Page 41 of Edge of Unbroken

“I think you’re smart and pretty incredible. Don’t let your dad make you feel like you’re just some dumb little girl. You’re awoman, Cat. I know you know how to take care of yourself. And it’s okay to live life and have fun. Nobody’s perfect. Not even you,” she says with a smirk.

I laugh. “Trust me, I’m very aware of that fact.”

“Okay, good. Don’t want your head getting too big.” Vada giggles in turn, but suddenly her face falls and her eyes go wide. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” she says, and before I can say another word she storms out of the kitchen to the bathroom.

I shake my head at her, then open the jar of French onion dip and resume munching on the chips. Drew was right, the junk food settles my stomach, especially after the call with my dad, which left a painful lump in my throat.

I’m still so very aware of my missteps. I was aware of them then, but things felt a little less heavy after I finally told my parents about Adam’s violence, even while I kept the inappropriate pictures a secret. I thought it was over; I thought it was all behind me. But then Adam began blackmailing me.

I shouldn’t have given in to him; I should have told my parents or the police. I should have told Ronan what Adam was trying to do. I would have been able to explain those pictures, would have had the excuse that I was drunk when the pictures were taken, that I wasn’t truly able to consent to them. But I didn’t. Instead, I let him manipulate me, and now it’s too late. Why am I like this?

“Hey, sorry, do you mind if I squeeze by you real quick?”

I look up from my rapidly diminishing pile of chips and into the face of a guy I haven’t met before, his dark-brown hair atop his head peeking out from underneath a slouchy beanie.

“Oh, yeah, go ahead,” I say with my mouth full.

I take a step to the right to offer him a path to the refrigerator, which he opens to retrieve a can of soda. He steps back around the kitchen counter, then opens the can with a noisy fizz and takes a long sip before he smiles at me.

“I’m Jared, by the way.” He reaches his hand out to me.

I wipe my greasy hand on my jeans, then give his a shake. “I’m Cat.”

“Are you here all by yourself?” he asks, looking around the empty kitchen.

“No, I’m here with my friends.” I nod toward the floor-to-ceiling window that provides a perfect view of the outdoor sectional.

“Oh, you’re part of Shane’s group?” Jared asks, interested.

“Yep.”

“Huh.” Jared searches my face. I notice the sapphire blue of his eyes, striking against his dark hair. “Have you been coming here a lot? I’ve never noticed you at any of Shane’s other parties.”

“Yeah, I mean, over the past eight months or so.”

“Interesting.”

“How so?”

“Well, I feel like I would have noticed a beautiful girl like you,” he says, flashing me a bright smile.

“Oh.” I laugh. “Thank you. Are you usually at Shane’s parties? I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve met you before. Shane’s parties tend to get crazy.”

Jared chuckles. “Yeah, they’re pretty epic. I haven’t been to any of his parties in a while. Shane, Steve, and I were in the same graduating class. I’m at the University of Florida now. I’m just home for the holidays, but when I heard Shane was throwing his infamous New Year’s party, I couldn’t pass that up,” Jared says. “So, are you a senior then?”

I nod.

“Nice,” he says. “You’re almost done then. Hey, do you maybe want to sit down somewhere?” He looks around to the living room in an apparent attempt to find a private spot for us to continue our conversation, but the house is crowded.

I follow his gaze, about to let him down gently, when Shane walks into the kitchen.

“Hey Jared, what’s up?” Shane says loudly, and the two of them shake hands.

“Not much, man, just chatting with Cat over here,” Jared says with a smile.

“Oh yeah?” There’s a smirk on Shane’s face.

“Yeah. I was just telling her that it’s interesting I hadn’t ever seen her here before because I feel like I’d have noticed a girl this beautiful,” Jared repeats his line, clearly hoping for Shane to nudge things along.

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