Page 113 of Be Your Anything
“And if Ellison tries to pull anything else, I feel like the only option is to play her own game, you know? Just take everything she’s throwing at me and spin it around.”
“Oh my god, please do that. Please, please, please.”
I laugh. “We’ll see.”
There’s a pause.
“And the Lucas part?”
“Lucas is not going to show up at my house, Paige, okay? He’s off living his happiest life with Remmy.”
Paige makes her own scoffing noise. “I highly doubt that.”
My brow furrows. “How do you figure?”
She just looks at me over her shoulder. “Because he’s in love with you, silly.”
And then she turns to the left, riding her bike up the small pathway that cuts between houses and leads to my place.
I round the corner and follow behind her. “Paige, you’re crazy!” I call out. “There is absolutely no way—”
My voice cuts off as my front door comes into view and I see Paige standing wide-eyed in front of it…next to Lucas.
I brake hard, nearly flying forward off my seat and feeling like I really am Ditzy Day for a moment, struck so scatterbrained by his sudden presence that I don’t know how to use my hands or feet.
“What are you doing here?”
I don’t like how aggressive I sound, but this somewhat angry version of me is the one that hasn’t been taking shit from anyone recently, so I accept that Angry Lennon is calling the shots.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” I reply, kicking down the kickstand with much more violence than I should, wincing at the sting it causes my foot, and then storming past him into my house.
Paige follows me. Lucas, smartly, remains on my stoop.
“I know, and I’m not surprised, but I have something important to talk to you about.”
I spin around and place my hand on the door, ready to slam it in his face. “Someday, I might be willing to be your friend, but today is not that day.”
“Remmy and I broke up.”
My arm had started the swinging motion. I’d started to press the door closed then his words stopped me, arresting my muscles and freezing me in place.
“She’s pregnant, but it’s not mine. We talked and realized… Well…I was hoping I could come inside and…”
“And what?” I say, my words coming out with a force I didn’t know was possible. “You could try to convince me I’m not your backup plan?”
His head jerks back, but I don’t want to waste my time considering his feelings. Mine are too bruised to be mindful of anyone else’s.
“I’m through being second best and not enough—to you, to my parents, and to everyone else in this goddamn town. I have five words for you, Lucas Pearson, and they’re not very good ones.” I lift my hand and count off each word. “You. Can. Go. Fuck. Yourself.”
And then I slam the door in his face.
I spin around and look at Paige, who has her eyes comically wide and her hands over her mouth.
Storming into the kitchen, I yank out a bottle of tequila and take a swig. A big one.
“Holy shit,” I say, letting out a little bit of a laugh. “That felt…”
