Score •• louis a.u.

chapter 16

“Can I have a marshmallow please?” I ask Marc sitting next to me quietly. He grunts in reply but hands me one of the fluffy, white treats. I eagerly poke the stick through it and hold it over the fire, waiting until the perfect moment to pull it out and squash it between the chocolate-layered graham crackers.

“How did everyone settle in?” John asks the group, sticking a marshmallow on the end of a stick as well. There are varied responses but they all seem to equate to ‘good’.

“What about you, Trey?”

I am in the middle of eating my s’more when I look up. I try to answer him but my mouth is so full no one can understand me. I nervously look around as I try to chew faster but no one cares enough to pay attention to me.

“Uh, I settled in just fine,” I say after a few minutes, coughing. “It’s nice to have a cabin with electricity.” I add, smiling a little at John. He nods and smiles as well, going back to attending his s’more.

“I knew you didn’t like tents, so I got us all houses,” he says after a few moments of silence. I choke a little on my sandwich and avoid eye contact with him.

“Thank you,” I mumble although inside I’m screaming that it’s all my fault he spent the extra money on fancy cabins. See what happens when you lie? Nothing good comes of it!

“You should all be thanking Trey for disliking tents. Without her, you’d all be sleeping on the cold, hard ground!” John talks to the whole team and everyone glances at me. My eyes widen and I gulp quickly, sliding another marshmallow onto my stick.

“I’ll thank her when she leaves,” Scott says and the lads laugh. My face flushes and my eyes cast down. Why do they hate me so much? Oh right, it’s because they don’t believe my story. Thanks, Louis, for that bit of information.

I clear my throat and stand up from the group, instantly drawing all the attention to myself. I finish eating my other s’more and wipe off the dirt from my pants.

“Well, I’ll be going to bed then,” I say awkwardly. I don’t look anyone in the eyes as I move away from the giant circle.

“You do realize it’s, like, half ten right?” Sam calls and I bite my lip.

“Oh, really? I didn’t know,” I feign a yawn. “I’m just tired.”

Angel narrows his eyes at me and I catch the reflection of the fire in his gaze. “You sure you want to go to sleep now? I’m sure no one minds you staying here,” he says gently, standing up. I wave him away.

“Who are you kidding? Everyone here hates me, so I mind as well steer clear of sharp objects and intense heat.” I gesture to the sticks in everyone’s hands and the fire pit in the center. I don’t react to the look of shock on John’s face as I turn around.

“I’ll cover your cabin-rounds tonight then, Trey.” John yells as I reach my cabin. I spin around.

“No, that’s alright. I’ll get them. Just come wake me up when everyone is done,” I say before I quickly enter my cabin. It hurts a hell of a lot that Louis didn’t try to stop me from leaving the group.

***

I stare blankly at the football on top of the coffee table, the moonlight coming in from the windows making it seem ghostly. I can’t help but think if it weren’t for this sport I wouldn’t be here with men that hate my guts, in misery over someone I obviously have no chance with, and with guilt on my shoulders that I can’t seem to shake. I sigh for the hundredth time and close my eyes briefly, snuggling into the couch pillows. After I left the happy campfire group, instead of trudging all the way upstairs just to come back down later, I decided to crash on the sofa. I really meant to go to sleep. I really did.