Page 22 of Bought and Broken

“Excuse me?” I screech.

“Tate has always looked out for you, like your brother. He—”

“No, Tate has been a thorn in my side, making my life hell, just for the sake of it.”

“They don’t say boys are mean to the girls they like for no reason, Dev. You know he has issues. Maybe he doesn’t know how to deal with his feelings for you.”

“That can’t be it. He used to be open with his feelings. Before he decided to hate me, I actually thought he cared about me.”

“Guys are dumb, Dev,” she says through a yawn. “Why do you think I’m still single?”

“None of this makes sense,” I mutter, rolling onto my stomach.

“I wish I could be more help, but your silly ass signed an NDA, so I guess you’ll have to figure it out on your own. Your best bet is to ask him.”

“He’ll just lie to me.”

“Maybe he’ll surprise you.”

“Ha!”

She yawns again, and this time I can’t ignore it.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” I say. “Go back to sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“No argument here. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I end the call and blow out a sharp breath.

What am I supposed to do? This is terrible. I’m kind of wishing I would have ended up with the poop-fetish guy. Which is ridiculous!

Tatum and I used to be close. Maybe even closer than he is with Dane. I felt like I had two brothers from the first day we started kindergarten. He was the biggest kid in class, and I thought it was so cool when I found out it was because he was older than us. His father had him start school a year late because he didn’t think he was ready.

The three of us were inseparable for years. Tatum doesn’t have any siblings, except for the short time he had a step-brother, but they were never close, even though they were the same age. Gunner didn’t hang out with us, and I only met him a few times. Dane and I were like his siblings. Until things with Tate and I changed.

I don’t remember when my feelings for him started to be more, but sometime around middle school, I guess. He was the only boy I ever paid attention to, other than Dane, but obviously it was different with my brother.

At some point, I thought the feelings I had for Tate were reciprocated. I’d catch him staring all the time. His smile changed. He became more flirty. Tatum always protected me. Stood up for me. Covered for me. Did whatever he could to be there for me. He was there when Mom died, and when I was doing terribly in school because her death messed me up and the teachers didn’t care. He was there when boys started picking on me because I got boobs before the other girls. Tate was the one who threatened them and made me feel better. He was with me the day I started my period… don’t even get me started on that horror show. It was awful. And that was before my fear of blood started. Thankfully I don’t get my period anymore, but thinking of that day still makes me sick. But Tatum was there, and he made it better. He always made everything better, somehow more than Dane did. Tate and I were special together.

I thought things were going to be different with us when Tate finally kissed me. It was the day after I turned eighteen. No matter how angry he makes me now, I will never forget the way I felt that day. But he was a different person then. He was the old Tate. The one I loved. The one who didn’t hurt me.

Our relationship didn’t last long. He ended it abruptly and never told me why. For a long time, I regretted ever taking that step with him because it ruined what we had. But then I realized taking that step showed me who Tate really was, and I was grateful for it instead.

It made me realize Tatum was no different from the other boys around school. I’d somehow put him up on a pedestal. Maybe I was blind to who he was, or maybe he just hid it from me well. Either way, I’m thankful for seeing his true colors before I got in to deep. The way I felt for Tate could have gotten to a dangerous level quickly—dangerous for my heart. It was so easy to love him.

The part that gets me the most is how and why Dane can ignore all of this. I get he doesn’t want to lose his best friend or his sister… but is turning a blind eye the right thing to do? Does he have no idea how much Tate has hurt me? If it were anyone else, they’d go missing. My brother doesn’t mess around when it comes to me… except when it has to do with Tate. And I hate that. Because it allows Tate to hurt me more and more. But because I love my brother, I don’t call him out on it. Tatum is a good friend to Dane, and if my brother needs anything in this world, it’s a friend.

My father is hard on Dane. Pushes him too much for someone our age. He acts like Dane is about to take over the company when he’s so far from it. You’d never know with the way my father works him like a dog, though. And Dane doesn’t complain. He’s so much like our father. He’s ambitious. Eager. He could rule the world if he had the time to do it. He’s a good person. Kind. Loving. But he wraps himself up in work too much. Just like Dad.

The only thing either of them pays attention to outside of the business is me. And of course, not in a way I like. It’s in the, where are you going? Who are you going with? Don’t stay out too late, kind of way. Which is absolutely unfair considering I’m the same age as Dane and he stays out all day and night sometimes without Dad making a peep. It makes me so angry that we don’t get treated equally, but at the same time, I’m happy Dane is happy. I’m happy my father is happy. I love my family. They aren’t awful, I just wish they would loosen up a little.

I wish things didn’t have to be like this, so I didn’t have to leave. But I have no other option. They make me feel stuck and it’s not fair. And it’s certainly not how I want to spend my life.

Though, being locked away in Tatum’s penthouse in Chicago isn’t what I want either.

It’s only one weekend, Devon. Just one.

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