**A Romance, Teen Fiction, and YA Featured Novel**
Worlds collide when a formerly overweight teen befriends a blinded football player and is forced to confront her growing feelings for the boy who lost it all.
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Tay Statin had always thought a per...
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"Be prepared," Siri says. Travis is warning me. For what, I have no clue. But if it's Emori, I'm more than prepared. I've already made up my mind. I'm leaving it up to her.
When the doorbell rings, I take a deep breath and open the door, my speech prepared. But when Roxie begins speaking, my words falter.
"You know, if you would have just stayed away from other girls, this wouldn't have happened," she says.
"Wrong. Try again," a voice growls from behind her.
I attempt to peek behind Roxie to make out the silhouette of the person talking, but she steps in front of them. Even in tennis shoes, she's tall, and I don't have to look down to see her.
Roxie sighs, cocking her hip to the side. "I'm sorry for spreading the rumor you used me to cheat on Emori."
I cross my arms, assuming my own sarcastic stance. "But you're not sorry for ruining a good relationship?"
The person behind her twitches.
If she thinks I'm gonna let her off easy, she's wrong. Forgiveness won't come easily. She has her reasons, I'm sure, but what she did made her lose my trust in her. It will take a while to earn it again.
"Just take the damn apology, Tay," she hisses.
I sigh and glare at her. It's not much of an apology if she isn't sorry for what she did and how it affected me. She ruined the relationship between me and Emori. If we can come back from that, I'm not sure yet. I'm holding onto the hope that Emori will want to try.
"Apology accepted." I clench my jaw. "But I can't forgive you."
She scoffs, and with a simple 'whatever' she leaves.
I shake my head and down the last of my Coke. "You can come out now, Emori." Roxie doesn't apologize to anyone unless she is being forced to. She's too proud. And Emori was never one to tell someone to do something and then make sure they follow through.
Emori flinches, stepping into my line of sight.
"Do you believe me now?" I sink into the chair by the counter and run a hand through my hair.
"Yeah, I believe you. I should have believed you from the start."
Yes, she really should have.
"Em, we need to talk."
"Yeah, I think we do," she says. "I think... I don't think this is working. Maybe we jumped into things a bit too soon. I mean, you've never done anything to break my trust, and yet I still believed something as stupid as what Roxie said."
And just like that, my heart breaks.
"Plus, you just had surgery a week or so ago. Maybe starting a relationship isn't the best thing for you right now."
