There weren’t many options at the Wheelhouse—shots or beer. I started sipping mine when I felt Sarah slide into the stool on my other side.
“So, cowboy. You wanna dance? Or what?” she asked. I knew I didn’t really have a choice, so I let her guide me by the hand out to the dance floor. It was some slow country song, so I just kept hold of her hand and put my other one on her back. This dance was going to be all about conversation.
“Look, Sarah. I’m sorry about earlier...,” I started, but she cut me off.
“Just don’t, Reed. I get that you’re hurt, and pissed, and angry, and all kinds of other shit. But you need to cut our girl some slack,” she had her bossy tone on now. She pursed her lips, almost like she was reigning herself in. That was huge for Sarah. “Reed…Nolan’s on academic probation. She’s been skipping a lot of her classes because of everything that’s happened. Sienna and I have been taking turns trying to get her out of her room, but she never leaves it. She just holes up in there. The only thing she comes out for is to help her floor charges or to work her writing workshop.”
I was a little stunned, and stopped our dance—not that it was much of one—to soak in her words for a moment. I knew there was something sad about Nolan, but I didn’t think she’d ever be in academic trouble. Her scholarships were everything to her. Suddenly, I felt worse…about everything. Sarah and I weren’t even really spinning anymore, but rather just swaying slowly in the middle of the dance floor, the only couple out there.
“Is she going to lose her scholarship?” I asked, curling one side of my lip and squinting my eyes to brace myself for more bad news.
Sarah just sighed at first. “I don’t know. She won’t talk about it,” she said. “I think her grades are good enough to give her a shot to make up for it in the spring. But Reed? I’m not so sure she can pull it together—not without talking to someone.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, and it killed me to think of Noles being so depressed and not having anyone to talk to about it, especially when I was supposed to be that one person, her person. I just looked down and pulled Sarah’s hand into me so I could hug her now. I kissed the top of her head a little and thanked her for being a good friend. I felt her body weight fall under my embrace and, when she looked up at me, her eyes were glossy. I just smiled faintly, understanding her love for Nolan.
“Sar? Can you tell me one thing?” I said, leaning back to look at her again.
“What?” She was back to being tough, clearly her way of keeping her emotions in check. It made me laugh a little as I pulled her in for more dancing.
“Where’s Gavin in all of this? I mean, I get it…you don’t want to tell me about him…and what he and Nolan are…or do…or did…or whatever. But Sar, I gotta know. Did he just sleep with her, and ditch her once he got what he wanted?” I asked, my brow pinched, while my head tried to work everything out before she laid it on me.
Sarah just stiffened at my question, her feet stopping, and her face looking down at them. Her gaze flashed to mine in an instant then, her face confused and full of worry. “Reed…you know she never slept with Gavin, right?” She said, her words slapping me in the face and fighting against everything I had believed for weeks.
“Uh…what do you mean?” I said, backing away a little, my hands dropping to my sides.
“I mean…Nolan. Never. Slept. With. Gavin,” she said it slowly and punctuated each word, drilling it into me, and angry at my accusation.
“Fuck!” I said backing away from Sarah faster now and heading for the front door. She followed me out.
I was pacing now in the dirt parking lot in front of my Jeep. I kicked a rock so hard it dinged off of one of my doors, and then pushed my hands through my hair and tilted my head up to look at the stars. “You’re f**king kidding me!” I screamed loudly enough to turn a few heads of others that were just walking into the bar. Embarrassed, I put up a hand in an apologetic wave. Sarah was frozen, just watching me pace and work out everything in my racing mind. I stopped right in front of her and put my hands on either shoulder.
“Sarah. You’re telling me that Nolan never slept with Gavin?” I wanted to hear her say it again.
“Reed. I can’t believe you’d even ask that,” her forehead was wrinkled like my words weren’t even making sense. She shook her head slowly at me in disappointment, and I just started pacing again.
“I can’t believe that f**ker,” I said under my breath. Sarah caught my arm to stop me then.