First and Forever (Heartache Duet #2) - Jay McLean Page 0,5

He starts with the general greeting, followed by a bunch of uninteresting reports, and then he says, “And a special shout-out to our very own Connor Ledger, who’ll be spending the break at the Crossland Invitational in Indiana.” I bury my head in my hands while everyone around me cheers. Face red with embarrassment, I glance up when he adds, “With only a hundred students from across the country selected to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity, it should be noted how very proud we are of you. Great job, Connor! Everyone else, have a safe and enjoyable break. We’ll see you on the other side… well-rested, I hope.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, again and again, but I don’t check it. Part of Dad’s punishment for throwing my old one at the wall and smashing it was replacing it with a bright pink flip phone from the year four. It has physical buttons—ones you have to press numerous times to get the right letter to appear.

When the final bell rings, everyone rushes out the doors, their excitement evident in the cheers and hollers. I head out to the student parking lot to meet up with Rhys, who’s been giving me rides to and from school ever since my car died and Dad and I deemed it not worthy of fixing. And even though Dad’s car sits in the driveway when I’m at school because he’s at home asleep, he refuses to let me drive it—another part of my punishment. This one for damaging my shooting hand. The downside to getting rides is that Rhys likes to hang around after school, shooting the shit with the rest of the guys. Me? I just want to get home.

“Our very own Conner Ledger, everyone!” Mitch announces, his hands cupped around his mouth as I make my way toward them.

I shake my head, narrow my eyes at him.

“Aww, but we’re all so proud of you!” Karen says through a giggle, ruffling my hair as I walk past her to dump my bag in Rhys’s car.

“That wasn’t embarrassing at all,” I murmur.

Rhys laughs, pretends to take a crown off his head and place it on mine. “You’re the king of the school now.”

Mitch scoffs, takes the imaginary crown and throws it on the ground, then stomps on it. “I was always the king, you fuckers.”

“King of the asshole patrol,” Oscar chimes.

“Fuck off,” Mitch huffs.

I chuckle. “Get mad about it, you overcooked six-pack of Chicken McNobodies.”

Karen busts out a laugh, her hand going to my shoulder to keep upright.

“Speaking of king of the school,” Rhys says, motioning to a car pulling right up to the school steps.

I recognize the car and immediately stand taller.

Rhys adds, “What’s Peter Parker doing here?”

“Ava’s Peter?” Mitch comments.

My brow dips. “What do you mean Ava’s Peter?”

Rhys shakes his head. “Not like that. He just means we know him through Ava.”

“No,” Mitch deadpans. “I mean, let’s be real. He’s probably fucked the daylights—”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” I warn.

Mitch laughs. “What’s it to you? As if you and Karen aren’t—”

“We’re not,” I cut in, shoving Karen’s hand off my shoulder. I push off Rhys’s car, my eyes searching for Ava. It doesn’t take long to find her. Head lowered, she comes down the school steps gripping the straps of her bag. She notices Peter’s car and smiles at him the way she used to smile at me. He gets out to greet her with a hug that lasts too long, and I feel the moment my shoulders deflate. He keeps his arms around her waist while she pulls back, her hands pressed against his chest, and I wonder if she feels the same thing there—at the place where life lives—as she felt with me. Finally, he releases her, and then she’s on her toes, her eyes wild, searching for something. They land on me, and my pulse becomes volatile. My breaths stop as she walks toward me, and everyone and everything around me is silent. All I hear is the thumping of my heart. One beat. Two. She stops a few feet in front of me, her gaze lowered as she white-knuckles the straps. “Hey.”

I manage a “hey” back.

Her eyes lift to mine. “Do you have a minute?”

I swallow my nerves. “Sure.”

She takes a step back, implying I follow, and so I do. Because I’d follow her to the ends of the fucking earth if she’d let me. “That was quite a speech Brown praised you with,” she mumbles, looking at