She agreed to call the school under one condition: that I be home for dinner tonight. My dear brother is finally returning from his “let’s hide from my mom that I got beat up” vacation, and she wants us all together for one meal.
I caved. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go anyway. Zoey’s place is no longer an option, and Morgan… God, I can’t even imagine what bullshit Zoey must’ve spewed to her today. I wanted to text her this morning, but after I called my mom, I powered off my phone, in desperate need of a break.
“So, William Martins, huh?” Luke’s voice brings me back.
I inwardly curse.
How did he find out?
“What about him?” I play dumb.
“Something going on between you two?”
I unbuckle my seat belt. “No, why?”
“I don’t know, it’s just… This morning in the hall, he seemed pretty damn desperate to talk to you.”
I snatch my backpack at my feet.
“Not to mention he looked at me like he wanted to break every bone in my body for touching you, but hey, that’s just a detail.”
I laugh.
“Believe me, he is not my boyfriend.”
“But you want him to be, don’t you?”
Yes.
“W-What? No, I don’t,” I word-vomit, but his smile tells me I’ve already betrayed myself.
“Don’t bother. Ethan spilled the beans about you liking a guy you shouldn’t the other day at work.”
I grin.
Freaking Ethan.
I knew I was smart not to tell him Will’s name. The guy can’t keep a secret to save his life.
“He’s your brother’s friend, right? This Will guy? That’s why you don’t want to be with him?” Luke puts together.
More like he doesn’t want to be with me.
“Not exactly. I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Oh, of course. Forget I asked.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I reach for the car handle.
“Listen, I know my aunt hired a new store manager and we won’t be working together anymore, but if you need me, I’m always here.” He seems sincere.
“Thanks. You’re a good friend, Luke.”
He offers me a small smile in response, and I carry myself out of the car, watching him disappear down the street. My mom’s car isn’t in the driveway yet, but my brother’s car is.
Along with Blake’s—I’m going to vomit.
And last but not least, the car I especially didn’t want to see…
Will’s.
He’s at my house.
I activate my phone as I’m unlocking the front door. I walk in, voices and laughter ricocheting all the way from the living room to the kitchen. They’re all here. The second my phone lights up, it pings with a text.
Except it won’t stop.
One message.
Two messages.
Three messages.
The many texts I didn’t receive today all come through at once. I have two from Morgan.
And four from Will.
His last text was two minutes ago.
Willy Wonka: I’m literally losing my fucking mind, Kass. Answer me.
“Who the hell are you texting, Martins?” I hear my brother ask in the living room.
“No one,” Will replies.
Me.
He’s texting me.
“He’s been like this all week. All secretive and shit. I’m telling you, it’s a girl,” Blake accuses.
My fists clench at my cheating ex’s voice. If he so much as looks at me, I’ll make key chains with his balls.
“Is she hot?” Kendrick snorts, and I cringe.
If you only knew, bro.
“Shut up. There’s no girl,” Will snaps.
Hoping I can pass through the living room without drawing attention to myself, I suck in a breath and walk in.
Instantly, they stop talking.
And stare.
Great.
“Hey, where were you all day? Morgan was looking for you,” my brother asks.
“Didn’t feel so good. Mom gave me the day off.”
He frowns. “But… you just came home. Shouldn’t you have spent the day resting?”
Shit, what do I say?
“How much longer until dinner, I’m starv—” A female voice saves me.
I swivel to find the last person I expected to see waltz into my living room. Nicole. My brother’s ex and the only girlfriend he’s ever had. Haven’t seen her since they broke up a while ago. Not exactly a piece of cake, this one.
“Oh, hey, Kass.” She waves, taking a seat on the couch.
“Hey?” I can’t make sense of her presence. “Are you two back together?”
Alex scoffs. “Tonight, they are.”
It all becomes clear. This must be Kendrick’s excuse for disappearing after he got beaten to a pulp. He always comes up with something to ease my mom, but a fake girlfriend? Seriously?
“Wait, is that why mom wanted me to come to dinner so bad? Because you’re introducing her to your fake girlfriend?”
“Yep.” Kendrick beams.
“Let me guess, you told Mom you were staying with your girlfriend this whole time?”
“Yep,” Kendrick repeats. “My girl over here—” He points to Nicole with his chin. “—was going through a rough patch.”
“You’re crazy,” I scold.
“Tell that to Winter.” Kendrick sticks his hands up. “She’s the one who put us into this mess.”
What is that supposed to mean?
Jesus, how much have I missed?
“Speaking of Winter, where is she?” I ask. I feel like we’ve barely spoken lately. We need to catch up.
“In her room.” Kendrick shrugs.
“Anyway, we should get going. Your mom will be there soon.” Alex leaps from the couch. “Guys?”
“Coming.” Blake rises to his feet.
“Right behind you.” Will joins him.
I can’t help glaring at Blake as he passes me. To think I wasted six months of my life on this trash bag. Careful not to make eye contact with Will, I take the stairs two at a time with the intention to hide into my bedroom until dinner.
A shiver skitters down my spine the second I pad into my room. I left the window open. I receive a text from Morgan as I’m pushing it shut.
Morgan: Where were you today? Are you okay?
Relief overtakes me.
I was afraid Zoey would’ve turned her against me.
Kass: Something happened with Zoey.
Morgan: I know. She told me. Want to come over to my house tonight? My parents just left for their trip.
Kass: Be there after dinner
Morgan: Okay. Xx
I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Well, it doesn’t look like she loathes me. That’s a start.
“Had fun with golden boy?”
I let out a startled yelp.
Will.
“Okay, you have got to stop doing that!”
He half smiles, standing in my doorway with his right shoulder braced against the wooden frame and his arms folded over his chest. He’s wearing a simple, worn-out tee and jeans, and yet he looks unbelievable.
“Didn’t you just leave?” I arch an eyebrow.
“I told them I forgot something upstairs.”
I nod, not bothering to summon a reply, and he passes the threshold, kicking the door shut.
“You know the whole point of having a phone is to answer it?” he jokes, but I catch a whiff of irritation in his voice.
“Oh, is that what this thing is for?” I barely muster a weak, unconvincing smile. I don’t know how to act around him anymore. All I can think about when I look at him is where we left off.
“So… where’d you go today?”
“Nowhere.”
He snaps. “Goddamn it, Kass. How much longer are you going to be mad at me?”
“I’m not mad,” I say in the most quiet, calm vo
ice, which catches him off guard. I can tell he expected me to fight.
To argue.
But I’m done fighting this boy.
“Like hell you’re not.” He exhales.
“I’m not. I’m just listening to you, Will. Staying away from you. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
He moves closer.
Zip it, heart.
“It should be.” He closes in on me until I have no choice but to crane my neck to look at him. “But… fuck, Kass, I… Tell me why it’s the last thing I want.”
His hand lifts to my cheek.
Shivers.
“That’s not what you were saying last week.” I steer clear of his hold, ghosting my wretched heart’s desperate pleas.
Five more seconds, it begs.
“What the hell was I supposed to do? Tell me. We were on Kendrick’s bed. I just… panicked.”
I cringe at the reminder.
I still can’t believe I did that.
Must’ve washed his sheets like five hundred times afterward.
“I know, I feel awful about it, and I’m glad you stopped it, but… You hurt me, Will. Bad. I can’t keep up with you anymore. One second you’re rejecting me, and the next you’re blowing up my phone. I’m just trying to listen to y—”
He cages me against my desk in one move, cupping my face, with both hands this time, and stealing my breath.
“Don’t.” He sounds pained. “Don’t fucking listen to me if it means you’re not going to be in my life anymore.”
Kass, be strong.
“No, you were right. We can’t be friends. And we can’t be together. So, I guess…” I choke. “I guess we can’t be anything.”
He releases me instantly, a million thoughts, questions, and possibilities racing in his eyes. I don’t think he’s hearing me.
He proves me right by saying, “Is this because of Luke?”
“What? That’s not what this is abo—”
“Is it because of Luke, yes or no?”
Maybe if I tell him what he wants to hear…
Maybe.
“So what if it is?” I lie my ass off.
His mouth falls open.
His eyes dip to the floor.
“Got it.”
Then he walks out.
Kassidy
Slogging into the kitchen, I ready my excuse and hope to hell my mom will let me skip dinner. I’m not done moping around about Will yet, and frankly, after the day I’ve had? I’d rather gouge my eyes out than watch Kendrick and his bratty ex pretend to be in love.
My “stomachache” goes up in smoke at the bright smile illuminating my mother’s face. She looks ecstatic to have us all together. I can’t ruin that for her.
It’s just one dinner, Kass.
How could this day possibly get any worse?
Winter comes trailing into the kitchen once we’re all seated. She looks just as annoyed with this fake-girlfriend dinner as I am, forcing a smile as she plops down into the seat next to me. I wonder what my brother meant when he said my cousin was responsible for the fake-girlfriend debacle. I know I insisted I didn’t want anything to do with their mess, but… I’m getting sick of feeling out of the loop.
I’m relieved to see my mom ordered pizza and we’re eating off paper plates. The quicker we get this over with, the quicker I can rush to Morgan’s place and find out if I still have a friend in this cruel world.
Winter’s phone buzzes with a text, but I don’t pay it much mind, too focused on not rolling my eyes along to Nicole and Kendrick’s rehearsed speech. Then, just as we’re about to start eating, we’re stopped by a knock on the door.
My mom lifts off her seat. “Are we expecting someone?”
“Sit down, Mom. I got it.” I beat her to the door. Expecting a stranger to try to sell me something, I swing the door open and—
What
The
Fuck.
Why is Haze Adams standing on my porch? He steps inside before I can slam the door in his face.
Sure, just make yourself at home.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Haze says.
It seems to happen in slow motion. He locks eyes with Winter across the room, and the look she gives him sets my suspicions ablaze. She’s mad, panicked… flustered? I knew Winter was fraternizing with the enemy, but this is miles past “fraternizing.” Something is definitely going on between those two.
“I hope you didn’t start without me.” Haze flashes us his million-dollar smile. I may hate the guy, but I have to admit I do get the hype about him.
Winter settles on an emotion.
Anger.
Full-on anger.
He wasn’t supposed to show up, that much is clear. I glance at Kendrick, who’s staring daggers at Haze. I know them to be nemeses in the ring. Odds are Haze is only doing this to piss off my brother—and, by the looks of it, it’s working.
My mom cuts in. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
Haze peels his eyes away from Winter. “Of course, where are my manners? I’m Haze.” He holds out his hand, which my mom shakes hesitantly.
Glimpsing at Winter from the corner of his eye, Haze smirks. Winter bounces to her feet. She knows him. She knows he’s going to say something stupid, but she’s too late.
The damage is done.
“I’m Winter’s boyfriend.”
Yep. She’s going to kill him.
“Honey, why didn’t you tell me?” My mom rejoices, pulling my cousin into a loving embrace. “I knew something was going on. That’s why you were so secretive. You’ve met your first boyfriend.”
I’m so unbelievably drained from the shitstorm that is my life, I don’t even care that Winter didn’t heed my warnings about this guy. I’m not even mad that Haze crashed our dinner.
Hell, I’m entertained.
Where’s the popcorn?
Haze pouts. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell them about us, babe. I thought we were official.”
“Please, give me your coat. Welcome to my home,” my mom requests. Haze gives it to her with a “thanks.”
“What’s wrong, honey bunny? No kiss?” Haze turns to Winter. She cringes at the cheesy nickname, to Haze’s great satisfaction
He’s so proud of himself.
“Of course. I’ll give it to you in a second. I just have to show you the thing first.” Winter’s jaw is tight, her grin so forced it looks painful.
“What thing?” he asks.
“You know that thing that I talked to you about the other day?”
“Aren’t you eating with us?” my mom worries.
“We’ll be back. Start without us,” Winter says, dragging Haze out of sight. I hear their footsteps thumping up the stairs.
Then her bedroom door closes.
Ah, shit.
Show’s over.
I’m turning up on Morgan’s front porch an hour later. Dinner ran longer than I thought. At least, Winter’s “boyfriend” made for a much more interesting evening.
Inhaling a jerky breath, I knock on the Jameses’ front door with one hope only: that I can salvage whatever mess Zoey made of my friendship with Morgan today.
“Coming!” Morgan calls from inside.
Footsteps.
The door opens.
Morgan appears on the other side, her hair up in a messy bun. Her reading glasses, sweatpants, and cropped hoodie complete her bookworm look. I notice the pen tucked behind her ear. She was probably filling out crossword puzzles—I know, my best friend is an eighty-year-old woman trapped in the body of a teenager. At first, her lack of a reaction worries me.
Until she pulls me into a hug.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers.
My shoulders unwind.
“You know about what happened?” I assume.
Morgan chuckles. “Nope. No clue, but I’ve watched you put up with Zoey’s shit for so long, if you’re done with her, it must be something big.”
“Wait, she didn’t tell you?” I break
away from her.
I’m surprised Zoey passed on the opportunity to ruin my life.
“She just fed me a bunch of BS about you falsely accusing her of sleeping with Blake. Said that she was done with you, but I know her, and I know you. I didn’t buy it for a second.”
“So, you’re not mad at me?”
“Mad at you?” She looks at me like I’m mental. “Kass, I only hung out with her to hang out with you.”
I could cry when she says that. Come to think of it, Morgan and Zoey never made plans that didn’t include me. Meanwhile, I’d hang out with Morgan alone on a regular basis. I’ve known Morgan four years, while I’ve known Zoey for thirteen.
This just goes to show that how long you’ve known someone doesn’t mean squat. The person you met a few days ago might just be the one to pull out the knife your oldest friend drove into your back.
“I guess that means I can finally say it.” She closes her eyes as though she wants to relish in it. “God, I hate that bitch.”
We both break into laughter.
“Get in here.” She sidles aside to let me in. Her house is the same it’s always been: clean, quiet, and empty. Morgan is an only child whose parents are often required to go out of town for work. From the moment she was old enough to stay home alone, her folks trusted her to take care and entertain herself, hence her avid reader lifestyle. She says she doesn’t mind the loneliness, but I think it’s taken a toll on her.
The second we crash onto her bed, Morgan asks about my falling-out with Zoey. I fill her in on everything, from beginning to end: how Zoey slept with Blake during our entire relationship, how she threatened to go after Will to hurt me, how I ended up telling Will that I was into Luke earlier so he’d let me go. Morgan listens carefully, her eyes filled with empathy. Until she sits up straight, her palm flying to her mouth.
“Oh my God.” She gasps.
“What?” I ask.
“We’re going out.” She leaps off her bed, digging through her walk-in closet for an outfit.
Forgotten Rules: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 22
