Page 56 of Wish You Were Mine
The emotional scars didn’t ache quite as often, and the physical ones—those deep-purple bruises I’d covered with makeup and long sleeves—had faded months ago.
My gaze drifted toward the student section, back to the row where I’d spotted Josh earlier. He was still there, leaning in close to the girl next to him, his arm slung casually behind her shoulders.
Was she his girlfriend? A date? Just someone he was trying to impress?
Should I warn her?
Tell her the truth about who he’d been with me?
Or maybe he’d changed. Maybe he’d grown. Maybe I’d been the one who triggered it, and she’d never have to learn what it felt like to flinch when someone raised their voice.
I didn’t know.
But I knew this much—it wasn’t my job to save him anymore.
Saving myself had been hard enough.
17
LUCY
The wind cutsideways across the parking lot, sharp and biting as I left the gymnastics facility on Tuesday evening, gym bag bumping against my hip. My hood was halfway up, hands stuffed into the sleeves of my puffer coat, but the cold still found its way in anyway.
I typically walked to campus early in the mornings since the scholarship housing I lived in with Nora wasn’t too far away and parking on campus was always a nightmare, but freezing cold nights like tonight definitely made me regret that choice.
“Hey, Lucy!” a deep voice called, startling me. “Is that you?”
I slowed, glancing over my shoulder, hoping it was someone I knew instead of a stranger. Then I saw Brody by his white Jetta, tossing his duffel bag into the backseat like he’d just finished practice, too. He jogged toward me, his familiar grin already tugging at his mouth.
“Where’re you headed?” he asked, falling into step beside me.
“Dining hall,” I said, adjusting the strap of my gym bag on my shoulder. “I was gonna grab something quick before heading to the library. I’ve got a few assignments to catch up on.”
“Same,” he said, tugging his cap lower over his eyes. “Well, for the grabbing dinner then doing homework part. I was actually headed to that new Thai place next to The Brew.” He pushed his hands in his pockets, the yellow light from the lamps above us highlighting his cheekbones. “Since you were planning to eat anyway, wanna join me?”
I hesitated.
Brody was fun. Cute too. And the girls on the team had been raving all week about the Pho at the new restaurant.
Plus…after seeing Josh with another girl at my meet, it was only fair I hang out with someone from his hockey team. Right?
“Yeah, sure,” I said, shrugging. “I’m just getting out of practice, though, so I might look a little crusty.”
“You look great,” Brody said immediately, his eyes warm and sincere. “You always do.”
I rolled my eyes, but a smile tugged at my lips anyway. “Okay, fine. Let’s go. I could use something warm.”
We climbed into his car, and he drove us toward the new Thai-Vietnamese fusion place next to The Brew. If the weather hadn’t been so miserable, we probably would’ve walked since it was only two blocks away. But with the wind chill creeping through every seam of my coat, I was grateful for the blast of heat from his car’s vents.
When Brody opened the restaurant door for me a couple of minutes later, a wave of fragrant warmth rolled out—ginger, spice, and something rich that made my stomach tighten with hunger. Inside, the space felt cozy and inviting. Soft lighting. Polished wood floors. A low hum of conversation and clinkingdishes. The tables were small, dressed with vases of fake flowers that looked surprisingly real.
It was busy but not packed. Which was nice since I was starving and didn’t want to wait long to be seated or get my food.
“Sit wherever you like,” the hostess said from behind the counter, her hands full with takeout orders.
We grabbed a table near the front window, and I took in more of our surroundings as I sank into the chair.
The waitress appeared a moment later with two glasses of water and handed us menus with a friendly smile before disappearing again.
