How to Not Fall for My Boss ✔

13.2 High School Bliss (part 2)

"Are you okay?" Luke's deep voice vibrates from the pantry door.

Cobie quickly wipes her tears with the back of her hand. "Yeah."

"You're crying?" Luke's question feels more like a confirmation of her state of emotion. Before she has a chance to reply, Luke is already in front of her, towering over her. "What happened?"

Cobie looks down, hiding her tears from him. "I don't know if I should talk about it."

"Why not? It will help you get it off your chest, at least, and maybe help you think more clearly afterward."

Cobie covers her eyes with one hand, sobbing quietly while her other hand holds her elbow in place. Luke hurries to his room and comes back with a box of tissues in hand. He stands there before her, waiting patiently until she stops weeping.

"I screwed up. Big time. I thought I did what I had to do to keep my little sister from harm. But instead, I broke her." Luke doesn't reply but he intently fixes his gaze on her, a sign that he's listening. "I was so relieved that she and her boyfriend, the guy, Harry, finally broke up for good. I never agreed with the idea of them dating in the first place because of how he is."

"Is he bad news for her?"

"Yeah. No. I'm sorry. My mind is all over the place right now. I might sound a bit confusing to you."

"I can follow you perfectly. Don't worry."

"I mean, they're just so different. Harry is an outgoing person, lowkey liberal, smart, ambitious, and well, he can be quite a handful. While my sister is" —Cobie bites her inner cheek— "quite dependent, insecure, and often nervous with changes."

"I see. The opposite attraction."

"Yeah, that's the words for their situation." She nods. "And we know the opposite attraction just won't last, in most cases. I just couldn't see how they were going to stay together in the long term. And the fact Harry was pretty famous at our uni, made my sister even more nervous to be his girlfriend. She experienced backlash and intimidation from other girls, and Harry wasn't there enough to have her back. He always wanted Rose to be independent and able to stand for herself."

"And it became too much for your sister?"

Cobie nods and sighs in defeat. "Yeah. And I didn't help her at all. This is actually the part I regret the most. I encouraged her to be that way because of my anxiety about dealing with a guy like Harry. I made Rose live my fear and see the world from my point of view when she had her battle to fight, her own story to write."

Cobie picks a few pieces of tissues from Luke's hand and blows her nose. "I swear I just wanted to protect her from boys like Harry. I mean, he's a good guy but the way he handled Rose was just not the way my mom and I would do her. Rose is too fragile for that. She received shitty treatment from our dad when she was a child, and she doesn't deserve to go through another hell when she's older, you know? At least that was what I thought. But now I can see that my protection doesn't help her toughen up, and it bites me back."

"Are you saying it's your fault that they broke up?"

Cobie nods. "Long story short, I held back information about me and Harry in the past, or even the drunk call last Friday just because I didn't want to make her worried. She found out and hell broke loose. She's hating me now." Tears escape her eyes again. "I just didn't want her to go through the things I did."

Luke doesn't respond for a few seconds, seemingly having a problem processing her reply. "What happened to you back then, Cobie? If you don't mind me asking."

Cobie crosses her arms over her chest, still fixing her gaze on the floor. "I went through public humiliation when I was in high school. I got knocked up, and everyone thought I was a whore."