Page 105 of Broken Like This by Bethany

I squint at him. “Were you the one he said it to? Apparently,twostudents from the dorm were discussing it.”

Miles stands up and sets his gaze on me. If I didn’t know him, it would be insanely intimidating. He’s the tallest of the boys at six-foot-three, and he has impeccable posture. Those vibrant green eyes cut through even the toughest exteriors. Miles is a formidable opponent.

“Rae McKinley, you know both of us better than that. Yes, Aaron was acting like a jealous idiot in class with you.That’swhat we were talking about. He was telling me he was a jerk for saying that to you, and I was agreeing. You and I both know that someone else heard just enough and wanted to stir the pot. Take it easy.”

I look into Miles’s eyes. I know he’s telling the truth. He would neverevertalk about my sex life like that. Or lack thereof.

“Right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so accusatory.”

Miles quickly grins and shoots me a wink.

I almost smile, but then Aaron catches my eye again. Because he’s the one who let jealous mode engage over nonsense and set this all in motion. I look over at him. “Can I talk to you? Alone.”

Aaron

She’s pissed.

No, she’s livid with me.

I can’t even blame her. I said something that could get Kevin fired, and more importantly—to me at least—could hurt Rae’s reputation.

“Yeah, let’s go to my room.”

She walks a step behind me the whole way, arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed.

I’m screwed.

Never in the fun way.

Once the door is closed behind us, she glares at me. I jump in before she can start yelling.

“I’m sorry, Rae. I shouldn’t have—“

“I know you were upset and hurt, but that does not give you the right to say something like that!”

“I know I was just—“

She cuts me off, vitriol in her eyes. “Jealousy isnotan excuse, Aaron. Jealousy is the freaking problem! Not that you have any right to be jealous, anyway. We aren’t together. And I’m not blaming you for that. But I am blaming you for your reaction to this. The fact that you couldn’t just ask me or trust me… that hurts. But it’s more than that. I haveneverliked this side of you. It’s one thing to be protective of your girl, to be a little handsy and possessive and want to show the world she’s yours. But that’s not what this was. This was you trying to claim me, to mark your territory. Newsflash, I’m not your girl. But even if I was, this wouldn’t be okay. I don’t belong to you and I never will. I’m my own person. Trying to claim me like that isn’t protective or sexy. It’s toxic. So while you’re going through the list of shit you need to work on, maybe go ahead and add this because this is not a version of you I would ever want to be with.”

She spins around and marches out the door.

Two steps forward, fifteen steps back. Every. Fucking. Time. I wonder if there’s a way out of the hell we keep putting each other in.

There’s a quick knock on the door, and Mackie walks in.

“Hey,” I say, surprised.

“Hi.”

“Did you draw the short straw?” I joke.

She screws up her face and walks over to me. Then she thumps me in the shoulder.

“No, jackass. I came to talk to you because I care.” She sighs and shakes her head. “Look, I know I haven’t exactly been there for you—or even Rae, really—these past few months, but it’s not because I don’t care. It’s because I’ve been too lost in figuring out my own shit.”

I soften as I take her in. “Like what?”

She shrugs and looks down for a second—something very un-Mackenzie of her to do—before continuing. “Everything with Hyla. How much to let her in. How far to go. How to trust her. Then I saidscrew itand jumped in with both feet. Which came back to bite me. But also, I don’t know, it’s brought my sexuality front and center, what it means to be a lesbian… what that means to me.”

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