Page 2 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s awesome.”

Finn narrows his eyes at me, then focuses back on his comic. I barely finish the first page because memories of Brock attack my mind. I guess I haven’t been obsessing over him and what happened between us lately. Like I did the last four years since he left for Boston to live with his grandparents. Does that mean I’m finally getting over him?

But if that were the case, why do I feel like my insides have been turned into mashed potatoes?

With a sigh, Finn chucks his comic book away. “Are you thinking about him again?”

With my eyes on my issue, I mutter, “I’m not thinking about anyone.”

“Yeah, right.”

I ignore him.

“You should just throw the puzzle away. It’s clearly not healthy for you.”

I raise my eyes long enough to give him a glare.

“Come on, Lexi. It’s been four years. Shouldn’t you be over him?”

I glare at him again. “He was your best friend, too, Finn. How could you just throw him out of your life like that? How could any of you throw him away like that?”

“You know all of us miss him just as much as you do, and we would do anything to have him back. But he doesn’t want to have anything to do with us, Lexi.Hedoesn’t wantusin his life.”

I look away, fighting the tears battling to break through.

Finn sighs softly as he shifts closer to me, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Lexi, we need to move on.Youneed to move on. I get that you and him…well, you guys were super close. But you’ve been crying over him for four years.Four years, Lexi. That’s insane.”

I look into his eyes. “What are you saying? That I should just forget about him?”

“What I’m saying is…” He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “What I’m saying is that he’s holding you back from living your life and being happy.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “That’s not true.”

“It’s not? Haven’t you been hoping the last four years that he would talk to you? Why should he determine your happiness?I’m not calling him a bad person—you know I love him just as much as you do—but you need to accept the reality. Brock is not the Brock we grew up with. He’s a different person. And if you don’t accept it, you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life.”

Every part of me wants to yell that it’s not true. Four years isn’t that long, is it? After what Brock has been through, it’s understandable that he’d behave the way he’s behaving. Who are we to judge? But the other part of me can’t help but admit Finn is right. I have been crying over Brock for the past four years. Hoping and dreaming for the day he would finally text me or call me. Or answer the letter I wrote him two years ago. But he’s always done everything possible to avoid me. A deep part of me knows that he hasn’t stepped foot in Edenbury because he doesn’t want to run into me.

Finn now has both hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “We don’t have to forget him, but we could try to move on. You deserve to be happy, Lexi. You deserve to be with someone who will treat you right. Someone who…” He swallows and his voice shakes a little as he says, “Someone who will actually be there for you.”

I stare at him for a few seconds, then scoot away when I catch the emotions dancing across his face. “Finn…what exactly are you saying?”

His cheeks are pink as he scratches his neck. Averting his gaze to my bedspread, he says in a low voice, “You haven’t noticed?”

“Noticed…?”

“How I am around you?” He slowly lifts his eyes to me.

My heart starts to pound in panic. I don’t want to hear this. Not Finn, the closest guy in my life since Brock. When I slide off my bed, he says, “Please don’t run away.”

“We’re just friends, Finn.”

“We don’t have to be.” He reaches for my hand and guides me back on the bed. “I’ve been feeling this way for a while now and…” He takes in a shaky breath. “I’m just going to admit it. I like you, Lexi. I’ve had a crush on you for a while. I haven’t said anything because of the whole Brock situation, but it kills me to see you so unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Of course you are! You’re letting him break your heart like this.”

Tears flash in my eyes. “How can you talk about him like that? You’re making him sound like such a jerk. But he’s not. Youknowhe’s not. He’s been through something so horrible.”