Page 72 of Glad You Exist

“Brad. I appreciate the sentiment and I know you’re doing this to protect me but wasn’t it just yesterday when you had a chat with my brother about his overprotective ways? Don’t you see that you’re doing exactly what he’s been doing?”

He sucks in a breath and looks away, signs of frustration marring his features. I squeeze his shoulder again to get his attention.

“How about this? If you promise that you won’t pick a fight with Hunter, then I’m going to shut up and be grateful that my friends love me enough to want to act like my bodyguards.”

His brow wrinkles but there’s a hint of teasing in his eyes as he gazes down at me.

“Your friend? Is that what I am? I could have sworn you just implied you weren’t single.”

I purse my lips in an attempt to stop from smiling again but he catches me in the act.

He closes in and swiftly kisses me on the forehead.

“We can save that talk for later after school.”

With a tilting grin, Brad takes a step back then another until he’s walking backwards from me. “I’ll come back to get you for lunch.”

With another wink and a wave, he turns the corner and he’s out of my line of sight.

I lean back on the wall, my hands on my flaming cheeks. I trace my fingers up to my forehead where I still feel the imprint of his lips, like he somehow branded me as his.

Another realization hits me, my heart has not stopped racing since the moment I stepped out of the bathroom and these damn butterflies in my tummy have not grown tired of flapping around yet. And it’s all because of the boy I’ve known my whole life.

Seriously, what is he doing to me?

"How much longer do you think they'll be in there?"

Kim sighs, rolling her eyes as she taps on her phone next to me.

"I don't know." I grunt, annoyed that I’m not in there to give Liz support.

Halfway through lunch, I got a call from Mom saying she was on her way because she received a call from Principal Gardner about Liz.

Uncle Will has appointed her Liz’s guardian until she turns eighteen in January.

To say Mom was mad is a complete understatement. She’s completely livid that I didn't tell her about the incident in the kitchen between Hunter and Liz. After I basically kicked her and Dad out of the house for my party claiming we didn’t need chaperones. Words like grounded and no more parties were shot at me as my mother blasted me.

They pulled Liz out of last period an hour ago and Kyle was called in along with Coach shortly after. If I was hazarding a guess, Hunter is in there as well.

I feel Kim’s gaze on me as I run my fingers through my hair again, tugging on the ends in frustration.

“What’s up with you?”

I send her a look that I hope shuts her up but instead she raises an eyebrow at me. She shifts to scoot closer to me, crossing her arms petulantly as if to say,You asked for it.

We’ve known each other since we were eight. I brace myself knowing she’s about to grill me like she’s been itching to do since yesterday.

“So…you going to tell me what happened with you two?”

I can pretend I don’t know what she means or distract her with prom talk but that would just prolong the inevitable. So, I resign myself with the simplest of truths.

“I kissed her.” I say this softly enough that she’s the only one who hears. We are seated outside the principal’s office and there are nosy eyes and ears all around us. “Twice.”

“I know.”

“She told you? What—what did she say?”

She quirks another eyebrow and stares at me thoughtfully.

---