Page 44 of Imogen

“I’ll have one of those if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Nope. I have a machine that whips it up in seconds. Do you want cream?”

“Please,” he replies with a grin.

Sigh. When he grins, it’s like the world begins to spin clockwise.

“Take a seat,” I order gently as I move into the kitchen. I’m kind of glad I let Dad knock a part of the wall out. Now I get to watch as Ben takes a seat on the sofa, his gaze slowly taking in the room.

I glance at what he is seeing. Pictures of my friends and family are hung up on the wall. I have a collection of different miniature bottles of alcohol decorating a shelf in the corner. But it’s the human-sized pink dog bed that makes me cringe.

I don’t have a dog.

It’s for me.

The room is pretty basic. I have a three-seater sofa in the middle of the room. A long, thin side table runs down the back of it. It has knick-knacks in the centre of two lamps that are placed on either end. There’s an electric stove fire because I couldn’t have a real one, and a television is hanging over the fireplace. I have a massive swivel chair in the corner that only ever gets used when it rains. It’s the perfect place to sit and watch as the rains falls outside. I have a cabinet that runs along the far wall that has comics, vinyls, and photo albums. One cupboard is dedicated to board games—the ones that aren’t banned in our family. The rest are just filled with stuff that doesn’t have a home: wires that I have no idea what device they belong to, chargers and random crap.

After finishing his drink, I carry it into the living room, handing it over. “How come you are here?”

“I came to see if you were okay and to let you know I’ve given the police the recording.”

I drop down next to him. “Are they going to use it?”

“Yes. I think they’re getting a warrant, but you will still need to go down in the morning to give a statement. You will also need to be prepared for the blowback. He is wealthy.”

“His family is wealthy,” I correct.

“Still, his family is wealthy. A majority of the time, people with money change. They think the rules don’t apply to them, or the law. They get a god complex.”

“His parents aren’t like that. They spoil him, but they won’t tolerate this. Honestly, I think if I wasn’t so scared of upsetting them, I would have gone to them first. They would have got it back for me. They’re really sweet people and have always been kind to me.”

“I still think you should be careful. He seems pretty angry.”

I rub at the throw hanging over the sofa cushion, lowering my gaze. “It’s my fault he’s angry.”

“Why? Did you steal something from him?”

“No, of course not,” I answer.

“Then why are you blaming yourself?”

“Because I got with him for the wrong reasons. I started the relationship knowing he had feelings for me but I didn’t feel the same way. Not really.” I sigh, taking interest in the tassel on the blanket. “He has a right to be angry. He might have done something shitty, but I’ve been way worse.”

He laughs, taking me by surprise. I slap his arm. “Hey, I’m being serious here.”

“I know,” he splutters, which makes him laugh harder.

“Ben,” I snap.

He calms, but he’s still smiling like a fool. “That boy has been after you for as long as I’ve known you. He’s done everything in his power to get you to be his girlfriend, and he has used your moments of weakness as a way in. He knew exactly what he was doing, just like he knew deep down that you would never love him like he did you.”

He can’t know that… “Ben, you’re mistaken.”

“The night of your dad’s birthday, I didn’t understand it until after you…”

I glance away, embarrassment flooding my cheeks. “Made a complete fool out of myself? You don’t need to bring that up.”

“Do you remember me telling you there was a kid out the front causing trouble?”

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