@teafortanya for cover!
Bad boys and puppies, what more could you ask for?
Julian Parker and his twin brother Mason are the bad boys. They smoke, do drugs and break girls' hearts on the daily. If it weren't for their labrador retriever puppy, Evie...
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♥
I slammed the front door shut and ran up the stairs, my cheeks wet with tears. I burst into my room and right into the open arms of Kiera.
"Oh hon," she soothed, letting me cry into her shoulder. "What happened?"
I kept crying. God, I was so tired of crying, but it just never stopped. The past seven months, I'd spent most of my days crying. When would it end?
"I pushed him out," I sobbed. "I-I said I wanted nothing to do with him." I broke down all over again. I didn't realise it until right now, but I still loved him. After everything that had happened with Owen, my feelings for Mike were pushed aside; forgotten about. It wasn't until right now that I'd forced him out of my life that I realised just exactly what I'd done to him.
"It's what you need," Kiera reassured, tucking my hair behind my ears. "Right now, you need to focus on you. No distractions, no reminders." She smiled sadly. "Except for me, of course," she joked.
I managed a weak smile, still silently crying. "Maybe I'm not ready,"
She shook her head. "No, you're ready. And you know what'll make you feel better? The party this weekend. It's the best type of distraction."
I stepped out of her embrace, finally calmed down enough to stop crying. "I don't know," I said, taking a seat on my bed. Kiera followed. "I know I told everyone yes, but after that," I nodded to where we were just stood, moments prior, "I don't want that to happen at a party."
"Just give it a go. I know plenty of people who'd appreciate you going."
She was talking about Jake. Could I really get back into the swing of things? Jake was just as important to me as Mike was, and look what had just happened. But then again, Jake and I were never anything more than casual hookups and friends. I sighed.
"Fine."
■ ■ ■
The next day at school passed by without any drama, which took me by surprise. I'd almost started crying when I walked past Owen's old locker and saw an old post-it note still stuck to it. "You'll be missed, R.I.P" was written on it. But besides that, everything was smooth sailing. Mike had taken my outburst seriously, and I hadn't seen him at all. I felt bad, but I was grateful.
"You need a lift home?" Kiera asked, meeting me at my locker.
I shook my head, swinging my backpack on. "It's Therapy Tuesday," I said. "I'll be walking to Dr. Folley's."
"You sure? I can drop you off," she insisted, but I shook my head again. "I enjoy the walk."
She smiled and nodded. "Alright, well text me when you're home."
