Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game

Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game by Katie Ashley Page B

Book: Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game by Katie Ashley Read Free Book Online
Authors: Katie Ashley
Tags: Death, Grief, loss, teenage romance, young love
Ads: Link
this stuff that’s been going
on. You know, the ‘two Jakes’.”
    She nodded. “He had a hard time with it, too.”
    “He did?” I asked.
    “Of course he did. Don’t you know how hard it was to
be two people? The guy everyone expected him to be and the guy he
really was deep down?”
    It felt kinda strange to be having this conversation
with Maddie about my best friend, but there was a part of me that
was desperate for answers.
    Finally, I shook my head. “But he shouldn’t have felt
that way,” I protested.
    “Why do you think so?”
    When I didn’t respond, Maddie sighed. “He was looking
forward to graduation you know.”
    “Yeah, he thought college was going to be a
blast.”
    “No, that’s not it at all. He was going to “come out”
so speak.”
    My breath caught in my chest. “Wait, are you trying
to say Jake was….gay?”
    Maddie laughed. “No, Jake wasn’t gay. I mean, he was
going to truly turn over a new leaf. He had been looking forward to
leaving town so he could do that. He’d even talked to his football
coach about working with the volunteer organizations on
campus.”
    Okay, it was one thing contemplating Jake might be
gay, but it was a totally mind blowing to think he was looking
forward to turning his back on partying to be a do gooder.
    “I’m sorry, but I just can’t imagine Jake doing much
volunteer work,” I said.
    Maddie smiled sadly. “Well, he was.”
    “Whatever,” I mumbled. I thought talking to Maddie
would give me answers, but I was starting to feel more and more
confused.
    She must have sensed my confusion because she said,
“You know, it was like Jake was honorable to a fault. He did
everything he could to please others—even if it was misguided.”
    Seriously? Jake did things to please others? Since
the moment we’d met, he’d been one of the most selfish assholes on
the planet. It was me, me, me, all the time. I shook my head
incredulously. “But Maddie…”
    She looked over at me. “I know what you’re going to
say.”
    I raised my eyebrows. “You do?”
    “To you and to everybody else, he was a jerk 90% of
the time.”
    Well, I wasn’t expecting that. But it was certainly
closer to the truth. “Pretty much.”
    “But to me and my family, he was a perfect gentleman
90% of the time.”
    Okay, and once again, that was totally out of
character for Jake. “I just don’t get it,” I replied. I glanced
back up at the vault. I still don’t get never understand why he
felt like he had to be two people to me.”
    “Well, think about it for a minute.”
    I sat deathly still, trying to collect my thoughts.
“What I meant to say is, I was his best friend, and I don’t
understand why if he could be that way with you and your parents,
then why in the he-,” I caught myself as Maddie arched an eyebrow
at me. “the heck , he couldn’t be real with me.”
    “Maybe he was real with you, and you just didn’t
realize it.”
    “Huh?”
    “In all the years that you guys were friends, you’re
telling me you never saw a different side to him?”
    I closed my eyes in thought. My mind whirled in a
mosaic of colorful memories. I thought about the camping trip when
Jake saved my life. I thought about the Father/Son camping trip in
Scouts that Jake refused to go on just because I didn’t have a dad
to go with me. And then I thought about the six weeks when my
grandfather was sick and how he stayed by my side like a brother.
How could I not see before how self-less he truly was? I mean, sure
he had his epic douchebag moments, but even before he was
‘changing’ into a so-called better person, he did kindhearted
things. Deep down, I guess he was a truly giving person, but I’d
just been too blind to always see it.
    A knot formed in my throat. I swallowed several times
before murmuring, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
    Maddie smiled. “He talked about you a lot.”
    I snapped my head to stare at her. Oh, holy hell. “He
did?”
    She smiled. “Yeah, all the

Similar Books

Caressed by Moonlight

Amanda J. Greene

From Where You Dream

Robert Olen Butler

Intangible

J. Meyers

The Treasure Box

Penelope Stokes

Do Elephants Jump?

David Feldman

Pandora Gets Heart

Carolyn Hennesy

Three of Hearts

Kelly Jamieson

Skylark

Sheila Simonson