Page 38 of Loved By The Bad Boy

“Benny,” he corrects.

“Benny.” Sighing, he hides his face in my shoulder. “I’ll come back, or you can come to my room.”

“I don’t think your mom would like that,” Ben says. He tilts his head back to inspect my face, but I have nothing to counter that statement. He’s right. “I don’t think she likes me anymore.”

If Mom dislikes him, Dad loathes him. I run my fingers through his wet hair.

“Because you hurt her baby,” I tell him. “She has not forgiven that.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Okay. But I really must go now.” I scoot to my feet before he convinces me to stay back. “I’ll be back.”

“Wait.” Ben hurries to the wardrobe and returns with the memory bracelet. My pulse quickens. We share an uncertain glance. I nod and stretch my hand for him to fasten it. The charms jiggle when I shake my wrist, and he kisses me. “Now you can go. Don’t forget your promise, Gracie.”

I stop at the door. “Yes, Benny. I’ll be back.”

Sixteen

“Where were you?”a voice asks as soon as I open the door to my room.

A yelp escapes me, and I slap a hand over my mouth to muffle my scream. My back presses into the door, and the figure on the bed slowly rises. I release my breath. God, she scared me.

“Theresa Grace Mower. Where were you?” Mom stops a few feet from me, one hand on her hip. Being the baby I am, I bridge the gap and hug her. “This won’t cut it, young lady.” But I feel her soften. Her hand drops to my back as she returns the hug. “You didn’t tell anyone before leaving.”

Because I wasn’t thinking straight. “I’m sorry.”

“Your dad and I were worried.” She is totally relaxed now, but I give her another squeeze.

I step back, wringing my hands. “I’m sorry. I was in Ben’s room.”

A minute or two later, she sighs and drags me to sit beside her on the bed. “Did you two talk?”

“Not yet.”

She wants to ask why not, but she doesn’t. I fear what Ben has to say. If Olivia is still calling, then they are still close. I don’t want the same relationship we had back home; I want more.

“Be careful, okay?” She gives me a side hug, and my head lowers to her arm. Can one really be careful when in love? I hope I can. “Ben seems like he’s ready to work for it. He’s a good guy.”

He is. But good guys also make mistakes.

My eyes shut for a few minutes, and she nudges me. “Get ready.”

“Ready?” I ask. She nods. “For what?”

Shooting to her feet, Mom drags out my suitcase and dumps it on the bed. My questions fall on deaf ears as she extracts my clothes from the wardrobe. I haven’t worn most of them since my style revolves around the same outfits. I snatch a hanger from her before she shoves it into the suitcase.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“We are leaving.” In her excitement, her words come out in a rush. She resumes packing. “The house is ready. We were supposed to leave this morning, but you were nowhere to be found.”

I join her in getting the rest of my stuff. My shoes. My bags. Everything. Stopping in front of the wardrobe, her lips move, but there is only one thought in my head. Benny. I have to tell Benny.

Mom’s fingers snap close to my face. “Theresa Grace Mower.” Did she say something before that? Taking in my lost expression, she shakes her head. “I wassayingthat your dad is pissed.”

“Oh.”

Mom scoffs and walks away. She can tell I’m distracted, but she has other things on her mind to be bothered by this teenager. I think Dad will forgive me, mostly because I’m his favorite daughter.

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