Beautiful Mess(107)

“Mmm, we both do.” Cole kissed her as he opened the door to his truck for her. Bri climbed in and slid over to the middle seat, so she could sit by him.

“So,” she smiled at him as he pulled out of the parking lot. “We seemed to have survived the week okay.”

“Yeah, we did. Though, I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet. Believe me, the worst is still to come.”

“Always such a pessimist!” she teased. “Can’t you just let me live in my denial for the rest of the weekend?”

Cole laughed.

“Oh, I do have some good news,” he grinned.

“I can always use some good news! What is it?”

“Coach Davies called today to tell me that there are some college scouts coming to my next few games.” He tried to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but Bri could see how excited he was.

“Really? Cole, that’s amazing!” She pecked him on the cheek.

“A couple of big schools are sending guys next week. I’m kind of a little nervous.”

“You’ll be great. Just think of it as any other game.”

“You’ll be there?” He glanced at her hopefully.

“Of course. Will you be there for Region next Saturday?”

“You know it!”

“Well then, neither of us has anything to worry about.” She smiled at him. “Hey, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but it’s been so crazy I haven’t had time. MORP is coming up in a couple weeks, and I was hoping you’d go with me.”

Cole eyed her. “Is this you asking me to a dance? Because if it is, I’m kind of disappointed,” he teased. “You’re not the most creative person, are you? I mean, my truck is awesome and everything, but it’s not the most romantic setting.”

“Shut up,” Bri laughed and pushed his arm. “So will you go with me or not?”

“I don’t know. Two weeks? Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you? How many guys turned you down before you thought of me?”

“Coleston Marra, you know very well that you are the only guy I want to go to any dance with. You are, and always have been, my first choice.” Bri knew he was just messing with her, but she still wanted to make sure he knew that.

“Well, in that case, Ambria Donnelly, I’d love to go to MORP with you!” He flashed her a very self-satisfied smile.

“Good.” She snuggled up next to him. “Make sure you wear something sexy!”





Monday morning at dance, Bri knew something was up. She felt like she’d been transported back to the first day of school when half the team hated her guts. She was getting the same glares and whispers today. She did her best to ignore it, but by the time practice was over, she couldn’t wait to get away.

Unfortunately, the glares, stares, and whispers only got worse as she walked into school. They continued all morning, and seemed to get worse when she and Cole were together. Walking into History, Bri noticed Trey looking smug. That did not bode well.

Lunch was a little bit of a reprieve, being surrounded by her friends. No one seemed to know what everyone was talking about, and they all tried to ignore it for Bri’s sake. But, things continued to get worse as the day wore on.

Bri was exhausted by the time she got home. Trying to block out the whole school took a lot out of her. She was so worn out that she almost didn’t answer the phone when Layla called.

“Hey Lay.”

“Hey Bri. I’ve been doing a little digging and have found out what half the school was talking about today. It’s not good.” Layla’s lack of her usual enthusiasm made Bri’s stomach drop

“Okay, you’d better tell me.”

“You’re not going to like it. Apparently Serena took the leash off the gossip hounds and set them loose. There are a ton of rumors going around about you, and they aren’t very flattering.”

Bri could tell Layla was stalling, trying to spare her feelings.

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. I figured Serena would do something like this. It’s not anything I wasn’t expecting.” Bri took a deep breath. “What are the rumors?”

There were rumors ranging from Bri had to leave her old school because she got pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption, to she had slept with Trey and given him host of venereal diseases, to she used to weigh 300 pounds and had to have some serious plastic surgery to fix all her stretched out, saggy skin, to she was blackmailing Cole with something and that was the only reason he was with her. Not the most creative rumors, but they still stung.

“And the most ridiculous one, that your dad slept with Belinda to get you a spot on the team, and now he’s making sure you get special treatment,” Layla scoffed. “Three guesses who started that one. And half the team is falling for that crap! They should know better! They’ve seen you dance, they know how good you are. It makes me angry!” Layla fumed.