some excuse or another. I don’t fucking know. But I’m exhausted from it, and now I have to meet him tomorrow for coffee because he needs to talk to me.”

I scowled.

“You don’t need to talk to him at all if you don’t want to,” I said sharply.

She gave me a look that spoke volumes. “Oh, I know. I also know that I haven’t actually spoken to him for weeks, and I should probably do that and get it over with.”

“Why?” I asked.

She sighed. “Because he was a huge part of my life, for most of my life. Our parents are still best friends.”

“I don’t know if I like hearing that,” I said, and it wasn’t until she raised a brow that I realized I had