BAD BOY SAVED (male pov)

The whole picture.

It was liberating, having clarity.

When I got to Stanford a month ago and met Reece I was confused and frightened to how my body reacted to her. I saw something I liked and my body responded to that. I tried to ignore it but it made me question everything. But now I am not confused. I want Olivia mind, body and soul. Reece was just a fascination my body held for a short period of time.

After she tried to kiss me I realized my feelings for Liv have never changed, I love her. I always have and I always will. But everything about her reminds me of home, she knows all of my demons and can read all of my expressions. There's no hiding from her. Somehow I tied that with my attraction to Reece and got confused along the way but now I understand that they are two separate issues.

"What's your body count Liam?" Scott asked, involving me in a typical locker room conversation that he was having with the other players.

None of your fucking business, that's what.

"Uh... I don't know." I replied, loading my dirty soccer uniform into my gym bag.

"You must know. Can you count it on one hand, two hands or no hands?" He pressed, making me increasingly uncomfortable as the minutes passed. Everyone's conversations ceased while they waited for my answer but I just continued loading things into my gym locker.

Don't be weird Liam, stay calm. Don't make things obvious.

"Are you a virgin?" Luke asked as he sensed my hesitation to answer Scott's question.

"No."

"So how many?" He pressured. I shrugged, keeping my back to them so they couldn't see any expression on my face.

"Being a soccer player gets you a lot of girls, high school was -"

"Oh shit." Scott's voice interrupted from behind me and when I turned around I came face to face with the most flaming green eyes, like two fireworks combusting in a dark sky. Full of chaos with stray sparks flying wild. Even through the cold there was something about them that warmed me.

"Liv!" I shrieked, she's the last person I expected to see in the men's locker room.

She launched towards me, shoving her hand into my shoulder hard and as her thrust scraped my skin I flinched backwards banging my back into the metal of the locker door. I wasn't expecting that and I just overreacted in front of practically my whole team.

I could feel it beneath my skin, breaking me from the inside. His shrapnel stuck into me in tiny fragments that felt sharp and made the insides flood with my own blood. I know I was displaying my fear on the outside, for all to see. Exposed. Naked. Vulnerable.

"You kissed her." She shouted, echoing her voice around the locker room as it bounced from all of the surrounding metal.

This was about Reece?

I felt nauseous. Everything was going to come out like word vomit, everything I have been struggling with since we moved here. I can explain Reece, she'll understand. But if I tell her how she makes me feel it will break her heart. I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck, not knowing how to approach this situation and conscious of all the eyes pointing at us.

I watched her close her eyes, shutting out the scene before her. Her chest moved up as she took in a deep breath and held it for a couple of seconds. She really truly believed I kissed Reece.

"I didn't" I told her truthfully but it didn't stop me feeling guilty because there was something going on between Reece and I. But that's over now. My body no longer wants her.

"Don't lie to me Liam, I've seen the picture." She was really mad, madder than I have ever seen her before.

Reece set me up.

"What picture? Liv, it's not like that. Nothing happened." I pleaded.

I needed to make her believe me but I could see by the anger on her face that she didn't. I'm not sure I would believe me either to be honest. I deliberately kept Reece a secret from Olivia, my track record isn't exactly clean and now there was apparently a pretty convincing picture in circulation.

I looked around the room at my teammates, any one of them could have been in on this set up. They would all do me dirty in a heartbeat. I bet it was Luke.

"Liam, don't lie to your girl. We were all there, we saw what happened between you and Reece." He took my gaze as an opportunity to speak up, confirming my suspicions.

The look in her eyes painted a picture of the story completely wrong but she believed every word of it and that hurt. Never before has she doubted my word, judged my actions or turned her back on me, until now. It left me defeated and broken with nowhere to turn.

She took away the glue and tape capable of sticking me back together and allowed a whirlwind of emotions in through the gaps, ones I thought I had escaped. I'm not strong enough to fight this battle. My heart has been bruised shattered and trampled on. It's more painful than anything physical that I've experienced before.

My other teammates mumbled 'yes' and nodded their heads in response to Luke's comment. They agreed with him although everything they were saying was complete lies. I would never cheat on Olivia. My whole team turning against me, my only friend setting me up and now my girlfriend believing the word of strangers over me.

I was alone, again.

"Liv." I tried to reach out offering her my hand but she looked down at it like it was the dirtiest object she had ever laid her eyes on. Her hands flung up in the air and my breathing increased, watching them carefully because to me they were grenades waiting to set off the darkness.

"We're done." She spat out as she backed away from me, her bloodshot eyes never leaving mine.

I followed after her, but she ran, just like I had always expected her to. I just didn't think this would be the reason why.

In the far distance I could see the girls soccer team on the next field and after taking a deep breath to settle my anger I sprinted across the grass, searching frantically for one target.

"Reece what the fuck?" I shouted, snatching the ball from her fingers.

"Liam, your practice is over. Vacate the pitch." Coach interrupted.

Reece looked guilty, she knew exactly what I was pissed about. There was instant regret crossing her face and her brows furrowed apologetically.

"Who did you tell that we kissed?" There was a frosty glaze in my eyes and I could see Reece inspecting every one of those water crystals. It's a look I've perfected over the years but this time it was stronger and more defined than ever. My rage was real, raw. It wasn't here to mask my darkness, it was my darkness.

"Nobody." Reece lied through her teeth. Her voice came out shaky betraying her confidence completely.

She was the underdog in this situation and I desperately needed to stifle my intimidation because this was just plain cruel.

Never hit a girl.

Never hit a girl.

"The fuck you did! Liv just broke up with me." A circle of girly gasps erupted from around us and Reece pulled her hazel eyes away from me, facing the ground with shame.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "Luke made me do it." She admitted.

I wasn't used to this, this deceitful behavior. This isn't how my friendships usually work.

"Why would you do that to me? I thought we were friends?" She wouldn't look at me or provide me with an answer. My mind was so clouded. I had lost the one girl I ever loved because of some stupid lie. I dropped the ball, letting it bounce twice on the ground.

"Fuck this." I muttered before walking away.