Page 37 of Broken By the Bad Boy

Mascara? Check. Eyeliner? No, thank you. Shiny lip gloss? Hell, yeah. Hair flowing down my shoulders? Why not? Hayden comes up behind me, fingers sinking into my hair to ruin my perfect hairstyle. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I spent minutes achieving this look.

“I’m thinking Dan and Dan,” he continues his one-sided conversation.

My eyes fly open. “Mom will kill him.”

That’s for Dad and me. Our eyes meet, and we erupt in laughter. Mom hates Dan and Dan more than she hates tapas. Maria’s mom brings us tapas every Christmas, but she doesn’t have the heart to refuse Mrs. Vega.

Seventeen

Dad fucked up our reservation.Maybe he forgot, or the restaurant made a mistake. I am not sure what the case is, but the longer we wait in the car, the thicker the tension and the angrier Mom grows. She’s angrily typing on her phone, probably with one of those her rich friends who come over to the house on some Saturdays to drink our wine while they gossip.

Hayden is busy with his tab. I peek over his shoulder to see the game he’s playing, and a sigh leaves my lips. Too many guns and shootings. My phone has been silent since we left the house. Ben must have gone for dinner if he hasn’t texted me. I don’t want to ruin his not-so-family time.

We look up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Dad. His boots create temporal prints on the thin sheen of water covering the path. He jams his hands into the pockets of his jacket and expels a breath of white air. His facial expression spells bad news, and his steps falter before he reaches us. I steal a glance at Mom. Crossing her arms on her chest, she glares daggers at Dad. When our eyes meet, she looks away.

Hayden nudges me with a knee. I throw him an annoyed look, and he motions to the restaurant. The diners behind the glass look happy. We would also be happy if we had gotten the space Dad claimed he called earlier to reserve for us. He must have forgotten, and Mom doesn’t look so happy about it. I am not. I don’t want to eat another slice of pizza. That’s what we had for lunch.

I grunt when my brother taps me once more. Tonight is not the night for this. “There,” he states. I follow his finger pointed at the families seated by the glass window. They look excited as they munch on their dinner, and my stomach rumbles its annoyance.Thanks, Dad. Hayden sighs when I don’t notice what he’s showing me. There are four tables by the window. Twisting my head in the direction he wants, he says, “On the left. The one at the other end. What’s Liv doing there?”

My eyes finally center on the table. I don’t see Olivia but Ben in a tux. Why is my boyfriend sharing a table with her? A waiter approaches their table. Olivia looks up at my Ben with a smile and twirls the end of her hair around her finger. I gag in my brain. Must she flirt with everyone?

Olivia turns to Ben. He nods at something she says, and they nod at the waiter. My blood runs cold when my boyfriend smiles at the pretty she-devil hanging onto his arm like he’s a lifeguard. There is a bald man on the seat across from the pair—a man and two women. One woman has her arm wrapped around the man’s elbow. That must be Josef and Mrs. Carter. She is pretty.

On another look, I spot Mrs. Beckham, Olivia’s mother. What’s going on with my boyfriend?

“Looks like she still has a thing for other people’s boyfriends,” I murmur. Hayden snorts.

Olivia and I were cool but became closer when they started dating. It feels like such a long time ago, and we never discussed the breakup. Does he blame me for telling him? He never thanked me. Just broke up with her. His fingers fly across his screen. I wonder again if he thinks about her. If Ben and I ever break up, I want to believe I’ll think about our happy moments and smile.

I peek at the restaurant and poke the back of the driver’s seat until Mom turns to glare at me. I fake a smile, which disappears when my eyes return to the window. They are still there. Why?

“Do you think he likes her?” I find myself asking.

Hayden is a guy. He should know if another guy likes a girl.

Our eyes clash, and Hayden shakes his head. I think he’s lying to protect my feelings. “Doesn’t look like it,” he whispers. We don’t want Mom to hear us. “Didn’t know Liv was friends with Ben.”

Yeah, she’s friends with everyone in her league. He returns to playing his game, so I don’t bother to reply, but his careful tone didn’t escape me. Mom’s reflection in the visor mirror smacks her lips. I try to remind myself my brother is only looking out for me, but that fear of the impossible slithers through me.

Who says Ben won’t cheat on me with Olivia?

He calls her Liv.

He defends her.

She cheated on her boyfriend once.

Nothing will stop her now she’s single. Will Ben stop being friends with her if I ask him to pick between the two of us? What’s it about Olivia that he can’t do without having her around? That doesn’t seem like the ordinary friendship or sibling relationship he claims theirs is. She’s at his family dinner with her mother. Are they family friends now? I didn’t even get invited to their dinner date. Why does she get to see him on new year, and I don’t? Why didn’t he mention her?

I dial his number. Picking up his phone from the table, he stares at the screen but doesn’t answer. A stake drives through my heart. I am ready to redial him when my screen lights up with his text.

Benny:Sorry, I can’t pick now. I miss you.

Ben watches his phone while awaiting my reply. The stake pierces my broken heart when Olivia places a hand on his shoulder, easing out slightly as he gently pries her arm off him. The witch says something, and her hand returns to his shoulder. Ben glares at her but does nothing about it.

I reread his message. He didn’t call me babe, and I have an idea why. Because of that witch talking to Asher. She must have cracked a joke because he laughs at what she says. I can’t hear him, but a smile springs to my lips. If Asher is happy, Ben is happy. If Ben is happy, I’m happy. But I don’t want Olivia to be the source of Asher’s happiness.

The words to reply to his message finally come to me. I wipe my hands on my dress.

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