When Trust is Gone - The Quarterback's Regret

Chapter 1 Addison’s POV Hot tears ran down my face as I glared at the group in my neighbor’s backyard. I don’t think that I have ever been this angry in my life. How could I have been so freaking stupid? I knew better, yet I still fell for it. I watched my longtime crush allow the bane of my existence to act possessively over him. Her hands traced his chest before dropping lower towards his trunks. He allowed her to do it until his parents came out of the house. They would not appreciate seeing the show. I was sitting on top of my dresser. It was the only way to get a good angle to see the backyard. I am just a glutton for punishment for even attempting to look. I just needed to know. Garrett used to be my best friend. We grew up together. I thought he was special. I thought he was the one. I thought that once he claimed me, we would be together forever. I was stupid to fall for it. I should have realized that he just wanted to have s*x with me, just like the other girls. My mind told me he was in on what happened, even as my heart protested that he was also a victim. I am sure that was Tammy’s goal all along. She was glad to have finally gotten the upper hand on me. What am I going to do? I need to get out of here, but where can I go? I just turned eighteen yesterday, and my world has completely fallen apart. I could not stop the sobs as my pain increased to double. My life was just beginning and now this. I hated Tammy so much. I don’t understand why she would do something like this to me, why she hated me so much that she wanted to destroy me like that. I needed someone here to comfort me, but I was now alone. The scandal exposed today has probably ruined me in this town. I didn’t know where to turn. My best friend, Kate Bellerby, wanted to be there for me but didn’t have a car. Plus, our whole community had either heard or seen the video. Her parents told her to stay away from me until it blew over. I doubt that it ever will. The taunts and cruel comments were still ringing in my ears from school this morning. I never thought that you could die from shame, but now I am starting to wish I could. The two guys who assaulted me this morning were currently standing there and talking to Garrett. They are all having a great time, laughing it up. They were probably all talking about me. I wanted to hear what they said, but they were too far away. I wanted to know if Garrett would defend me to his friends, but it seems that after he got what he wanted from me. He was happy to leave me to deal with the aftermath. My heart clenched at the thought of what had happened. I have cared for him my whole life. My love for Garrett grew without me realizing it had gone behind a crush. My heart sank with the knowledge that I would never be able to take back what happened between us last night. I couldn’t stop watching him, no matter how much it hurt. His stupid, handsome face. He didn’t care that he ruined my life at all. He managed to avoid the scandal, which was suspicious to me. The humiliation I am suffering hits me again. Why had he not stepped up to defend me? I will never understand how he could do that to me. My eyes are so dry and puffy now they are burning. I can’t see as well as I could earlier. I had already cried my heart out yesterday, and now this. Logic tells me there is probably a simpler solution to my lack of tears. Maybe I am just numb to all the pain now? More likely, I am probably dehydrated. My anger is taking a backseat to sadness now. How will I ever get past this? I don’t even know what I am going to do anymore. I had my life all planned out. I was going to go to college this fall, major in business, and get a secondary degree to do what my mother did. Now, I don’t know if that will even be possible. All the plans that my mother and I made now lie shattered on the ground. Loud laughter brought my attention back to the pool party next door. Garrett's father, Russell, was manning the grill. He is speaking to Garrett’s teammates as they tease each other. Garrett is the quarterback of our high school football team. He has brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He looks exactly like his father, except his father has brown eyes. You can also see precisely what Garrett will look like in twenty years. With his strong jaw and captivating good looks, it is no surprise that everyone at the high school vies for Garrett's attention. Half the cheer squad is after him, trying to gain and keep his attention. He was going to go pro, just like his father. The cheer squad deferred to Tammy. Her father is the reason that they never get into trouble at school. Well, that is, until yesterday. But this latest attempt to hurt me has gone way too far. I don’t know how I will recover from it or, honestly, if I ever will. I heard squealing and looked over to see Alden James standing beside the pool. He is Garrett’s best friend and favorite running back. Alden smiled and then tossed Summer into the pool. Tripp Reed, one of Garrett’s tackles, approached the side of the pool with a squirming Whitney in his arms. She was pretending to be scared, but she might be scared now that Summer got thrown into the pool. She is in full makeup, as are her friends. They never go anywhere without being fully put together. Summer looks like a drowned rat; her makeup is a complete mess. Her mascara might be waterproof, but it seems like nothing else is. Whitney is now acting like a cat about to be bathed, climbing up Tripp's body and trying to hold on to him to keep from being thrown in. The only one in the group safe from being thrown in was Tammy unless Garrett decides to do it, which we all know won’t happen. She would be furious. The laughter increases as Tripp jumps into the pool with her in his arms. He couldn’t wrestle her off of him, as she was holding onto him so tightly. She shrieked when he jumped into the pool with her. She came up for air, still screaming at him. He just laughed at her like it was funny. He knew how much they liked to keep from getting their hair and faces wet. They didn’t swim. They lounged around or floated in the pool on their floats. They were there to be seen, not swim. He grabbed the side of the pool and pulled himself out of the water. He was in good shape, even with the extra weight he carried from being a tackle. He was not eighteen yet, but he will be next month. He is a big guy with a broad build, always attracting attention. He was 6’2” tall and a junior, but his 235 lb. frame was almost all sheer muscle due to his position in the team. His older brother, Gage, was eighteen and graduating with us this year. Gage was much quieter than his younger brother. He was a giant at 6’4” tall and about 10 lbs. heavier than his younger brother. He was there with his girlfriend of the last four years, Samantha Harris. She was nice. I have interacted with her a lot over the years. She didn’t turn her back on me when Garrett iced me out of his group three years ago. She didn't fear being thrown in the pool. She also didn't fear Tammy picking on her as she sat in the lounger beside Gage. He would never allow her to get picked on. Everyone knew that they were going to get married one day. She had what these other girls wanted: a real relationship with a man who would probably be going on to play professionally. You would think the girls on the cheer squad would realize a few truths from that. Sam, as she was called, was there with a bare face, yet she was still beautiful. She was also bigger than the other girls there, just like I had been. It was probably how we hit it off so well. She was perhaps size twelve, as she looked to be about a size down from me. She had a very curvy body and was clearly comfortable in her own skin. It wasn’t just because she knew that Gage had her back. She was very confident. She had chosen a bikini, too, to emphasize her slim waist. It was her breasts and hips that made her the slightly larger size she was, and Gage made no secret that he liked how she looked. Gage was possessive of Sam; everyone here knew she was off limits. After Tripp got out of the pool, he glanced at his brother and Sam. It was like a lightbulb suddenly came on. He immediately turned back around and looked right up at my window. It was scary that he seemed to know exactly which room was mine. I doubt he felt me watching them. How could he possibly know that I was watching the group of them? I think seeing Sam reminded him of what happened at school this morning. My blinds were open, but I was sure he couldn’t see me. His slow smile was incredibly creepy to me. I froze in place, refusing to move or close my blinds. Doing either of them would alert him that I was indeed watching them. It seemed like it didn’t matter to him anyway. He seemed to be able to sense that I was there. He started posing for me, which drew everyone’s attention to him. They are all incredibly confident in their appearance. Their hard work shows, and they don’t mind showing it off. Now, they are all looking up at the window to my room. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe. I honestly don’t think they could see me. There was no way. The slats on my shutter blinds were tilted at a specific angle, mostly closed. It was to prevent them from being able to see into my room. Yet, it allows me to watch them unnoticed. Well, until now. Tripp was positive that I was watching them. He even turned away from me to pose again, like he was some sort of bodybuilder. Both he and Alden are now posing for me. They are trying to one-up the other. Tripp’s mocking voice called, “Don’t worry, Addison. The cold water might make it look smaller, but I want to show you how much bigger and better I am than your mystery guy. I can come over now if you want a go with me." He then grabbed his c**k in his hand and thrust himself towards me. The group’s laughter was loud. What hurt the most was that even Garrett was laughing along with them like he was; the mystery guy. His parents rushed out of the house to see what was happening with all the yelling. They looked around in confusion about why Tripp was yelling and everyone else was laughing at his antics. It wasn't funny at all. My heart sinks with the knowledge that Garrett had lied to me last night, from beginning to end.