Page 26 of The Best Friend Experiment
Her heart squeezed in her chest and she swallowed, flustered by his sweetness, but also a little concerned about his negative self-image. This wasn’t the first time tonight he’d seemed to put himself down.
The thing was, this wasn’t new behavior for him. Beneath his surface veneer of confidence and ease, Dylan had always been overly modest, bordering on low self-esteem.
Brooke blamed his mother for it. Mrs. Price was a real piece of work. For years, Brooke had watched her aim passive-aggressive barbs at her son, subtly cutting him down and undermining his self-worth. She’d convinced him he was stupid because he struggled in school, when she could have been getting him the help he needed instead. Once he hit puberty, she started riding him about his appearance too, practically bullying him into putting more effort into his looks by convincing him it was all he was good for.
It’s a good thing you’re so handsome, Brooke remembered his mom telling him more than once.You’d be in trouble if you had to rely on your brains to get ahead. Mrs. Price was always saying stuff like that to him. Was it any wonder he’d internalized the idea that he was dumb and only useful for his looks?
“How’s your mom these days?” Brooke asked, trying not to sound too sour. “She must be loving all this success you’re having.”
It was Dylan’s mom who’d pushed him toward modeling and managed the Instagram account that helped him get his first agent. Brooke was convinced she’d only done it for the secondhand attention she derived from his growing popularity. As his social media presence started to take off, his mom had blossomed into a full-fledged stage mother, pursuing product endorsements and partnerships with other online influencers, and taking all the credit for Dylan’s success.
Until he caught the attention of one of the big New York agencies. When he was only twenty-one, he was offered a contract that paid well enough for him to quit his job as a line cook and leave Baton Rouge and his mom behind.
Brooke figured it had to smart a little, that he’d grown so successful he didn’t need his mother running his life for him anymore. He’d even gotten his own social media manager to take over his Instagram account, leaving his mother with no role to play in his professional life, and no way to bask in his reflected glory except from afar.
Dylan rolled his eyes. “She loves the check I send home every month, that’s for sure.”
“You’re still sending them money?”
“Dad’s company laid him off last year. He got a new job selling power washing services, but it pays a lot less than he was making before.”
“I’m sorry.”
Dylan shrugged. “It happens. That’s why I put half of every paycheck into savings. I don’t want to be dependent on anyone when I get older. This modeling gig won’t last forever, so I’ve got to plan for the future.”
Brooke was impressed. If she put half her paycheck into savings, she wouldn’t have enough left to pay her rent. She was lucky her grandmother had set up a college fund for her. Most of her undergrad expenses had been covered by scholarships, so she still had a decent chunk left to subsidize her living expenses while she finished grad school. It was the only reason she could afford to have her own place without having to deal with roommates.
“Do your parents come up to visit you in New York much?” she asked Dylan.
He leaned back and rubbed his stomach, exposing an alluring strip of skin that Brooke quickly looked away from. “My dad did once, about a year after I moved up there. I got my parents tickets toWicked, and my mom dragged him through every store in Times Square. He hated every second of it, and hasn’t been back since.”
Dylan’s father was the prototypical distant dad. Brooke had only interacted with him a handful of times, even though she’d been in and out of his house every day when she was growing up. He was always either at work or holed up in his den with the TV tuned to one of the sports channels. Mr. Price’s den had been strictly off-limits to the kids, and on the rare occasions he ventured out, he hardly spoke at all.
“My mom used to come up to visit about once a year,” Dylan said, rubbing his palms on his thighs. “But she hasn’t been in a while. Which is honestly fine with me. It’s stressful having to entertain her.” His eyes slid over to Brooke. “You been home to see your folks lately?”
She looked away. “Nope.”
Dylan knew things were strained between her and her parents, but he didn’t know why. Every time he’d tried to bring up the subject, she’d been vague and evasive, until eventually he’d gotten the message and stopped asking.
“So…” he started hesitantly. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk about it, but I’ve been wanting to ask how your dad’s chemo is going.”
Brooke froze. Very slowly, she turned to look at Dylan. “My dad’s what?”
“My mom told me he started chemotherapy last week for his prostate cancer. Sorry if it was supposed to be a secret.” He paused, frowning at what he must have seen in her expression. “You knew, didn’t you?”
Brooke didn’t know what to say.
She had no words. None.
Because this was the first she’d heard about her dad having cancer or undergoing chemo.
Chapter Seven
Brooke stood up. She didn’t know what to do with herself, but she couldn’t sit still so she started pacing across the living room.
“Fuck, Brooke, I’m so sorry.” Dylan looked stricken. “I didn’t mean to blindside you. I assumed you knew.”
She snorted derisively. “Yeah, that would be the logical assumption, wouldn’t it? You’d think someone would have told me if my dad had cancer.” She paced over to the coffee table and picked up Dylan’s beer. There was only a little left, but she swigged it all down.
