CHAPTER 3 JOLENE

I'm shaking with anger by the time I hear a knock at the front door.

My mom dropped me at home since I have homework to do. I have school tomorrow. Dad is going to be okay, and life goes on.

I still haven't heard from Lincoln.

His father's truck is in the driveway. Presumably he's told his family what happened at practice. Given that it's all over the news, I find it hard to believe none of them have any idea what happened.

So when I hear a knock a little after nine, I glance out the window and see Lincoln standing there.

I draw in a shaky breath, but I'm too angry to let it go as I toss open the door.

"Finally!" I yell, my eyes flashing with anger.

"Finally?" he asks, his brows knitting together.

I blow out a breath as I try not to let my temper get the best of me here. "What took you so long to get in touch?"

"I just found out. I was working on a paper after practice, and I saw your mom drop you off. How's your dad doing?" he asks.

I open the door a little wider to let him in, not loving his excuse but not sure whether I'm angry with him or just angry in general. "He's okay. They're keeping him at the hospital a few days for observation and then it sounds like he's going to have some rehab to get his full range of motion back. Is your dad doing okay?" I'm waiting for him to pull me into his arms, to kiss me in that way he does that tells me everything's going to be okay.

Instead, he's standing stiffly right there in the entry, and the thought that I'll think of whatever comes next every time I walk through this entryway flits through my mind.

It's some premonition that something terrible is about to happen.

"Fine," he says.

He doesn't say he feels bad for what happened. Maybe he doesn't.

The realization dawns.

Did Eddie Nash do this on purpose?

What possible reason would there be for that?

"Listen, this is going to hit the media and I need to stick by my family, okay?" he says.

My brows dip. If it hits the media, isn't ensuring a united front more important? I can just hear the top story on all the sports reports: The Nashes and the Baileys are still as close as ever despite the terrible events occurring at practice today.

"Stick by your family?" I repeat.

He nods. "Just like you should stick by yours."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He sighs, and his eyes won't meet mine. He's shifting nervously, and I don't like it. "I just…with our families being in the public eye, I think it's best if we spend a little time apart while all this gets sorted out."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The anger that settled into the pit of my stomach rebirths itself into a fierce rage. He looks taken aback by my outburst, but I'm just getting started. "Are you breaking up with me over something that wasn't even related to us?"

"I just think it's for the best," he says softly.

"Really? You think letting this tear us apart is for the best?" I mimic his voice but it sounds nothing like him as tears spring to my eyes. "Was this just a game to you? Get the kid to sleep with you then break it off?"

"No!" he yells back at me. "Of course not! I care about you. It's just—"

"Just what?" I demand, interrupting him as he flounders to come up with some reason why breaking up with me is the best idea. I don't get it.

Something is wrong here.

"You don't want to deal with the media attention? You don't want to be associated with my dad since it was your dad who caused this? Or you don't want to be with me?"

He grabs his head between his palms. "None of that!" he roars. "And all of it," he adds a little more quietly. "Look, I have to think about my future, okay? I've got scouts looking at me, and I need to keep my nose clean."

"How does what happened between our fathers have anything to do with any of that?" I screech at him, and it's in that moment that clarity hits me.

I'm not going to beg him to be with me.

I deserve to be with someone who wants me back, and clearly…Lincoln is not that guy.

Maybe the sex didn't mean to him what it meant to me. Maybe it wasn't any good for him. And my big-ass mouth can't help but ask the question. "Is this because we had sex?"

"What?" he breathes, clearly confused by my question.

"Was it that bad for you that now you have to run away at the first sign of trouble?"

"No! How could you even say that to me? You know how it felt! You know what it meant!"

"Yeah, I thought I did. But now…this." I hold out a hand to indicate this situation.

He blows out a breath and scratches the back of his neck. "It has nothing to do with that, Jolene, and I hate that you've thought that for even a second."

He called me Jolene. He never calls me Jolene. It's either Jo or JoLo for my first and middle name: Jolene Lorraine. Everyone else calls me JoJo. He's the only one who has ever called me JoLo, and now I feel like I may never hear it again.

"It's just…it's my family. I feel like I don't have a choice. I was born into football royalty, and my only lot in life is to go to college and wait until it's my turn to get drafted. We're two years apart, and once I head to college, things will only get harder."

"Then we unite and face it together."

"I wish it could be that simple, but it just isn't. I should go." He turns and walks toward the door.

An errant thought hits me. Based on what I know about his relationship with his dad, I throw out one final jab. "Did your father do this on purpose to my father in some convoluted effort to break us up? Because if he did…you're letting him win. Is that what's going to make him proud of you?"

He freezes with his hand on the doorknob, but it's just for a beat. Still, that little pause is enough to give weight to my accusation.

Then he turns the knob and walks out without ever answering my question.

Little do I know that it's a question I will wrestle with for the next two decades.

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Want more of the Nash family? Get ready for DATING THE DEFENSIVE BACK, a STANDALONE, brother's best friend, fake dating romance featuring Lincoln's brother Grayson Nash!

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Want some baseball romance? Check out VEGAS HEAT: BASES LOADED from Lisa Suzanne! The bad boy of baseball has met the woman of his dreams in pop star Alexis Bodega. Find out if he ends up with her or someone else in this hot new series full of cliffhangers and curveballs!