Page 57 of My Brother's Bad Best Friend

Lizzie

Jonas makes me breakfast when we get back to the apartment, eggs Benedict and French toast. Well, it’s more like brunch, but that doesn’t matter. He brews a pour-over coffee for me and makes me sit down on the porch to eat and drink.

He leans up against the wall, smoking weed from a vape pen. The food’s good, but I can tell his mind’s elsewhere. “You don’t have to stick around, you know,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow. “I’m not going to leave you along here, little rose.”

“Honestly, I’m okay.” I take another bite of the French toast. “Seriously, if you have work to do at Half Pipe, you should go.”

He hesitates, and I can tell he’s doing some mental arithmetic. “I just need to check in,” he says. “Make sure Ezra didn’t steal anything else.”

“I get it.” I smile at him, gesturing with my fork. “Seriously, you don’t have to stay. You did more than enough already.”

He hesitates. I can see him warring with himself, but honestly, I wish he’d go. I know he’s trying to be good right now and to do right by me, but I just want to be alone. I’m still angry and trying to process what just happened, and Jonas is making me feel guilty by keeping him here.

Finally, after a few more minutes of prodding, he relents. “I’ll be back soon, I promise,” he says. “And call me if you need anything.”

“Okay, okay.” I smile at him and practically shove him out the door. “Go away now.”

He nods and heads off. I shut the door behind him and go back out onto the porch, stretching my legs out with a sigh, sipping the coffee and ignoring the rest of the food.

Seeing Royal like that made me figure something. He’s not going to last forever, and at the end of the day, he’s just a man. He has control over my mother, but that’s her choice. She wants that for herself, and I can’t do anything about it. All I can do is live my own life and try to be happy.

I don’t know what makes me happy yet, but I’m starting to figure it out. Sex with Jonas in the morning makes me happy. Holding his hand makes me happy. Riding my bike, working at Half Pipe, laughing with Lane. My little nest on the couch. Having my own damn life.

Being free of the memories that haunt me, even if the ghosts never really go away, just go quiet.

I head inside and take a shower. When I’m done, I feel strangely clean. I’m smiling, and I’m not thinking about my mother, I’m not thinking about Royal. I’m thinking about Half Pipe, my friends there, and Jonas. I’m thinking about everything I have in front of me.

I grab my helmet and pop it on my head. As I’m about to open the door and head out with my bike, the knob turns and Ezra stumbles inside.

I take a step back, staring at his red-rimmed eyes and messy hair. He looks back at me and grunts as he walks into the kitchen. He grabs a soda from the refrigerator, cracks it open, and drinks half of it down in one go, belching when he’s through.

“Uh, hi,” I say, following him. “Where have you been?”

He meets my gaze with a deadpan stare. “Been selling my drugs all night. Gonna lecture me about that?”

I flinch a little bit, surprised by how candid he’s being. “No, I’m not.”

“Good.” He grunts and sips his drink. “I’m fucking exhausted.”

“Are you…?” I don’t know how to say it without pissing him off.

“Am I high?” he supplies. “No, I’m not, but thanks for asking.”

“Ezra, I’m just worried.”

“Don’t be. I sold most of it tonight. I’ll be fine.”

“Really? You’re finishing?”

“Finishing?” He arches an eyebrow. “It’s not that simple, kid.”

“I think it is,” I say. “I mean, you can pay those people back and move on now, right?”

“Not that simple,” he repeats, more sternly this time.

“What about Jonas? And Half Pipe?”

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