Playing for Keeps: Finding Love Beyond the Lies - Chapter 111: Chapter 111
You are reading Playing for Keeps: Finding Love Beyond the Lies, Chapter 111: Chapter 111. Read more chapters of Playing for Keeps: Finding Love Beyond the Lies.
"Sophie, why didn't you wait for me this morning?"
Lucas had been late today. After class, he came over with a reproachful look and placed a bottle of milk on my desk.
I paused my writing, glancing at the milk from the corner of my eye.
"I already had breakfast. And... I won't be walking with you in the mornings anymore. I need to get to school earlier."
Lucas sat down in the seat beside me, clearly confused by my attitude. He propped his chin on his hand and looked at me. "Did I do something to piss you off? We've always walked together, haven't we?"
"Things are different now." I set my pen down, took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "You have a girlfriend now, Lucas. We should keep our distance."
His expression froze for a moment before understanding dawned. "She won't care. she knows that—"
"I care," I interrupted, emphasizing each word. "I don't want to become the scapegoat if you two have relationship problems."
"Sophie..."
Lucas has always had a terrible temper and zero patience. Having this much conversation with me had probably already exhausted his reserves.
Sure enough, his face went cold as he abruptly stood up.
The chair scraped harshly against the floor as he tossed out one final comment.
"Whatever."
I lowered my head and closed my eyes silently.
Last night I sat out on my balcony for hours, trying to decide. Should I continue like an idiot, hiding my feelings while staying close to him? Or was it time to end our bond?
People always say you can't hide the way you look at someone when you're in love. And if I kept orbiting around Lucas, it'd be unfair—not just to me, but to Lila too.
No girl wants her boyfriend to have an overly close female friend.
After that day, Lucas never initiated conversation with me again. Not even a "hey" when we passed in the hall.
The girl at his side was no longer me but Lila. He introduced her to everyone in his circle.
Lila was his first love, the girl he genuinely cared for.
I focused quietly on my studies, hearing about their love story like everyone else, through the grapevine.
When Lila got stomach pains from hunger after late-night dance practice, he brought her special low-fat dinners prepared by his family's personal nutritionist the next day.
How some jock from the school next door tried to corner Lila after school, and Lucas beat the crap out of him.
In this unit test, I reclaimed my position as top of the year.
My teacher once told me to stop worrying about Lucas since it wasn't good for my studies.
The Brooks family was wealthy, so school wasn't something he needed to survive.
One afternoon, as the sky outside the window burned with gold and violet, Lucas leaned back in his chair and played with a strand of my hair.
"Sophie," he asked lazily, "what college do you wanna go to?"
"Oxford," I replied without hesitation.
"That's so far away."
What I never told him was that Oxford wasn't just about prestige or academics. But more importantly, I wanted to escape from here—escape my home.
My father was like a lot of men—once he had money, his heart changed. My mother refused to divorce him, convinced that if she'd given birth to a son instead of me, he wouldn't have mistress.
In the dead of night, she would point at me and cry hysterically, asking why I couldn't have been a boy. Then my father wouldn't have cheated.
Eventually, she did give birth to a son.
Dad came back to the family briefly. But once my little brother arrived, mom poured everything into him.
She felt secure now, having a son who would take care of her in old age.
"Hmm... then I guess I'll apply to Oxford too," Lucas had said with his typical swagger. "Someone's gotta look after you. You'd be a total disaster without me."
That cocky boy standing before me was the light in my broken life, and I desperately wanted to hold onto that light.
That's why I was willing to waste all my time on him. Even if I couldn't make it into Oxford...
As long as I could end up at the same college as him, I thought that'd be enough.
Lucas had been late today. After class, he came over with a reproachful look and placed a bottle of milk on my desk.
I paused my writing, glancing at the milk from the corner of my eye.
"I already had breakfast. And... I won't be walking with you in the mornings anymore. I need to get to school earlier."
Lucas sat down in the seat beside me, clearly confused by my attitude. He propped his chin on his hand and looked at me. "Did I do something to piss you off? We've always walked together, haven't we?"
"Things are different now." I set my pen down, took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "You have a girlfriend now, Lucas. We should keep our distance."
His expression froze for a moment before understanding dawned. "She won't care. she knows that—"
"I care," I interrupted, emphasizing each word. "I don't want to become the scapegoat if you two have relationship problems."
"Sophie..."
Lucas has always had a terrible temper and zero patience. Having this much conversation with me had probably already exhausted his reserves.
Sure enough, his face went cold as he abruptly stood up.
The chair scraped harshly against the floor as he tossed out one final comment.
"Whatever."
I lowered my head and closed my eyes silently.
Last night I sat out on my balcony for hours, trying to decide. Should I continue like an idiot, hiding my feelings while staying close to him? Or was it time to end our bond?
People always say you can't hide the way you look at someone when you're in love. And if I kept orbiting around Lucas, it'd be unfair—not just to me, but to Lila too.
No girl wants her boyfriend to have an overly close female friend.
After that day, Lucas never initiated conversation with me again. Not even a "hey" when we passed in the hall.
The girl at his side was no longer me but Lila. He introduced her to everyone in his circle.
Lila was his first love, the girl he genuinely cared for.
I focused quietly on my studies, hearing about their love story like everyone else, through the grapevine.
When Lila got stomach pains from hunger after late-night dance practice, he brought her special low-fat dinners prepared by his family's personal nutritionist the next day.
How some jock from the school next door tried to corner Lila after school, and Lucas beat the crap out of him.
In this unit test, I reclaimed my position as top of the year.
My teacher once told me to stop worrying about Lucas since it wasn't good for my studies.
The Brooks family was wealthy, so school wasn't something he needed to survive.
One afternoon, as the sky outside the window burned with gold and violet, Lucas leaned back in his chair and played with a strand of my hair.
"Sophie," he asked lazily, "what college do you wanna go to?"
"Oxford," I replied without hesitation.
"That's so far away."
What I never told him was that Oxford wasn't just about prestige or academics. But more importantly, I wanted to escape from here—escape my home.
My father was like a lot of men—once he had money, his heart changed. My mother refused to divorce him, convinced that if she'd given birth to a son instead of me, he wouldn't have mistress.
In the dead of night, she would point at me and cry hysterically, asking why I couldn't have been a boy. Then my father wouldn't have cheated.
Eventually, she did give birth to a son.
Dad came back to the family briefly. But once my little brother arrived, mom poured everything into him.
She felt secure now, having a son who would take care of her in old age.
"Hmm... then I guess I'll apply to Oxford too," Lucas had said with his typical swagger. "Someone's gotta look after you. You'd be a total disaster without me."
That cocky boy standing before me was the light in my broken life, and I desperately wanted to hold onto that light.
That's why I was willing to waste all my time on him. Even if I couldn't make it into Oxford...
As long as I could end up at the same college as him, I thought that'd be enough.
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