Frayed: A Small Town Sports Romance (Willow Springs Series Book 1) Read online

  Frayed

  Willow Springs Series, Book 1

  Copyright © 2021 by Laura Pavlov

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Willow,

  You put the Willow in Willow Springs!! LOL!! Thank you for talking through every hurdle and struggle along the way and encouraging me EVERY SINGLE DAY!! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you reading every word, multiple times, and helping me make this the best that it could be!! Forever thankful for you!! Love you!!

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Acknowledgements

  Other Books by Laura Pavlov:

  Follow Me…

  Prologue

  POST BUBBLE BURST

  I pull up the application for Texas University for the millionth time and stare at the essay question.

  What is a negative experience you’ve faced in your life, and how did you overcome it?

  I don’t have a freaking clue how to answer this question. How sad is that? The reality is that I’ve existed in a bubble for the last seventeen years. A safe little cocoon where everything was decided for me. From the clothes I wear to the boy I date, to the school that I attend. Honestly, if you asked me a week ago, I never thought I would be sitting here applying to one of the most prestigious schools in the country because I thought I knew what my future looked like.

  I’ve grown up in one of the oldest towns in Texas, Willow Springs, also known as the heart of Texas. My father is the mayor of Willow Springs and my mother is what one could only describe as the first lady of Willow Springs, in every sense of the word. They were both born and raised here, and this is most definitely home.

  Life in the bubble has been… predictable. Safe. And if it weren’t for my lifelong friends, I would venture to say it’s been a bit boring. Though there have been many happy memories, not many are because I chose to create them. I now realize that my life was mapped out for me long before I even entered the world.

  And I thought all of this was normal, but recent events have opened my eyes. My thinking has shifted. My perspective irrevocably changed.

  You could say the bubble has burst and for the first time in my life I’ve started thinking about my own dreams. About what I want. I’ve been so busy living the life expected of me, that I forgot to think about the life that I wanted to live.

  Texas University has one of the most competitive journalism programs in the country, and it’s something that I’d like to pursue. I know in my heart that this is where I want to go to school. This is the path that I want to take.

  As I stare at this question, I realize that I don’t have an answer because I’ve never been allowed to make choices for myself. But now, I want to chase my dreams and see where they take me.

  So, do I tell them the truth… that I’ve never dealt with these types of experiences… and risk not getting in? Or tell them what I think they want to hear, like I’ve done my entire life?

  Because I know what I want now.

  And I’m ready to spread my wings and fly.

  Chapter One

  PRE-BUBBLE-BURST

  Adelaide

  Three Months Earlier

  I grabbed a bag of chips and five bottles of water and made my way downstairs. My girlfriends were on their way over, and we always met at my house, as we had a finished basement. It meant privacy, aside from my nosy baby sister, Clementine, who wished she were a Magic Willow. We’d made her an honorary Willow, because of birthright and all of that good stuff. But our meetings were private, and just for us.

  The five of us had grown up together. We met in kindergarten, and by fifth grade we were inseparable.

  Maura, Adelaide, Gigi, Ivy, and Coco.

  The first initial of each of our names spelled out the word magic—and the Magic Willows were born. Ivy was our president because the girl took our rituals to a whole new level. She documented everything, as we kept endless notebooks that were bursting at the seams. The cool thing… every memory of our lives thus far was in the pages of these books. They were like modern-day slam books from old 80s movies, aside from the fact that they weren’t about other people, they were about us. Photographs, journal entries, stickers, and even crazy memorabilia like Coco’s training bra because she was thrilled when she needed a real bra. She donated hers to our memory book. My cheer captain letter, Ivy’s varsity soccer letter, Gigi’s Presidential charity award, and Maura’s family’s secret barbecue recipe that she stole from her grandmother. They were all glued into the pages of the most recent leather-bound book. We’d have this to pass down someday to who? Our kids maybe? Or maybe we’d just sit around a bonfire when we were old and gray and look back and laugh at all the memories we’d shared. It was all there. From crushes, to first kisses and lost virginities. From fights with our parents, breakups with our boyfriends, and disagreements with one another.

  Coco was the first one to slip in through the exterior door down in the basement. Of the five of us, she was the most independent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fire that could never be squashed. Much to the disappointment of her parents.

  “Before everyone gets here and Ivy insists on documenting what I’m about to tell you, I thought I’d fill you in first. I don’t want this in the book until I have enough evidence to back my claim,” Coco said as she dropped to sit on the turquoise velvet sectional.

  Our basement looked like an ad straight out of a Z Gallerie catalog. It was a bit boujee for a downstairs recreation space. Have I mentioned that my mother is a perfectionist? Our home sat on Willow Lake and had been featured in Texas Home Magazine more than once. My mother’s lush pink and red azaleas trailed a path down to the water, and our home was what she liked to call Texas Chic. It was most definitely a magazine-worthy abode, much more so than a space where people actually resided. But it was pretty, so I wasn’t complaining.

  I dropped to sit beside her and handed her a water. “Are we still on the adoption kick?”

  Coco had recently come to the conclusion t
hat she was most likely adopted. She didn’t look like her parents or her sister, and she certainly didn’t act like them. She called them country club snobs, and Coco was all about skinny dipping at the lake and shot gunning beers.

  “Um, Addy, I need you to really take this shit seriously. I went through a box of old photos this morning. There are all these pictures of my mother pregnant with the princess, and not one of her pregnant with me. Explain that.”

  The princess was Whitney Radcliff, Coco’s older sister. The girl was a junior at Texas University, one of the most prestigious colleges in our great state, where she studied marketing. But she’d made it very clear that she was striving to be the most successful influencer since the Kardashians before she graduated college. She’d done the pageant circuit for as long as I could remember and was a bit of a celebrity in our town. Her parents always doted on her, leaving my best friend to play second fiddle most of her life.

  My head tipped back in laughter. “Okay, okay. But that does not mean you were adopted. Maybe she just didn’t take as many pictures with her second pregnancy.”

  She shook her head, tugging at her off-the-shoulder black tank top with irritation. Of the five of us, Coco was the hipster one in the group. She dressed edgy, rocking her Doc Martens, and jean cut-off shorts, which infuriated her mother. It was very un-southern of her, and I loved it. She was gorgeous and unique, and sometimes I wondered what it would feel like to break the rules now and again like Coco.

  “Think about it. Look at our names, for god’s sake. Which one stands out?” she hissed, pushing to her feet and pacing around the room. Her Doc Martens clunking against the wood floors.

  “Your parents’ names are Elliott and Cricket. And then there’s Whitney. What am I missing?”

  “Elliott, Cricket, Whitney, and then Clarice? What the fuck is up with that? That was the chick’s name in that freaking movie, Silence of the Lambs. They named me after a girl in a horror film,” she shrieked, running a hand through her hair as she walked in little circles in front of me. “Coco only came about because Princess Whitney couldn’t say my serial killer name. She got to pick my actual name. She was three years old, for god’s sake. They probably would have let her call me asshole if she’d wanted to.”

  My shoulders shook in a fit of giggles. She was being completely irrational, which was not uncommon for Coco. She lived large, had a flair for the dramatics, and never backed down from a fight. Her family was much haughtier than she was, but I knew they loved her, though they had a terrible way of showing her most of the time.

  “Coco is very fitting. You’re being ridiculous. I think you should run this by the girls.”

  The door swung open, and Ivy all but fell inside with Maura and Gigi talking a mile-a-minute on her heels.

  “Uh-oh. Do we need to clear the air before we start the meeting? You look like an angry elf.” Ivy set the enormous leather-bound book on the coffee table and settled her hands on her hips as she stared at Coco. There were newspaper clippings and fabric sticking out of the sides of the book.

  Maura and Gigi dropped to sit on the area rug across from us, and Ivy sat beside me on the couch as Coco continued to pace.

  “Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but it can’t go in the book until I’m certain it’s true.” She pulled her long hair over one shoulder and everyone stared in silence.

  “Well, you best say it now. Everything we talk about in the meeting goes in the book. It’s the rules.” Ivy set her pencil down on the table and crossed her arms over her chest.

  She and Coco tended to bump heads most often because they were both headstrong.

  “The rules? I just can’t with you sometimes, Ivy. We make the rules. It’s our club.” Coco dropped back down to sit on the other side of me and rolled her eyes.

  “But these rules were put in place for a reason, so we wouldn’t be tempted to waver,” Ivy said.

  Ivy took the Magic Willows seriously, and most of the time we all just chuckled about it, but Coco was in no mood.

  “Fine. Do not start the meeting until after I say this.” She took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m fairly certain I was adopted by the Radcliffs, but until I have proof, I don’t want it in the book.”

  Maura and Gigi burst out in laughter but straightened their faces once they realized she wasn’t joking. Ivy tapped her pointer finger against her lips before speaking. “I think you may be on to something. You’re nothing like those people.”

  “Those people? The Radcliffs are her family. You’re a Radcliff,” Maura said, shaking her head. “This is a stretch, even for you, Co.”

  “I’m not saying they aren’t my family. Obviously, families adopt all the time. I’m saying that I think my entire life is based on a lie. I do not believe I came out of Cricket Radcliff’s vagina. There. I said it.”

  Gigi laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. “Cricket’s vagina would be very boujee.”

  All five of us lost it.

  “Can we please not talk about Cricket’s vagina? Do you have a plan for how to find out if your theory is correct?” Maura asked.

  “I was hoping you could all feel out your parents. I mean, we’re the same age. They’ve all lived in this godforsaken hell of a town forever. So, they would have been pregnant at the same time. We need proof.”

  Coco was the only one who was dying to get out of Willow Springs. We all loved it here. The other girls all wanted to go away to college, but Maura, Gigi, and Ivy all planned to return home after graduation.

  “Fine. Everyone report back with their findings at the next meeting and we’ll keep it out of the book for now. Until then, shall we start?” Ivy flipped the book open and reached for her pencil. “Lots to discuss with school starting tomorrow.”

  “Who’d have ever thought we’d make it to senior year?” Gigi asked, her blonde hair bounced on her shoulders.

  “Um. Well, it was sort of inevitable. And it couldn’t come soon enough. I’m about to blow up my entire family. I need to get the hell out of Dodge.” Coco leaned her head on my shoulder, and I patted her cheek and chuckled.

  “If you don’t want the my-whole-life-is-a-lie-and-I’m-not-a-Radcliff theory in the book, please don’t reference it during the meeting.” Ivy raised a brow.

  “You know, Ivy, I think you’re sexually frustrated, and that’s why you’re so bitchy lately. I think you need to stop being terrified of the penis and just embrace it.” Coco leaned over me and shot a glare at Ivy, and I put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

  Ivy huffed. “For your information, I am actually considering having sex with Ty. I am not terrified of the penis. I don’t find it particularly attractive, but I don’t fear it either. Are you happy?”

  “Well, that’s going in the book, girl. You said it at the meeting. You may as well paste your V-card right on those pages now. I just hope Ty doesn’t send you any dick-pics, because I do believe those will be public record too,” Coco said through her laughter.

  Even Ivy was laughing by now.

  “He’s not pressuring you, is he?” I asked. Ty was a great guy, so I highly doubted this was coming from him.

  “No. Of course not. He’s just like Alec, he would never pressure me.” She shook her head. “I just think at some point, I need to just do it.”

  Alec and I had been dating forever. Our moms were best friends, we’d grown up together, and our friendship had turned romantic our freshman year of high school. We always joked about the fact that we were told we’d end up together before we ever considered anything different.

  “Well, Alec doesn’t need to pressure Addy because he made sure he got some during that ever so convenient breakup. He’s an asshole. And I don’t know why he gets to call the shots. Follow Ivy’s lead. If you want it, go get it, girl.” Coco twisted the cap of her water bottle off and tipped her head back and chugged it.
>
  I rolled my eyes. Coco was not a big fan of Alec these days. She couldn’t forgive him for breaking up with me and sleeping with Karina James, who happened to be the co-captain of the cheer team with me this year. Awkward. To say we didn’t care for one another would be a massive understatement. Alec and I had broken up the summer before our junior year and apparently, he’d gone off and sowed his wild oats with my nemesis. He claimed he’d just gotten lost for a while and begged my forgiveness. After a few weeks of groveling, I forgave him eventually. We’d been on a break after all, so it’s not like he cheated on me. My mom and Alec’s mom had been devastated by our breakup, and we’d agreed to keep his fling with Karina a secret, as they were too involved in our relationship as it was. And keeping a secret in Willow Springs was no easy feat. I’d eventually gotten over the whole ordeal, and we’d gotten back together. I’d known him forever. And things had gone back to normal this past year. As if it never happened.

  “Alec thinks we should wait. I don’t know, I mean, we’re obviously going to be together, so there’s no rush. But at the same time, I don’t want to wait forever. Maybe senior prom? I know it’s cliché, but it seems like a good time to do it,” I said, and Ivy nodded in agreement.

  “Do you hear yourself, Addy? Alec thinks we should wait. Sure, he does, because he got his rocks off with some ho-bag, while you sat home because god forbid you hooked up with someone during your breakup. That asshat would have lost his shit,” Coco snarled.

  “They only broke up for a few weeks. When was she supposed to hook up with other people? Plus, Alec would have killed anyone who looked at her that way,” Maura said with a shrug.

  “Listen, I know you all worship Alec, but he’s not perfect. He dissed our girl. Have some loyalty, people.” Coco tore the bag of chips open and reached her hand inside, grabbing a fistful of chips.

  “He didn’t cheat on her. They were on a break. She forgave him. And he owned his shit and told her what he did,” Gigi said, grabbing the bag of chips and setting a pile of Doritos on the table in front of her.