Page 13 of Loved By The Bad Boy

Mrs. Miller claps again. The girl in the front row slumps down her seat, probably disappointed to hear Ben is taken. Yeah, who is his girlfriend? Last I checked, he walked out on me. I’m single.

“Please, have a seat.”

Ben holds my gaze. I don’t look away as he starts for the chairs behind. Calum clears his throat, breaking our stare-off. I smile or try to. Hot guilt sizzles my insides when he extends an arm around my chair. I’m doing nothing wrong. Ben and I are not dating. I can be with anyone I like.

Seven

BEN

It’smy second day in Crescent High, and I’ve not had a chance to speak to Gracie. Asides from the sting of my girlfriend deliberately ignoring me, the school is cool. What’s not cool is that guy putting his hand on my babe’s seat. I tolerated it yesterday, but I’m close to losing my shit today.

We need to talk.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I toss a look at Ms. Jones before typing my password. Matt wants to know how I am. Matt is the oldest child of the family I am staying with in New York. He’s worried because I spent most of last night lamenting about the girl who wouldn’t talk to me.

Another peek at the unanswered message on my phone, and I slump further into my seat.

I am not OK, and that’s exactly what I text Matt.

“Benjamin,” the teacher’s sharp voice cuts me off.

Being a new student means introducing myself to each teacher. It sucks because I want the quiet life. I offer Ms. Jones a tiny smile and make a show of putting my phone away. Gracie’s head jerks up. She wants to look in my direction, but she doesn’t. If only she would spare me a glance.

I miss my Gracie.

The class isn’t boring, but I barely pay attention. If Gracie refuses to speak to me, then I might have made the greatest mistake of my life by moving. Josef isn’t just wealthy, he knows the right people. He made plans after I received Gracie’s school details from Maria. Details she released after an earful and a promise to find me wherever I am and chop off my balls if I fail this time.

Hayden never replied to my texts or returned my missed calls. It’s probably payback for all those times I ignored his calls and texts. If Maria hadn’t replied, I might have contacted Mrs. Mower.

Ms. Jones rambles on about sentence structure while I doodle. My mind replays the events of the last few weeks in San Francisco and the first days in New York. Theresa is no longer welcome in the house. That phone call to her didn’t go well. It has been such a long time since I saw Josef upset. But that day… watching him make that phone call to his daughter made me feel protected and even loved. I don’t have to worry about Asher because Mom and Josef will take care of him.

Mom thinks it is not enough for Josef to cut her off. She believes pressing charges will be great. I don’t want any of that. I saw the toll it took on Olivia and her mom. Plus, I don’t want to stand before a bunch of professional—maybe emotionless—strangers and relive the bitter experience.

Maria: How is New York? Seen her yet?

I reread Maria’s text too many times to count and tuck my phone into my pocket. New York is not so horrible. On my second day, a man attempted suicide, and everyone went about their daily lives.

It is like Gracie said. Everyone minds their business. I don’t want to mind my business alone; I want to mind hers. The deal with Josef expires at the end of the session. If we don’t reconcile, I will return to San Francisco and maybe try again for SAS. They sent acceptance letters, and I was waitlisted.

The bell for the next class rings, and students scramble out of their seats. Gracie’s partner grabs her backpack. I don’t know his problem. My girl can do those stuff by herself. She’s a strong, independent lady who doesn’t need a guy in situations like that. He needs to get over himself.

They are almost at the door when I approach them. The boy steps forward and blocks my view of Gracie. Sizing me up, he cracks his knuckles to intimidate me. He is as tall as I am. In a fair fight, it might end in a tie. We share the same eye color. For a split second, I wonder if I’ve been replaced. I raise my hands to let him know I don’t want any trouble, but he doesn’t back down.

“I want to talk to her,” I say. I want to talk to my girlfriend.

The boy moves an inch to give Gracie a chance to reply. She doesn’t look at me. Instead, she shakes her head. He glares at me as if to say I am not wanted here, but I refuse to believe him.

Her eyes lower to my wrists. I have the memory bracelet in one hand and the name bracelet in the other. The charms crinkle when I lift my hand for her to get a better view of them. She left all our memories behind, but I will carry them until she is ready to take them back. Hopefully, soon.

Our gaze meets for the briefest second. She moves closer to the boy like she needs protection from me, and the idiot drapes an arm around her shoulders to draw her in. Alright, I get it. I will need to work harder to earn her forgiveness. But if she won’t talk to me, how will that happen?

“Will that be all?” the boy asks.

I wish he would shut up. Gracie elbows him. He rolls his eyes, and she steps away from him.

“Gracie,” I whisper when Gracie’s almost at the door. Her hand closes around the knob, but that moment of hesitation gives me hope for our future. The boy sends me a dark look I ignore. I try to walk past him, but he blocks my exit. For her sake, I step back. “I’m sorry. Let’s just talk.”

The words are hardly out of my mouth when her head snaps up. She turns. The burning anger in her brown eyes sends pain to my heart. She’s upset. She’s furious because she pleaded with me for the same thing before leaving. A chance for us to talk, and I threw her offer in her face.

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