Chapter 51 A Stupid Bet

Chapter 51 A Stupid Bet
I bit my lower lip hard enough to feel that faint sting, the kind that always shows up when I’m trying not to fall apart. My hand moved through my hair, not because it actually helped, but because I needed something—anything—to keep myself steady.

Before I could get a single word out, Kevin let out this irritated grunt and started walking away from me. Just turned his back and left like every step toward the exit and away from me was easier than looking at me for one more second.

“Kev…” I tried to call after him, but his name sliced right through my throat, getting stuck halfway up like my body refused to let it out. I bit my lip harder, swallowing down the sob that clawed up my chest.

My voice broke anyway. A low, trembling cry slipped out before I could stop it, embarrassing and sharp in the empty space he left behind. It was one of those sounds you hope no one ever hears—too painful, too honest.

But of course someone heard it.

I didn’t even have time to wipe my face before I felt a presence behind me. And then Stephen’s voice came, soft but heavy, carrying something I wasn’t prepared for.

“I won’t ever walk away from you like he always does,” he said. “Not if you give me a chance.”

I spun around so fast my hair brushed against my face. I stared at him, confused, exhausted, and in absolutely no mood for whatever this was.

My fingers went through my hair again, this nervous, restless gesture I couldn’t seem to stop. I scoffed, partly at him, partly at myself, partly at the entire stupid day.

“A chance for what?” I asked, even though I already knew—because Stephen had never been subtle.

He stepped closer, and I felt my stomach drop. Not out of fear—out of dread. I knew where this was going, and I didn’t have the emotional capacity to handle it.

“A chance to be with you,” he said. “Abby… you always pretend my feelings for you don’t exist, but they do. Every day they get louder. Every day I think about you, especially now that I know you and Kevin…” He paused, shaking his head like the thought physically hurt him. “I think I’m going to die of jealousy thinking about you and him together.”

For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. I felt this tightness in my chest—not flattery, not guilt, not anything sweet or romantic. Just exhaustion. Pure, heavy exhaustion that made my bones feel too tired to carry the weight of his confession.

I shook my head slowly. “Stephen… this is not the time or even the place for this nonsense you’re spewing out of your mouth.”

I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t snap. I just sounded… tired. Completely drained.

I moved away from him immediately because his emotions felt like another burden added on top of the one Kevin had already dropped on me minutes ago. My heart couldn’t handle any of this—Kevin walking away again, Stephen stepping into the space he left behind, everything pressing in on me from all sides.

I needed air. I needed space. I needed the world to stop demanding things from me when I barely had anything left to give.

And in that moment, all I could think was how badly I wanted to disappear before either of them asked for more.

But before I could process anything else, Stephen’s hand closed around my wrist before I could fully slip away. He pulled me toward the corner of the hallway with this desperate strength that startled me.

“Abby…” His voice cracked, rough and unsteady. “Please just give me a chance. I’m losing my bloody mind here!”

I tried to pull back, already shaking my head, already exhausted by everything—by him, by Kevin, by my own emotions that felt like a messy, tangled pile I didn’t have the energy to unravel. My mouth was already opening to tell him to stop, to let me go, to get his hands off me—

But it all happened in less than a heartbeat.

One second Stephen was holding onto me, and the next he was ripped away from me so violently that I stumbled forward. The sound of skin hitting skin echoed sharply—Kevin’s fist slamming straight into Stephen’s face.

Stephen’s head jerked back, and he stumbled against the wall, eyes wide with shock.

“I warned you to stay the fuck away from her, didn’t I?” Kevin growled, voice low and dangerous in a way that made the hair at the back of my neck stand up.

I had never seen him look like that—like something primal had snapped inside him.

Stephen didn’t hesitate. He lunged back, fist connecting with Kevin’s jaw with a vicious crack. “We made a freaking bet!” he shouted. “The least you can do is let her fucking choose!”

A bet.

My stomach dropped so hard it actually hurt.

Before I could even process that, Kevin tackled him again, rage pouring out of him in a way that felt almost terrifying. His fist slammed into Stephen’s cheek with a dull, brutal thud.

“Stop fighting, goddammit!” I hissed, shoving myself between them before Stephen could swing back again.

They paused—barely. Both men breathing hard, fists clenched, their bodies angled toward each other like they were one heartbeat away from tearing each other to pieces. The tension was thick, suffocating, pulsing around us like heat.

I stared at them in disbelief. Anger. Embarrassment. Hurt. All of it flooding me at once until my vision almost blurred.

“What the hell is wrong with both of you?” I snapped. “And tell me—right now—what kind of bet you both made over me!”

The words tasted bitter in my mouth. Ugly and wrong.

Because I suddenly felt cheap. Like something tossed between them. Like a prize instead of a person.

Stephen opened his mouth first—of course he did—but before he could speak, Kevin’s glare cut into him like a blade. Stephen hesitated, jaw flexing, chest rising and falling rapidly.

I looked between them, waiting, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else.

They both exchanged a glance—one filled with fury on Kevin’s side, one filled with guilt on Stephen’s.

My hands trembled at my sides.

I didn’t know what this “bet” was.

But I knew it was going to break something inside me the moment they said it out loud.

And for a second, I genuinely didn’t know which of them I wanted to strangle first.