Page 56 of Broken By the Bad Boy

Ben stretches his arms in front of him. They tremble a little. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” More than a little. But not because of the fight.

“Don’t be,” he says with so much confidence I lose my doubts. “We will win. I believe in us.”

Before I form a reply, he stands. Stopping by my seat, he plants a kiss on my temple. “Gotta go now.” My heart swells with pride when he peeks at his wristwatch. He wears it every day. “Take care, babe.”

“You too. Love you.”

Ben halts at the door. Pressing two fingers to his lips, he blows me a kiss that turns me into a giggling teenager. I am so going to marry him.

The rest of school flies by so fast, and so does our training at the gym. I drive into our street with a grin on my lips. If today’s training is anything to go by, Ben and I will kick asses come next week. My smile fades when I remember I am yet to tell Ben the news. I don’t know why I am delaying. The guilt doubles once I step into our house. There’s a traveling box in our living room, and Mom is on the floor, sealing a few boxes. My bag drops to my feet. She looks up and smiles.

Mom wipes her hands on her hips as she strolls over. I am stiff in her arms, and she pulls back to stare worriedly at me. I fake a smile when Dad walks into the room with another box he stacks on the one Mom was messing with. He wiggles his eyebrows at me and turns back into the room.

“You’re late today,” Mom says. “What happened?”

“Got caught up with something.”

“Ben?”

I blush. “Yeah, Ben.” My gaze wanders to the boxes. The living room looks a mess. There are boxes everywhere, like people are moving out. Wait! I step away from her. “What’s going on?”

Mom pulls me to sit beside her on the floor. Pushing a box between us, she slaps a white tape on it and labels it with blue ink. “Nothing. Change of plans.” The wedge in my chest climbs up my throat. I flatten my hands on my laps and wait for her to ruin my life. “Go get ready for dinner.”

I inhale shakily. Mom arches a brow, and the words I should have spoken dissolve. I hear myself say, “Yes, Mom.” I grab my bag at the door and stop at the foot of the stairs. “I’ll be right down.”

My steps are wobbly as I hurry to my room. I dump my bag and race into the bathroom. I grip the sink, trying to force myself to calm down. Words keep floating in my head, threatening to suffocate me. What change of plans? I touch a hand to my wet cheeks. I don’t want to leave.

A second later, I dash to my room to retrieve my phone. I don’t know why I dial Ben. But I do, pacing while I wait for his number to connect. He’s not picking. After two more trials, he does.

“Babe?” My voice catches. I place a hand over my mouth to suppress my sob and lower myself to the bed. “I was about to call you.” A low sound jumps out of my throat. I should tell him now before it is too late. Sweat breaks out on my forehead when he whispers, “Gracie, are you okay?”

I press my palm to my forehead, and my doppelgänger stares back at me from the mirror. I seem to have aged in minutes. “Yeah. I was missing you.” He laughs. I picture him grinning. “Called to say I love you.”

“Love you too.” He pauses. There’s shuffling in the background. “Asher wants to say hi.”

Asher and I chat for a while. I bid them goodnight and return to the bathroom. Mom screams for me to hurry, and I go through the motions of bathing and dressing up without fully being present.

I meet them downstairs, with the table set and meals already served. They sit side by side, so I take the opposite chair. They converse in low tunes while I get started on my dinner. It is always this way with them, but tonight, it annoys me. Mom stops eating to stare at me. Dad does the same.

“Tessa?” Mom says. I sip slowly from my glass. “Are you okay?”

They want to take me away from my Benny. How can I be okay? I nod. Dad cocks his head in that way to show he doesn’t believe a word I said, but he doesn’t question me. It’s his fault this is happening. This is what he meant bysomethingwhen we went to eat at Dan and Dan last year.

“You said something about a change of plans,” I mutter. Mom pauses her slicing, and my hands wrap around my glass. I am more nervous about asking her about these new plans than hearing them. She lowers her cutlery to her plates and folds her hands. “You didn’t tell me the change.”

“Ah, yes.” Mom beams. “Your dad has to resume on Monday. So, he’s leaving tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” She nods. This is not the plan. We were supposed to leave together next Saturday. Three of us. Tomorrow is too soon for me to leave Benny. God. He will hate me for keeping this from him. I will hate myself. I squeeze my lips and wipe my clammy hands on my knees. “What about us?”

They don’t notice my discomfort. Mom sighs. “I wish we were, sweetheart, but we will join him next week as planned.” Her countenance changes, and her fingers dart between both of us. “Me and you. Are you excited?”

“Very.”

Twenty-Seven

“Did you know about this?”I ask Hayden while dragging my pajama bottoms over my legs. Tucking the phone between my shoulder and ear, I arrange the mess on my dresser. “Dad is traveling tomorrow.”

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