Worth Fighting For | Book #1

Chapter 40

The weeks that followed felt torturous to my mind. Everyday I would have to see Josh at school would play a cruel reminder that he was with someone else.

Every single thing we would do as a group, whether it was simply going to the beach, hanging out at someone's house after school or even a party, Claire would be there. And it was cutting up my insides to see Josh happy with the girl I once wanted to be.

Mason had helped in some way. We'd increased the amount of training we did together, sometimes even giving me free sessions when Mason was feeling a little more generous than usual.

I knew that it was helping me to get over Josh. Especially when Mason would continue with his usual flirtatious attitude towards me, but I knew that it was simply just a facade he would use until his next female customer arrived.

"This is so exciting!" Claire's usual yet annoyingly perfect smile was right in front of me as she leaned down and picked up another slice of pizza from the box before sitting back against the warmth of Josh's arm.

I'd purposely sat on the couch furthest away from the both of them and kept a pizza closest to me so that I wouldn't have to reach over at any point.

She was rather ecstatic about our trip to Cabo next week and although the thought of spending a week with Claire and Josh together sounded like a punishment, I wasn't about to spend my time alone over spring break all because I didn't want to have to look at them.

I knew I'd have to get over Josh soon enough. If I was able to get over Ryan, then I could easily do it again.

What made it that much worse was the fact that Claire wasn't a horrible person at all. As much as she was your typical cliché of a girl, more suited to people like Isabella and Ryan, she was actually quite likeable, much to my annoyance.

Coincidentally, she also attended the same school as Tom, meaning that there was another reason for her to join in on our group activities.

We were all sat round the couches at April's house, getting ready to watch a movie with each other, but every time I had tried to focus on it, my attention would be drawn to Josh and Claire, whispering to each other and looking happier than I had ever seen him before.

Maybe we really weren't right for each other. Maybe it was just my mind believing something that I shouldn't have. It was simply an infatuation that I had with Josh, nothing else.

And it would be nothing else again.

But like usual, life decided to throw me another curveball when it was decided that Josh would be picking me up for the airport within a matter of minutes for our spring break trip.

I'd personally requested to go carpool with anyone else, but due to where we all lived, Josh, Harvey, Claire and I were unfortunately bunched together for the drive to the airport.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Mom was busying herself around the house, throwing various items into my hand luggage, ensuring that I had everything I needed. She was surprisingly awake and energetic for someone at three in the morning who was probably going to be back in bed as soon as I left.

I stopped her rushing with my hand on her arm before pulling her in for a tight hug. And despite the fact that I was eighteen and already what would classify as an adult, I could still tell that she was worried about me going. "I'm sure I have everything, Mom."

She hugged me back even tighter just as the headlights shined brightly through the living room window, signalling Josh's arrival.

We'd both still avoided speaking to each other properly since the evening at Tyler's, and again at April's. Sure, there had been the odd comment here and there, but there was never a conversation between us to be had. He spent more of his time with Claire than with our group, which meant I was incredibly surprised to see just Josh sitting in the front seat of the car when I finally stepped outside.