Page 72 of The Bad Boyfriend Curse
“What do you mean?” Sadie asks.
“I mean, yeah, this clinic thing is supercool, but other than that, Mom’s turned into a perfect housewife. She cooks dinner every night; she wears these perfect dresses to the club; she gets her hair done. That didn’t use to be her. She used to be ascrubs-and-sweats kind of person. She loved being independent. Maybe she wants to prove that she’s good enough for Jason.”
“That a little heartbreaking,” Sadie says. “She should be herself.”
“What did Jason say after your grandparents said that racist crap to him?” Liv asks. “He’d better have stood up for her.”
Sadie chuckles. “Yeah, of course he did. He wentballisticon them. I’ll never forget it. Dinner at my grandparents’ is, like, sacred. We have to have perfect table manners, and no one can raise their voice. Grams is asticklerfor manners. But Uncle Jason said that helovedNeelam, and that she was one thousand times better than any other person he’d met. He said my grandparents had two choices—to love your mom like a daughter-in-law or lose one of their sons. He said he was more than willing to walk away from the family for her. Even walk away from his inheritance. And he said your mother knew that he would walk away from his family and money for her, and she still wanted to marry him. That was pretty much how he told us they were engaged.”
Liv whistles. “Wow. Uncle Jason’s a badass. That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. He really adores her.”
I nod, feeling myself tear up. I can’t deny it. Jason and Momdohave an amazing love story. They overcame so much. Why didn’t she tell me?
I want you with me more than I want air to breathe.
What would it be like to have someone love you that much? So much that he’d be willing to give up a rather heftyinheritance and walk away from his family? Will anyone ever love me like that? My ice cream carton is empty, and I need a lot more sugar right now. “Do you guys mind if we get out of here? I haven’t been out of the house in days. I need a change of scenery. And… baked goods.”
Liv nods immediately. “Apple fritter?”
I wince. There’s no way I’m going to Donut Den. Even though Noah probably won’t be there, I think of that place as Noah’s turf. And he doesn’t want to see me.
“Maybe The Brewberry.”
Sadie nods, understanding.
Half an hour later we are sitting in the couch area at the back of The Brewberry with lattes and croissants. I had second thoughts about coming here the moment we walked in. Donut Den might be Noah’s turf, but it totally slipped my mind that The Brewberry is Kaitlyn’s. But the place is empty, which makes sense. It’s a Monday night.
I frown after taking a bite of my almond croissant. It’s a little dry. “They should bring in the fritters from Donut Den here.”
Liv nods. She’s the big sweet tooth in their relationship. Which is why Sadie is currently taking the icing off her cupcake and giving it to Liv. Noah and I weren’t together long enough to discover where our food likes and dislikes overlap like that.
“Meera?” a small voice behind me says. I turn to see Kennedy. She’s in herSpirited AwayT-shirt and is holding a pink boba tea.
“Oh. Hi, Kennedy,” I say.
She eyes me, then Sadie and Liv across from me, looking unsure. “Are you okay?” she asks. “You weren’t at CROP. Lainey said you’re not coming anymore. Is it because of Noah?” She leans forward a bit, examining my face. “Are you crying?”
I smile, wiping my eyes. “Yeah, been a weird couple of days. This is my cousin Sadie and her girlfriend, Liv. Guys, this is Kennedy. We were in the park restoration project together.”
Kennedy looks at Sadie and Liv for a moment, and I half expect her to growl at them, but instead her face transforms into a huge smile. “You’re wearing Totoro earrings!” she says to Liv.
I chuckle. These three have the same taste in Japanese animation. Kennedy has a lot in common with Sadie and Liv, when she’s not growling. But they’ve never been friends because of the stupid river that divides this town in so many ways.
“Do you want to join us?” I ask. I look at Sadie and Liv, and they both nod that it’s fine with them.
Kennedy comes around the sofa to sit next to me. “I need to know what’s going on because Jacobs barely said a word in CROP today, and he wouldn’t tell us what was wrong. We knew it had to do with you, though. I’ve never seen him like this, and I’ve known him forever.”
I blink. So Noah did go to CROP? I don’t know why I assumed he skipped it. But he never skips. He’s more like me than I realized when I met him.
“Yeah,” Liv says. “I don’t fully understand what happened.You were pretend dating. Then you were secretlyreallydating? How did you even go from friends or whatever to dating?”
I tell them, mostly for Kennedy’s benefit, the short summary of our relationship, and tell them what happened at Sadie’s grandparents’.
“He said he didn’t need a savior,” I finish. “Like the only reason I was with him was to rescue him or something.”
“Ouch,” Kennedy says. “That’s harsh. It’s not true, is it?”
I frown, shaking my head. “No, of course not. Ididwant to help him. That’s what relationships are for, right? It’s not why I was with him, though. I was with him because…” I pause, thinking. “He pushed me to be me. Like, I know I’m super ambitious, and can be single-minded about my goals, but he showed me that I don’t have to lose myself under the pressure. He saw the best in me, so I wanted him to be the best he could be too.” No one says anything for a bit, but they’re all watching me like they can feel my heartbreak too. “If Jason LeClair wasn’t my stepfather and I did all those things for Noah, no one would accuse me of trying to be hissavior. I can’t do anything about who my mom married. And Noah knew who my stepfather was.”
