Page 91 of Break

Her pool cue clatters to the floor, and her body jerks from the noise. Bending over, she picks it up quickly, and is unsteady as she straightens back upright. Her hands are trembling slightly as she grips it, the tip of the cue dancing in the air from how tightly she’s holding it.

Ethan reaches out to her but drops his hand when she takes a step away from him. She bumps into a stool, then moves again. “Mina? Are you okay?” he asks her, concern growing as she looks unsure and ready to bolt.

“No!” Her cry of panic dissolves any remaining lust I felt watching them, and I sit up straighter. Vincent moves closer to her but stays far enough away so she doesn’t feel cornered.

“Sweetheart.” Cooing at her, Vincent gives her a soft smile and holds his hands out to his sides. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about kissing him in front of us. We didn’t mind.”

Her eyes narrow on him, and I bite my lip to hold back my laugh when Vincent realizes he said the wrong thing. “I’m not embarrassed that it was in front of you.”

“Oh… umm, that’s good! Then…” He trails off and looks between me and Ethan before turning back to her. “Is it because you’re still married? Because you shouldn’t feel bad about that either. Danny is a fuc-”

She interrupts him; her scowl deepening. “I stopped being his wife the moment he put his hands on me. I couldn’t care less that we still have a piece of paper saying otherwise.”

“What’s got you upset, Mina?” I ask, preventing Vincent from aggravating her further.

She stays facing Vincent, but her eyes slide over to me. “It’s because it’syou.”

My head rears back, the insult washing over me and sinking into my chest like a heavy weight.Have I been misreading things between us?

“Wh-” I start to ask, but she groans and covers her face.

“That’s not what I meant,” comes out garbled through her hands before she looks at me apologetically. “I don’t meanyouyou, like not you specifically. It’s all of you. It’s the fact that you are friends withhim.”

“Were. Wewerefriends with him, and now we aren’t,” Vincent declares this as fact and doesn’t leave his statement open for argument.

Wincing, she looks away from me and to the floor. I don’t like that. I want her to stay focused on us and not retreat to her natural response of avoiding conflict. I want her to feel like shecanvoice her opinions and concerns.

“Keep going, Mina,” I urge her, keeping my voice void of any emotion until I hear the rest of what she has to say. Ethan is staying quiet, but he hasn’t moved away from her yet.

Taking a few slow breaths, she looks back at me. “There are three of you.” Her face turns red after she says this, but she powers through her embarrassment. “I’ve… I’ve kissed three of you… That can’t be the right thing to do. I-I shouldn’t have done that. We aren’t even friends!”

Vincent’s mouth drops open, offended and shocked. “We absolutelyarefriends!” He looks at Ethan and then at me to back him up.

Ethan’s response is to huff out a grunt in disagreement, but still says nothing.

“Vincent,” she calls his name, pleading for him to hear her. I swear to God, he’s fucking pouting when he finally looks at her, and her face falls briefly before she hardens herself. “I appreciate everything you all have done for me, taking me in and keeping me safe, but it’s only out of a sense of duty for you guys. If Danny hadn’t…” She trails off, squeezing her eyes shut against her memories, and takes a breath. “If Danny hadn’t hurt me and if I hadn’t left, we wouldn’t be here. You all wouldn’t feel this misplaced sense of obligation.”

“Don’t say that,” Ethan growls. “You’re not a goddamn obligation.”

Mina looks surprised by his reaction but shakes her head to deny him. “This is a strange situation we’re all in, and emotions are running high. The three of you couldn’t stand me foryears. I wasn’t oblivious to how you all felt about me, how I was an annoyance every time I came around.” She looks at me when she delivers her next blow.

“You all took every chance you could to remind me that I was a pest. You all stood back and let your girlfriends take their shots at me and even took joy in watching it happen. You blamed me for things that I had no control over and laughed when I was mocked.” Her eyes fill with tears, but she refuses to let them fall. “I couldn’t even walk home from school without having things thrown at me or get covered with mud or have insults screamed through the windows. You guys were popular there and our classmates. They saw your behavior and they thought it was okay.”

I have so much I want to say, but my tongue stays glued to the roof of my mouth as I remember sitting in the back of one of their cars in high school, staring through the window and watching Mina fight against a wave of dirty street water as rain poured down on her. I remember the sound of Danny’s laughter. I remember the bruises on her legs. I remember I didn’t say a word the entire time.

She takes a steadying breath and lets it out in a rush. Her body slumps, and she looks defeated. “You all had a good time, and I was the butt of all the jokes. You’re only here to protect me because you feel guilty. I don’t know what all this kissing means, but I don’t want you to lie to me and say it’s anything else.”

Vincent takes a step toward her, but she doesn’t notice. She’s staring at her empty glass filled with melting ice like it’s her worst enemy. “I probably shouldn’t be allowed to drink. I think it makes me rude.”

“It makes you honest,” I croak out. “Dove… we-” I stop talking when her eyes shoot to me, but I don’t apologize for letting the name slip out.

“Baby, can I-” Vincent starts, and her eyes fly to him, fire lit behind them. His mouth snaps shut, and he swallows deeply.

“Don’t call me that.Hecalled me that.”

Her body is trembling, emotions rapidly taking hold of her.

Determination crosses Ethan’s face a moment before he steps up behind her, spins her around, and then throws her over his shoulder. Looking at us as she shrieks, he nods toward the door. “Home.”

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