Page 6 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

Finn: Not cool, Coop.

Cooper: Dudes, he’s been blowing us off since he left. You think he wants to be best friends with us all of a sudden?

Nate: Assuming he’s actually back for good.

Dean: Where’s Lexi?

Finn: Dunno. I hung out with her earlier, but she took off.

I’m not really in the mood to text with the guys because I still haven’t processed my interaction with Brock, but they sometimes get overprotective of me, and the last thing I want is them calling my mom and freaking her out.

Lexi: I’m here. Stopped by the Hastings’s to see Brock. I’m on my way home.

Finn: Need a ride, Lexi?

Lexi: I’m good, thanks.

Gael: You saw Brock? How is he?

Lexi: He seems okay. I only stayed for like a minute. He was busy unpacking and I didn’t want to disturb him.

Cooper: Maybe he just didn’t want you around.

Finn: Coop, shut up.

Cooper: Just keeping it real.

Lexi: Let’s give him space. If he’s here to stay, it’s probably hard for him to adjust. He’ll talk to us if and when he wants to. Hopefully we’ll see him at school tomorrow.

Theo: Lexi’s right. Let’s give the guy breathing room.

The rest of them agree, though Cooper suspects Brock has no intention of being friends with us again. The thought of that makes my stomach churn, but I have to remind myself that it doesn’t matter how I feel. Brock is the one who went through a tragedy, and if he feels it’s best that his old friends are not part of his life…I’ll have to accept it. No matter how hard it is.

Mom is in the living room when I come home, watching a rom-com. She smiles when I walk in and pats the spot near her on the sofa. “Want to watch this movie with me, sweetie? I was just about to start it.”

“Sure.” I’m not the biggest fan of rom-coms, but it’ll be nice to take my mind off Brock for an hour and a half. Though perhaps it’s not the best choice, considering this movie will have a lot of romance in it, which will definitely remind me of Brock.

“I just hung up with Sky,” Mom says. “She’s adjusting well to her new semester. I can’t believe this is her last year of college. The years have flown by so fast.”

My older sister, Skylar, is studying animation in college. I spoke to her last night, and I suspect she’s seeing someone at school because she couldn’t stop smiling and I heard her phone beeping like every thirty seconds. When I asked her why she’s so happy and who the heck was texting her so much, she said it was no one. Yeah, right. I’m so going to stalk her social media later and search for the mystery guy, though Sky doesn’t post that much.

My older brother, Aidan, married his wife, Ava Knight, last year. The Knights are the richest family in Edenbury, but they’re so down to Earth and awesome. Ava’s mom, Dani, is my dance instructor and she was even on Broadway! Both Aidan and Ava work in her dad Easton’s company, and they’re so lovey-dovey with each other.

“Did you have a good walk?” Mom asks.

Keeping my eyes on the TV screen, I say, “I went to the Hastings’s house. Brock came home today.”

Mom sits up sharply and pauses the movie. With wide and concerned eyes, she turns to me, taking my hand. “How did it go?”

“Um…okay, I guess.”

She searches my face. “Just okay?”

I raise my shoulders. “I didn’t want to disturb him, so I didn’t stay long. It’ll be hard for him to adjust, so I think I need to give him space.”

Mom nods slowly as she thinks. “It can’t be easy returning here, where he’ll be constantly reminded of the past.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as the horrible words I said to him start to invade my mind. No.No. Stay out. You’re not allowed to ever see the light of day.