The Nerd Who Stole The Quarterback (Astra and Zayne) novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

ASTRA

I kept pushing the scooter, jaw tight, refusing to answer.

But Maya wasn’t done.

She leaned farther out the window, her voice dripping with venom.

55 vouchars

You know, I always knew you were pathetic, Hawthorne, but this?” She laughed sharply. “Moving into his house? Spreading your fat ass all over the Ashton mansion like some disgusting charity case?”

The girls in the back burst into laughter.

‘What’s the plan?” Maya continued. “Hoping Mrs. Ashton feels sorry enough for the poor ugly scholarship whale to keep you forever? Or are you already sucking up to the twins so you can leech off their money too?”

‘Bet she’s dreamed about this for years,” one of the girls snickered. “Finally found a way to trap rich people.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed, burning with pure hatred.

‘Newsflash, fatty, you don’t belong in that house. You’re just a greasy, sweaty little loser, and the only reason they let trash like you through the front door is because they pity you.” Her lip curled. ‘But trust me… they’ll get tired of looking at you real soon. Just like everybody else always does.”

The words hit harder than I wanted to admit.

My throat burned. My eyes stung.

I gripped the scooter handlebars so tightly my knuckles turned white, but I kept walking. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

ľ

Tyler revved the engine, the car creeping closer until the side mirror nearly brushed my arm.

Then someone from the backseat shouted, “Catch, piggy!”

Something cold splashed across my face.

I gasped as sticky liquid drenched me, dripping into my hair and down the front of my hoodie. Soda. The sharp fizz burned my eyes and crawled down my neck in icy streams.

I stumbled, wiping frantically at my face with my sleeve, coughing as the sickly sweetness coated my tongue.

1/7

11:31 am p p p p

Chapter 11

The car exploded with laughter.

“Oh my God!” Maya shricked, nearly choking on her own laughter. “Look at her!”

60 vouchers

The red car sped off, tires, screeching against the pavement, their laughter echoing down the street long after they disappeared.

I stood frozen on the sidewalk, soda dripping from my chin onto my chest.

A couple of neighbors had stepped onto their porches to stare. A little kid pointed at me before his mother pulled his hand down.

Heat crawled up my neck.

I blinked hard, over and over.

Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.

My chest heaved painfully, but I forced the sob back down.

I hurried toward the bus stop two blocks away, head lowered. The scooter had run out of gas, so I had no choice but to take the bus, and the grocery bag hanging from my wrist suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

By the time I reached the shelter, fat raindrops had already started falling.

I stood beneath the tiny overhang, shivering as the rain grew heavier. Soda mixed with rainwater on my skin, sticky and cold. I kept wiping at my face, but eventually the tears I’d been fighting spilled over anyway.

I cried silently on the bus ride home, face turned toward the window, shoulders trembling with every shaky breath.

Nobody looked at me,

Nobody ever did.

I just sat there feeling humiliated. Small. Gross,

By the time the bus stopped near the Ashton estate, the rain was pouring.

I climbed off and hurried through the massive iron gates, dragging the scooter with one hand and clutching the soaked grocery bag with the other. Rain hammered against me, soaking through my hoodie and leggings until everything clung heavily to my skin,

I shoved the scooter beneath the garage overhang beside a row of luxury cars that made it look even sadder, then ran inside.

The foyer was dark and silent.

2/7

11:31 am PP p

Chapter IL-

Everyone had probably gone to bed already.

Et vouchere

I didn’t bother turning on the lights. I just rushed upstairs, shoes squeaking against the marble floor, leaving little puddles behind me.”

The second I locked my bedroom door, I turned off the AC with trembling fingers and stripped out of my wet clothes, the ruined hoodie, soaked leggings, even my underwear, leaving them in a miserable heap on the floor.

Then I looked up.

My reflection stared back at me in the full–length mirror.

I froze.

There I was, completely naked, hair plastered to my back, rainwater and soda still streaking down my skin. My breasts hung heavy and soft against my chest. My stomach curved gently over my hips. Thick thighs. Wide hips. Stretch marks. Cellulite.

Every flaw seemed sharper beneath the soft yellow light.

Greasy. Sweaty. Pathetic.

Maya’s words echoed through my head all over again,

She was right.

A shaky breath left me.

No wonder Zane spent years mocking me. No wonder people laughed when they looked at me.

I pinched the soft flesh of my stomach and watched it fold beneath my fingers.

Tears blurred my vision again.

I wasn’t pretty.

I was just… too much.

Too big. Too soft. Too awkward.

Too easy to hate.

My knees gave out and I sank onto the edge of the bed, wrapping my arms around myself as the sobs finally broke free.

Ugly, choking sobs that shook my entire body and made my chest ache.

I cried until my throat felt raw and my eyes were swollen. The sobs wracked my body so hard I

3/7

11:31 am P p p p

Chapter 11.

65 vouchers

Couldn t even catch my breath. I curled into myself on the edge of the bed, naked and still damp from the rain, arms wrapped tightly around my soft stomach like I could hold all the broken pieces together.

I didn’t even remember falling asleep.

*****

A large, warm hand stroked my cheek.

The touch was surprisingly gentle, fingertips brushing down my neck, over my collarbone, then lower. A thumb circled one of my nipples before sliding down the curve of my stomach. Another hand parted my thick thighs, fingers rubbing slow circles between my legs, stroking my slick folds, pressing inside me just enough to make me whimper in my steep,

It felt so real that my eyes flew open with a gasp.

The room was dark except for the faint glow of the clock on the nightstand.

5:07 a.m.

I was alone.

But my body didn’t feel like it.

My nipples ached. Heat throbbed low in my stomach, my thighs sticky beneath the sheets. My breathing came out uneven as I sat up slowly, clutching the blanket against my naked body.

What the hell was that?

A dream?

Or something worse?

I swallowed hard, my pulse pounding against my

I didn’t let myself think about it for long.

ribs.

I practically threw myself out of bed, took the fastest shower of my life, and brushed my teeth so hard my gums started hurting. Then I shoved on my uniform, twisted my still–damp hair into a messy bun, and hurried downstairs.

The twins were already starting to wake up.

I helped them brush their teeth and get dressed while trying very hard not to think about last night. Or the dream.

Lucas yawned through breakfast while talking nonstop about some game he wanted to play later. Mason stayed quieter, watching me curiously over his glass of juice like he could tell something was

4/7

11:31 am P P P P

Chapter 11-

DIL

F 50 youchers

I made scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter, and sliced fruit as quickly as possible.

By 7:15, both boys were fed, dressed, and ready to leave.

Zane’s car was already waiting outside.

The ride to school was painfully silent.

He didn’t look at me.

I didn’t look at him.

The tension inside the car felt thick enough to choke on. I sat stiffly with my arms wrapped around my bag, staring out the window the entire drive while silently promising myself I’d buy gas for the scooter today.

Anything to avoid being trapped alone in a car with him again.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify