Page 73 of The Bad Boyfriend Curse
“He was into you before he knew who your stepfather is,” Kennedy says.
I whip my head around to look at her. “Did he tell you that?”
“Yep. After that first day at CROP.”
Wow. So his flirting with me that day was genuine. “I don’t think I really started seeing him that way until I first heard him sing at Donut Den.”
“Can’t blame you for that,” Liv says. “Noah was born for the stage. Singer-songwriters are hot.” Sadie raises one brow at her girlfriend. “Champion golf players are even hotter,” Liv adds quickly.
I chuckle. “I never really understood the musician thing until Noah. I mean, one of my best friends is a musician, and there are a ton in my school. I love music, but most musicians are pretentious and dramatic. But Noah… it’s like he’s got this bad-boy image with his tattoos and clothes, and his family has some massive problems, but he’s so much deeper than he seems.”
Kennedy laughs at that. “Noah Jacobs isnota bad boy. Like, at all. He was annoyingly perfect in school.”
I smile. I judged him so badly. I shouldn’t have asked him to be my fake bad-boy boyfriend at all, because he wasnevera bad boy. “Yeah, he’s smart, and easy to talk to, and perceptive, and the fact that he still works so hard after everything he’s been through is amazing. He’s so strong.” I remember what he said to me that night, that when he was with me, he felt like he was the person he wanted to be. A tear trails down my cheek as I take a large bite of croissant. Coming here was a good idea. I’m still devastated, but it’s better to be devastated with butter and sugar than devastated without it.
Sadie and Liv are quiet for a while, before Liv tilts her head. “Sounds like you fell hard. Do you love him?”
I nod. “I do. He told me he loved me too.”
“So how are you going to get him back?” Kennedy asks. “You and Jacobs are perfect together. You can’t let him walk away from you.”
I shake my head. “No, Ihaveto let him walk away from me. Because even if I’m only recently a LeClair, I still am one. My family has done too much damage to his—taken too many choices away from his family. I want Noah to have the power to do whathewants to do for a change. And if what he wants is to walk away from me, then I’ll let him.”
“Do you think this is happening because of your curse?” Sadie asks.
I shrug. “I didn’t really believe in the curse anymore, but I was clearly wrong there.”
Kennedy and Liv look confused, so I explain the curse.
“Oh! My mom can probably fix that with tarot cards and crystals,” Kennedy says.
If only it was that easy. Nothing on my curse-avoid spreadsheet made a difference at all. “I think we misunderstood the curse, though. My family always thought the curse meant we would pick thewrongperson. And I know Noah isn’t the wrong person. I think the curse is really that bad crap will happen no matter who we pick. My family is cursed to never have healthy, drama-free relationships. I mean, Mom and Jason have a ton of drama too.”
No one says anything for a while. “It really sucks that you have to be alone, though,” Sadie says. “Maybe youshouldtry Kennedy’s mom’s crystals. Can’t hurt, can it?”
I shake my head. I am far from alone. I have these three. “Hey, Kennedy, you should tell Sadie and Liv about that Studio Ghibli festival in the city next month. It’s right up their alley.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENTruths Revealed over Pancakes
Mom and Jason come home past ten o’clock that night. I’m already in my room after having ice cream and croissants for dinner. I don’t get up to say anything to them.
I probably should, though. I’ve done a lot of thinking since getting home from The Brewberry, about Mom and how hard it’s probably been for her to deal with Jason’s circle not really accepting her. Sadie said it was heartbreaking that Mom has to change who she is in order to fit in here in Cherrybridge. And it is heartbreaking, but it’s not the same thing as me not fitting in here, because marrying Jason and moving here washerchoice. She did it because she loves him, and I guess because of that, the hard parts about being here and being Jason’s wife are a little easier. Mom gave up the life she knew to be with him, and Jason was ready to do the same for my mom, apparently.
Noah and I were only together for a short amount of time. What would I be willing to give up for Noah? Would I cut contact with the LeClairs—really with my mom—for Noah?
I don’t really need my mother anymore. I’m almost eighteen, technically an adult. My grades are still stellar. I canprobably get enough scholarships and student loans to pay for university. Mom and I have barely spoken all summer, and even before that we both kind of did our own thing. I don’t need Jason’smoney. I’ve gone most of my life without being rich, and honestly, life was easier then.
But the thought of stepping away from Mom makes me think about everything Mom gave up for me. She didn’thaveto have me. She didn’t have to raise me, either. But she did. She and Nani always talk about how much Mom sacrificed—finishing high school with her friends, having a normal college experience, having a social life, dating.
The first time Mom had to give up the life she knew was when she had me. Mom did sacrifice everything… for me. All because she loves me so much, more than Jason even. I remember, during that conversation I overheard in the kitchen, how she said that she’d told him on their very first date that she and I were a package deal. I want to believe that she would never sacrifice her relationship with me for Jason, or for any man.
But by forcing me to be here, hasn’t she sacrificed my happiness for her marriage?
I don’t get much sleep because my mind is turning over this stuff. Eventually I pick up my phone and read the comments on Keeley’s post of Noah’s song. There are hundreds of comments on Instagram, and even more on TikTok. Noah eventually posted on them both, dropping his account handles, so now he has thousands of new followers. He hasn’t posted anything new, though. There are a lot of comments wondering who his girlfriend is. No one doxes me, thankfully. I’m happythat Noah is getting all this well-deserved attention, but I’m not a part of his life anymore.
I finally fall asleep and wake late on Tuesday. When I go downstairs for breakfast, I’m surprised to see both Jason and Mom having breakfast in the dining room. Why isn’t Jason at work? Did that article by Kaitlyn and her dad cause a lot of problems for him? After the stuff Sadie told me yesterday, I’m seeing Jason differently. He’s more than just the bland rich guy. He’s loyal, dedicated, and a bit of a badass. Maybe there’s a bit of a grunge singer still in there.
“Meera, we all need to talk,” Mom says. There’s a stack of pancakes on the table. My favorite—cinnamon roll pancakes. And there’s an empty seat with a plate for me.
