My Boyfriend's Best Friend

Chapter Fifteen

Connor

I sat on the curb of the school parking lot with a couple of other guys who had just completed tryouts. They were joking around and discussing who they thought would make the team. I longed to join in the conversation but my insides were a mix of colliding emotions and not one of them allowed me to relax. I was angry at Aidan’s comments about Rylie, hurt that they were probably true and worried that Aidan wouldn’t give me a spot on the team. I knew I had done well at tryouts but whether it would be enough to guarantee me a place was a question left unanswered. I was tempted to walk back to the Coach’s office and attempt to eavesdrop of the team selection meeting but Tara was picking me up and I didn’t want to leave her waiting.

Right on cue, a red, beat-up Holden Astra pulled alongside the curb and the horn barped. I recognised Tara in the driver’s seat and I hopped up, making my way over to the passenger side with a quick wave to the guys still waiting for their lifts. The door took a bit of force on my part to open and proved even harder to close once I hopped in. Feeling my anger boil to the surface I slammed it closed as hard I could but only got more frustrated when it still didn’t shut.

“Dammit!” I cursed, resisting the urge to punch something.

“Hold the handle and then slam it,” Tara suggested hesitantly, looking over at me with wide eyes. Listening to her advice, I did so. I let out an audible breath when it finally closed. I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. I ran my fingers though my blonde hair and took deep breaths, trying to suppress my anger.

“Rough afternoon?” asked Tara, breaking the silence. My eyes snapped over to her and she glanced at me from the corner of her brown eyes as she drove towards her house.

I chose not to reply and instead turned my gaze out the window. I heard Tara tapping her fingernails against the rubber of the steering wheel before she reached over to the radio and turned up the volume. ‘Happy’ by Pharrel Williams drifted over us and I groaned. I immediately slapped my hand onto the power button, shutting off the irritating noise. I was not in the mood for cheerful music.

The silence engulfed us like a heavy fog and the awkward tension started to boil as neither of us said anything about my foul attitude.

“Uhh, did you maybe wanna talk about it?” offered Tara, clearly unsure how to deal with me in this mood.

“No,” I replied curtly. I know I was being a dick to Tara and she didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of my anger but she just so happened to be the only one nearby.

“It’s just,” I suddenly blurted out, startling Tara. “You should’ve heard the way Aidan talked about Rylie. He made it sound like all he wanted from her was sex and she was all too willing to give it. He’s just using her and she’s too blind to see it. I don’t care if he says he loves her, a real boyfriend wouldn’t talk about his girlfriend like she was an object.” Once I finished my mini-rant, I sat back in my seat, glad to have all that off my chest. I still felt like crap but it was tolerable crap and not beat-my-head-against-bricks-because-everything-sucks crap.

“Is that all?” asked Tara.

I rolled my eyes at her and exhaled. “I’m fairly sure Aidan hates me and I’m worried he won’t let me on the team,” I admitted.

I saw Tara nod. “I see. But remember, if our plan works, Aidan’s gonna hate you anyway so you may as well get used to it.”

Her words sent my stomach into a gymnastics routine involving a lot of somersaults. It was true; Aidan would hate me. I wouldn’t blame him but to be honest, I would miss his friendship. I know we had barely said two words to each other since I had returned but the thought of our friendship never rekindling left a bad taste in my mouth. Like it or not, he had been my best friend ever since he had moved to Summerton when he was twelve.