Page 1 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

Chapter One

Lexi

Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the past.

I try not to groan as I stare at the pile of stuff on my bedroom floor. My mom asked me to clean out my room because I’ve kept most of these things for years and I really need to let some of it go. But ugh, how am I supposed to know what I might need in the future?

“You think we’ll be in the same classes?” my friend Finn Lansford asks from where he sits on my bed with a superhero comic. “Sucks if we don’t share at least one.”

We’re starting our junior year tomorrow at Edenbury High School, in our small town of Edenbury, Georgia, and I’m kind of a little nervous. I do okay in school, but I like having fun with my friends and goofing off instead of stressing out about school.

“As long as I share every class with at least one of you guys, I’m cool,” I say as I open a cardboard box labeled “Old Puzzles” I got from the top shelf of my closet. Our friend group consists of six guys and me, the only girl. We’re a tight group and do basically everything together.

“Are you done yet?” Finn asks as he turns a page. “You need to read this. It’s awesome.”

I give him a look. “You can help me, you know.”

He considers it for a second before shrugging and pushing his blond hair out of his dark brown eyes. “Nah.”

I roll my eyes and focus back on my work. There’s a reason I’ve been avoiding this all these years. Who wants to spend their last day of summer vacation holed up in their room going through all their junk? But Mom insisted I do this because, according to her, my room is worse than an antique store. Which issonot true.

“Forget this,” I say as I push the box away and get to my feet. “Throw me the first issue, Finn.”

A noise behind me catches my attention. When I turn around, I realize that something tumbled out of the box when I shoved it away. I’m about to spin back around, figuring I’ll pick it up later, but something about it makes me move closer.

It’s a 3D tiger shark puzzle I put together years ago. With my former best friend, Brock Hastings.

I swallow hard as I study it, the memories swarming my brain and taking complete control. I can hear our giggles and groans of frustration as we tried to fit the puzzle pieces together. And then how pleased and satisfied we were when we finally finished it afterhours. And of course I can’t forget how I accidentally dropped it, sending all of our hard work out the window. Brock wasn’t upset, though. He was so sweet. He smiled reassuringly and said it should be easier doing it a second time because we already knew what to do. He didn’t make me feel stupid or ashamed for being so clumsy. I wanted to throw my arms around him and give him the biggest hug in the world. Maybe a kiss on the cheek, too. But I didn’t. I wish I did. I wish I did a lot of things differently the last few years.

“Lexi, think fast!”

Something whacks me in the side of my face, yanking me out of the memory. The first issue of the new superhero comic. “What?” I snap at Finn.

He holds up his hands. “Geez. I was calling your name for like five minutes.”

I blink and rub my forehead. “Sorry. I was just, um…” My eyes drop to the tiger shark puzzle Brock and I glued together with special glue because there was no way in heck either of us would let that thing come apart after working so hard on it.

Finn raises questioning brows, but then he follows my gaze. His chest expands as he takes in a sigh. “Lexi—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I get down on my knees and carefully gather the puzzle into my hands, examining it closely to make sure it’s not damaged. I put it in here two years ago because I couldn’t take it sitting on my shelf anymore. Not when Brock made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want me in his life. But I would never throw it out or give it away.

After gently putting it back in the box, I sweep the comic book off the floor and make my way to my bed, bouncing onto it and gathering my curly brown hair into a high ponytail. Then I lean against the wall and start reading the comic, but I don’t make it far because I feel Finn’s eyes on me. When I raise mine to his, he looks away. I focus back on the comic, only to feel him watching me again. But he once again quickly looks away when our eyes meet.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head as he turns a page. “Nothing.”

“Liar.”

He keeps his attention on his comic.

“Fine. Whatever.”

It’s quiet as we read. I don’t mind it. The guys and I usually sit in silence when we read comics. It’s only Finn and me today, since the rest of the gang had family stuff they needed to do.

My eyes creep to the cardboard box sitting in the center of my room. I feel so…I don’t know…blah. Down. Depressed. The way I always feel when Brock slips into my mind.

“What do you think so far?” Finn asks.