I Hate You (Waylon University, #3)

by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Because ditching her was like tearing a limb from my body.

“Who’s the lady with the attitude? I’ll go after her if you want. I have a mean right hook. My brother Mattie taught me. The trick is how you hold your fist.” I demonstrate. “See? Knuckle is out.”

I love how she could say these things despite their current standing with each other.

All great and precious things are lonely,’” I murmur, the words slipping out. “John Steinbeck.”

“I don’t know. What do we have to lose?” Only the rest of me.

Aaaaa my heart is breaking

Dillon leans over. “He’s a kickass football player with the reflexes of a cat. He’s a dynamo.” Blaze smirks. “He’s my biggest supporter, obviously.”

I love this friendship.

Because deep down, no matter how hard I fight, part of me thinks I’m not worth it, that I’m not good enough to make it.

Aaaaa, you're breaking my heart, Blaze.

“I don’t have that kind of relationship with them. I mean, when I first moved in, I was messed up from my parents dying, but part of me was excited. A real family…” I shrug, trying not to let my emotions show. “I walked into their house and vowed to myself I was going to be the best kid ever. I wrote down this stupid oath thing in my notebook about how I was going to sit still, take out the trash, help with the babies, and work on the farm. I would be the best son ever.” I stare at my pen, not really seeing it. “I don’t think they noticed. The day I came home from high school after signing my acceptance to Waylon, all I saw was relief in their eyes—relief that I would finally be gone and they wouldn’t have to pay for my college.”

Ugh you're breaking my heart again, Blaze.

Love hurts; I know it does. Love is opening yourself up like a book, letting someone see your secrets with every paragraph and page exposed, knowing that the person you’re showing it to can walk away at any minute. And maybe he will.

“You had a date with you.” “So did you. Bet you didn’t kiss him.” He pauses, his eyes intense. “You’re mine, Charm.”

I can’t be the girl who’s always waiting for the guy to figure out what she means to him, all the while knowing he’s out there surrounded by other girls.

:(((((

I’ve been saying football is the one thing I can’t live without, but it’s a lie. She is. It’s her.

“I’m never going to let you out of my sight again, Charm.”

“Can you see me, Charm? Can you see the man I really am underneath all this? Can you look at me and see that I can’t go on without you?”