Hard Fall (Trophy Boyfriends #2) - Sara Ney Page 0,56
about you crying.”
I begin shaking my head to refuse, but since I started the story, I know I have to finish it—she needs to hear what a pussy I am.
“My brother found me in the bathroom and called our mom—he was also a giant loser with no car—and she came to pick us up. I refused to tell them what had happened, so the entire ride home—we had to sit in the back—Tripp was giving me charley horses for being a baby.”
“That wasn’t nice.”
“In my defense, I had snot running out of my nose, and I was inconsolable.”
“You said you weren’t sobbing.”
“Men say a lot of things so they sound masculine. I try to block the whining and crying part of this story out of my memory.”
“Go on. So then what?”
“Then…when we got back to the house, I raced up my stairs and threw myself on the bed and continued bawling into my comforter. Then I got out my yearbook and looked at her picture and cried some more. I listened to my CD of the song we’d just danced to, by the boy band whose name I can’t remember.”
Another lie. It was the Backstreet Boys, the song was “The One”, and it touched me because it was about soulmates and that’s what that liar Stacy Blinkiwitcz was to me.
Allegedly.
“That’s…a very dramatic story.”
I look to the sky. “Tell me about it. Try living through it.” I raise my brows. “Do you think my older brother let me live that shit down? The answer is no. Last Christmas he got four of the five members of the band to FaceTime me and sing the song.”
Sometimes being famous has its perks, but I didn’t think that was as hilarious as my family did.
Bunch of assholes. Even Dad thought it was hysterical.
“And you have no idea what the song was?” She doesn’t believe that I don’t remember.
I shake my head adamantly. Press my lips together. “Nope.”
“Oh you are such a liar!”
“No, Stacy Blinkiwitcz is a liar!”
Hollis cannot stop laughing. “How?”
“She knew she was going to dump me and waited until the dance, publicly humiliating me. It was premeditated—a premeditated dumping.”
“That’s what everyone does in lower grades because not a single one of us had balls.”
I raise my chin. “I had balls.”
“By default.” Hollis stares off into the cityscape, studying the skyline. Then, “Could you have done it? Could you have broken up with you? I bet you were pretty darn cute.”
I shrug. “I was okay—a few hearts were probably broken before Stacy crushed mine. But…I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Breaking up with someone isn’t easy.”
“No, it’s horrible, even when they treat you like shit. Because when it’s tumultuous, the breakup ends up being a huge screaming match. On the other hand, if it’s amicable or the other person doesn’t see it coming, that’s just as bad, because he or she is blindsided—like you were when Stacy dumped you.”
“I’m still not over it,” I say stubbornly with a grin.
Hollis smiles. “What do you suppose Stacy is doing right now?”
My mouth shifts in thought. “Mmm, probably a reporter for tabloids, spreading fake news. Or an actress.”
That makes her laugh. “Seriously? She’s probably a nurse or something. Or a teacher. I bet she’s changed, no longer breaking hearts.”
“Lonely hearts club,” I say.
My hand goes to the tabletop, resting on its cool surface, palm spread, facing the sky. I don’t know why I place it there, but I’m surprised when Hollis leans forward and extends her hand, placing it in mine.
Electricity shoots up my arm, straight to my chest.
“Thank you for coming over. You really cheered me up.” She’s sort of beaming at me, happy and glad, cheeks rosy.
I glance behind us, into the house, searching for a glimpse of Madison. “Your friend in there wasn’t getting the job done?”
“Maddie was too angry on my behalf to have done any good—I would rather be smiling than pissed off. I’ve done too much of that, and I’m over it. Marlon isn’t worth it. I know that now.”
She’s right, he isn’t worth it, and maybe someday he won’t be such a fucking asshole that women blindly follow around—but for now, he’s toxic to anyone he’s in a relationship with. Including his friends, I imagine.
I detest dudes like that.
I like Noah Harding, Miranda, my parents, and like, three other people.
Plus construction, ice cream, and riding mopeds when I’m on vacation.
Not necessarily in that order.
“Is she even here anymore?” I can’t see Madison through the glass.