Right Before The End | BOOK #4 IN THE PSU SERIES

Thirty-One

The reason behind why I left though?

"Man, I remember when I won my first home game! You fucking threw like a rockstar, you hear me? A fucking rock star." I quickly sat up, hoping that the redness from my eyes had gone down since I started to cry as soon as I entered the quiet room.

I cleared my throat, gripping my knee caps– showtime.

Sometimes it was easiest for me to act like a normal kid age whenever I was around a big group of people. I would have more energy to feed off of that way, but somehow whenever I am near her, just like always– I focus on her. Her and her only.

Her moods.

Her tone.

Her body language.

Her everything.

They were all standing outside the door until it was pushed open. "Family dinner tonight at Matti's? And then party afterward at ours?" I stood up straight, eyeing Leighton, Ellie, Naomi, and Cooper who walked in first, then followed by the rest of the group minus a few.

The game had ended thirty minutes ago. I had just been hiding up here, ignoring everyone and everything around me. I had always been raised to be vocal about my emotions but for the last two years, I had silenced myself.

"If you're coming over, I'm not cooking. I refuse to cook." Naomi was the first to spot me, a smile grew big on her face. Did she speak to my mom?

"That's good because I am the grill master baby, you don't have to worry about a thing." Matti wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead before his eyes landed on me. He raised one eyebrow and released his wife.

"The game too intense you couldn't watch, Junior?" He teased.

I felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of my neck. I fake laughed with a nod from my head. "Yeah. You know how I am– I was always into football." That sounded good enough right?

"You know what I'm into?" Leighton asked, butting in. Matti, Naomi, and I turned to face him.

I smiled. "Telescopes? I remember how obsessed you were with those growing up." I walked toward Cooper, who was standing right next to him.

I hadn't seen Cooper in years.

I mean, I hadn't seen hardly anyone in years.

"Nah, that phase ended when I was fifteen. But what I'm really into is assholes who break my cousin's heart and then try to come back into her life like nothing happened. I'm really into that, and hey– I'd bet my cousin is too."

Swallowing my pride, I swallowed so hard, that I felt my adams apple juggle in my throat. I nodded once, turning to face Cooper who was standing next to Leighton.

"Don't be a dick Leigh," Cooper shoved his shoulder into Leighton's side. He smiled at me before offering his hand to me, shaking it as his smile grew bigger. "How are you, Blaise? I've missed your face."

Even as if we hadn't talked days before, Cooper had always been the nicest guy to me. Well, to all of us. He hadn't gone the same route that most of us had. Instead of sports, he focused on engineering. He was the president of his frat, and during his junior year of college, he and Stella got together.

He had always been obsessed with her. Staring at her in the swimming pool but she never gave him the time of day, granted she was five years older than him. He was in love with her. When he was twenty, almost twenty-one, she finally gave him the time of the day.

My parents were over the moon, to say the least. It was never in anyone have plans to have children that dated amongst the other children in the friend group, but it seemed as if it was going to happen to at least four of the kids.