thing—she’d called Mac, and he’d actually answered. “Your little friend from last night is here, giving me a hard time. Put her in her place, love, or I’ll do it for the both of us.”
Ending the call, she stared directly at me, and I wondered if she’d faked the whole thing. Maybe she hadn’t called Mac at all. Maybe he hadn’t really answered. I was just thinking how I wouldn’t put it past her to lie when my phone vibrated in my back pocket. Pulling it out and looking at the screen, I noticed one unread text from Mac.
Pressing on the notification, it read, Why are you with Hayley? Get away from her, Sunny. I mean it.
The blood drained from my face. He’s defending her? After everything he told me that happened between them, he’s telling me to get away from her?
“Good luck with that parking spot, peasant,” Hayley said with an evil grin as she locked arms with her group of heathens and walked away without another word.
“How do you know her?” I asked Rocky the second they were out of earshot.
“We used to be in the same sorority,” Rocky begrudgingly admitted.
I swore my eyes bugged out of my head. “You were not in a sorority.”
Rocky didn’t seem like the kind of girl to join anything, let alone the most feminine girl club on a college campus.
“It didn’t last long. I moved here, not knowing anyone, and stupidly thought joining a girl gang would be fun,” she explained, and I hung on every word. “Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.”
“Not to be a bitch, but,” I started, and she focused her dark eyes on me, her black eyeliner winged to perfection, “you don’t seem like their type.”
I knew that most sororities were known for certain things on campus, and they tended to recruit girls who fit their agenda, whether it was being one of the hottest or smartest girls at school or coming from a rich family.
Reaching both hands into her hair, she shook it around. “Is it the hair?”
Laughing, I made a face. “Among other things,” I said, looking down at her still-untied combat boots and baggy, oversize cargo pants.
“I looked a little different as a freshman. I hadn’t started coloring my hair yet. But you’re right; I definitely did not check all the boxes on their checklist. But joining made my mom happy.”
“So, what made you leave?”
“I overheard Hayley one day saying that I was a freak but that they needed me for my GPA. The rest of the girls agreed, calling me unstable and shit. So, I went out and dyed my hair black and purple that afternoon, hoping it might give Hayley a heart attack the next time she saw me.”
“Obviously, that didn’t work”—I made a face—“ ’cause she’s still alive and all.”
“Yeah, but boy, was she pissed. It was worth it.”
A car horn honked, and I’d forgotten all about the fact that I was blocking not only Hayley’s car in her space, but someone else’s as well.
“Are you leaving?” I asked the person honking, and he nodded. “If anyone tries to take that spot, I’m going to war.”
Rocky saluted me. “I’ll stand guard.”
After nabbing that space, I got out and locked the doors, my wheels still spinning about learning that Rocky had been in a sorority with Hayley and the fact that Mac had texted me, clearly taking Hayley’s side. “Can I ask you something?”
“No,” she said, and I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I’m joking. Ask away.”
“Were you around when Hayley started dating Mac?”
Rocky’s eyes pinched together. “Not when they were together, no. But I remember her talking about him.”
“Talking about him how?” My curiosity was through the proverbial roof. I wanted to know every single thing about this topic. I didn’t trust Hayley, and if I was going to be with Mac, I needed to know what my enemy was capable of.
“Hayley always has her eye on someone. She plots when it comes to guys. Makes lists. Mac was on that list. She has a reason for everything she does, Sunny. She’s calculating and calculated.”
I swallowed hard around that tidbit of knowledge. “Good to know,” I said, but I wasn’t sure I meant it. I wasn’t sure at all.
The Baseball Gods Hate Me
Mac
I
’d fallen into a dark hole after my talk with Coach Carter this morning. I got like that sometimes, where I just wanted to be left the fuck alone so I could think. I didn’t want to talk it out, analyze my