Page 36 of Every Broken Thing

He looked at me, expression raw. “I don’t want her to die too.”

The ocean in his eyes rolled and swirled with turmoil, but I didn’t turn away. He was unguarded in this moment, allowing me to view the extent of his brokenness, but instead of being afraid, it soothed me. His pain was familiar, the monsters swimming in his treacherous depths matching the demons lurking in mine. If I could survive my own, I didn’t have to fear his. We were both ruined, but it didn’t make us weak.

There was nothing I could say to make this better. So I reached out a trembling hand and curled it around his. He stared down at our hands. I stared at him.

Then I ruined everything by saying, “Cancer fucking sucks,” with the delicacy of a bulldozer.

Surprising us both, Ben coughed out a laugh.

“Sorry, that was insensitive,” I said. “I’m not good at this.”

“Oh God, Si,” Ben groaned, giving me a look overflowing with fondness, “never change.”

I chuckled self-consciously as he knocked his shoulder with mine, and I jostled him back with a sly grin. “So, I should stay a sexy smartass forever?”

“Most definitely.”

I grinned madly at the hidden compliment, and Ben’s phone chirped. Releasing my hand, he pulled it from his pocket, his smile flipping into a frown as he read the text. He’d barely replied before three more messages pinged, and he grunted in annoyance.

“You’re popular.”

His lips thinned as he flashed me his screen. “I don’t know how she got my number, but she won’t stop texting me.”

I grimaced at Alice’s name on his phone like I tasted something foul. “Gross. But not unexpected, seeing as she wants to bone you.”

He recoiled. “Bone?”

“Well, when a mommy and daddy love each other—”

“Shut up. She’s just inviting me to come to a party she’s throwing in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, where she’s planning to bone you.”

“Stop sayingbone!She does not want that.”

“Oh Benji, you naive little gumdrop.” I patted his head as he glared at my condescension. “She has a raging lady boner for you. Just accept it.”

“Lady boner? That is so much worse.” He shoved me as I laughed. “And don’t call me Benji; I’m not a dog.”

With a mischievous wink and a naughty smirk, I started to sing. “Alice and Benji sittin’ in a tree.”

“I will hurt you so badly,” he threatened with a dangerous glower, but I merely cackled with glee as I sat on my knees and continued my song.

“Hetero kissing, nasty as can be.”

“Silas.” His husky growl made me shiver, but instead of heeding his warning, I stuck out my tongue and waggled my eyebrows suggestively.

I opened my mouth to continue my scandalous lyrics, but he lunged at me before I could, shoving me backward with an evil chuckle. An embarrassing yelp escaped my mouth as I tumbled off the bed and landed hard on my tailbone, my ass protesting as I curled into a ball with a groan.

Ben rested his chin on the edge of the mattress, peeking down at me with merriment dancing in his eyes. “I warned you.”

“I think you broke my ass,” I moaned, making him howl with laughter.

“That’s what he said,” Ben said between snickers.

We laughed until tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, and Ben clutched his stomach like the humor hurt his muscles. I sat on my poor, pained ass as the giggling blond rose to his feet and offered me a hand.

“How’s that broken ass of yours?”

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