count on me (l.h)

"what game do you think you're playing?"

chapter twenty-four: what game do you think you're playing?

there is no luke content in this VERY VERY SHORT chapter, so u only get a pic hehe

FRIDAY MORNING. It wasn't even noon, yet I felt like the day was never-ending and had been one of the longest of my life. Mostly because it had only felt like an extension of the day before. I was not-so-patiently waiting for the moment that I'd bump into Vince—all I had been able to think about for the past couple of days was how much I'd like to give him a piece of my mind, for the second time. 

I didn't have any idea of what I was going to say, but I knew that as I walked to my class, all I felt was anger.

I think someone once said not to act based on your reaction, but I wasn't about to wait for my emotions to simmer before getting a word in with my old friend, Vincent.

As I walked in the door of the classroom, I noticed that only about four people were present so far—our professor was absent from the room. I looked toward the back of the room to see Vince laughing at something one of my other classmates had said, and the sight of him seeming so happy only caused my blood to boil.

Without giving myself a moment to think or breathe, I found myself making a beeline for Vince. He noticed me once I was a couple of feet away, and I watched as his brows furrowed. Once I had taken my last step to get closer to him, I lifted my arm and slapped him across the face, hard.

"Fuck, Josie!" Vince exclaimed, stumbling back as his hand came up to his cheek. There was a collective gasp from the others in the room, but not a single objection came from anyone.

"What game do you think you're playing? This is my life, Vince!" I yelled at him, hot tears falling onto my cheeks. "And I wish you'd ceased to exist in it! I can't believe I ever trusted you, not even for a second. How can you even live with yourself?"

As I turned to walk away, Vince's hand wrapped around my wrist, but he didn't pull me back—he only steadied me, keeping me from taking another step. "Joey, let me explain."

"Don't you fucking call me that," I told him, ripping my arm from his grip. "You don't get to explain yourself, asshole. Go collect that big check waiting for you. I'm glad our friendship had such a monetary value." Tears began to freely fall down my cheeks as I made my out of the room, not even thinking to turn back as I hurried down the stairs to the lobby of the building.

As I made my way to the doors, I physically bumped into another body as I brought my hands up to my eyes to wipe my tears.

"I'm so sorry—"

"Jo?" I focused on the face in front of me to see Kate. Before a second could pass, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her, crying harder as she squeezed me tight. "Let's get out of here," she said, somewhat surprising me as we pulled away.

"Don't miss class on my account—"

"Josie, I don't give a fuck about Journalism Law right now," she said, laughing quietly as she brought her hands up to my cheeks. She gently wiped away my tears and I sent her a sad smile. "Let's get you home."

. . .

 

"I can't believe you slapped him—but I'm so glad you did," Kate said, her eyes wide as she sat back on my couch. "God, I wish I had been there to see it. I wish I could've slapped him."

"It honestly felt really good," I told her, letting out a quiet laugh as I sat across from her, wrapped up in a blanket. "I'd do it again."

"I can't explain it, but I feel personally responsible for him even being in your life. We could've gone to any other college, and then you would've been safe from him."

"Katey... you have nothing to do with this," I told her, laughing quietly as I shook my head. I watched as Kate's face twisted into slight guilt, her lower lip finding its place between her teeth. "Kate..." I became nervous as I looked at her; I couldn't take on any more bad news.

"I'm the one who encouraged him to start writing for Everyday Updates. Not about you! Jesus, if I knew he'd end up doing something like that, I would've tossed him to the curb ages ago. But the offer came up this summer, and he thought it would be stupid, but he wanted some easy cash, so I told him to go for it. But he told he only ever did one article, and wasn't pleased with it so he stopped." Kate's eyes had filled with tears as she spoke and I sighed quietly before standing up and sitting down beside her.

"Kate—do not blame yourself, okay? No one encouraged Vince to be a slimy rat, okay?" Kate laughed at my words, but there was still sadness laced within the look in her eyes. "I'm not mad at you. He lied to you about it anyway, so who's to say he wasn't always going to go for it. He probably just wanted validation, and he values your opinion most."

"How are you so good at making me feel better?" Kate asked, smiling a little wider now. "I feel like I'm pretty shit at making you feel better—so I'm sorry about that."

"You being here has made me feel all sorts of better, trust me," I sent her a smile back, just before looking down. "Uh—do you want some coffee or something? We could order some food? I would suggest I just make us something, but I care about you and wouldn't want you to suffer from my cooking." Kate's head fell back as she let out a laugh, which caused me to smile.

"I could make us something?" Kate suggested. "But I should warn you, I only really do breakfast foods." A strange kind of smile found its way to my face; she had reminded me of Luke. I suddenly started to think about how some of Luke's pancakes or one of his omelets could solve a world of hurt at the moment.

"What's your specialty?" I asked, my curiosity peaking, especially since I had been so nervous about seeing Vince that I hadn't eaten much of a breakfast.

"Hmm... it's a tie between oats and omelets," she told me, after giving it a couple seconds of thought. "Do you have a favorite?"

"Luke always makes me omelets or pancakes... is it weird that I kind of want an omelet, because I think it'll comfort me?" Kate cracked a smile before letting out a laugh.

"That's not weird at all," she told me, shaking her head. "I'll try my best to replicate Luke's style." She stood up and offered her hand, which I took before standing up as well. "Have you ever watched him make one? Do you know his secrets?"

"Of course I have—you know how many mornings I've spent trying to replicate his technique? But I can never get it right."

"Let's give it a shot together, maybe we'll be the perfect team."

a/n:

umm is this officially the shortest chapter i have ever published in my life ???? yes, i think so. it truly was just a lil update to the storyline, and i'm sorry it was so quick!!! i will hopefully be updating again very soon:))

thank you for popping in & reading !!! i love you guys <3

jill