Page 62 of Broken By the Bad Boy

“Yes.”

“Will you stay?”

A headache builds, and my eyes close. I massage my forehead. Do I want to be there? Asher will be with me. That’s the positive of going to her house. And my nightmare won’t be there to haunt me.

Gracie won’t be available. I should work on getting back to my former routine. “I’m not sure.”

The octave of her voice drops. Mom says, “Let me know when you decide, okay? You know you are always welcome here.” Right. A sound between a half-laughter and a grunt rolls out of my lips. I am always welcome to watch her and her husband gush over each other. “I love you, Ben.”

Love you too.

The call ends with a click, and I place the phone on my chest. Memories spill over me, but I force them into my mind’s archive, where they have been for very long. The events of today roll over me in slow motion—the excitement and the thrill. We won, but Gracie ruined everything.

I swipe up on my screen.

There are tons of missed calls and texts from Gracie. I ignore all of them. What does she have to say? It doesn’t change anything. While I am contemplating my next move, Olivia’s text pops in. I groan, annoyed and thankful for the distraction. I send a half-useless, half-helpful reply to her.

Me: ignore them.

Liv: I can’t ignore them if they are being so loud. What doesn’t she understand? I hate that woman.

Mrs. Beckham wasn’t always this bad, but things have changed. Sadly, kids have to suffer for their parent’s decisions, yet parents never ask for their opinions before making those decisions.

Why birth them?

Me: sorry. Don’t think about it.

After a moment’s thought, I pick up my phone to type up a new text. I might regret it, but I still hit send.

Me: want to come over? I think Asher is asleep.

Liv: what would your girlfriend say?

Me: that it’s a bad idea?

She will get mad but try so hard to pretend it’s cool. If only she saw what was behind the facade, she would understand she had the best life among most of us in the graduating class of 2019.

Liv:yeah, I think I’ll just stay here. Goodnight.

Olivia and I will always be friends, but her presence here will upset Gracie. I don’t want to upset her. I don’t know why I care what she thinks when she’s leaving. She wasn’t thinking about me.

Me: night.

Liv: Christine was right. You guys are so cute and you look good together.

Warmth spreads through me. It must have taken a lot for her to admit this. I take a screenshot for Gracie so she knows Olivia doesn’t want me in that way. My birthday kiss was a grave mistake.

Liv: if you tell her I said this, you are dead to me. I will deny it.

That means I’ll have to swear Gracie to an oath of secrecy before showing her the texts.

Me: don’t let them get to you, k? Sleep well.

The bed squeaks under my weight. I locate my flip-flops and exit the room. The light in Asher’s room is off. I tiptoe inside and sit on his bed. I might have to stay the weekend with him, so I don’t spend the rest of tomorrow sulking. He stirs in his sleep, then a hand grabs my wrist. I stroke his arm, and he lets go of me.

“Benny?”

“Yeah. It’s me, Champ.”

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