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“How’s baby doing?” I asked, looking down at the slight bump that was starting to show. We had been living together for years, and I had mixed feelings about it. I was happy she found Evan, but I was sad I no longer had my best friend down the hall from me every day.
Lila rubbed her hand over said bump and smiled. “Doing great. Doctor says everything is as it should be at three months.”
“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you. Seeing you pregnant make me so proud of you and a little jealous.”
"Jealous?” said Lila offended.
“Don’t take it the wrong way. You know what happened with my father. All I ever wanted is a family of my own, but I fear my temper is chasing men away. I have Shellene, Remi and you as a family, that’s it.”
“We will always have each other.” Lila hugged me.
“I can’t wait to be an aunt,” I said, feeling my eyes start to water, so it was time to hightail it out of there. “I need to prepare in a hurry. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
“No worries; I’ll let the girls know we’ll be half an hour late,” Lila said.
I walked back to my room trying to shake off the feeling of emptiness. Even if I was happy for Lila’s happiness, I was alone, and it was terrifying. I had no real family and I had always been on the run all my life. I had worked hard to get myself off the streets after running away from home while I was a teen.
Things had been really bad at home and I knew if I didn’t leave I would not have a future, so, one night, I packed a few clothes, a picture of me and my sister, a few essentials, and I left when everyone was asleep. It killed me to have to leave my baby sister behind, but I couldn’t survive in the streets and worry about her at the same time. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to, so I had no way to take her with me. If I ever got my life back together, I promised myself I would come back for her, because my worst fear and biggest regret were that by running away, I was failing my mother and sister somehow. Saving what was left of the Blackwell family was proving to be a daunting task, near close to impossible because I was fought each and every step of the way, but I had to keep trying.
Moving to Lila’s had been the best decision of my life. Living with healthy adults for once had given me the time and the environment I needed to heal a little after all those years of torment. However, inside I was still the same little girl who had lived on the streets. Quick to anger, cold and a pain in the ass sometimes. Because the need to survive and the constant fear you live in stick with you long after you leave the streets and find the comfort of a bed and the safety of four walls.
I knew I was far from being Miss Congeniality, but I guess sleeping in the streets for a few years wouldn’t bring the best out of anyone.
Could I ever be a mother like Lila? I was so scared of my father’s evil side that I didn’t even want to think of it.
Shaking myself off the funk I’d pulled myself into, I remembered I had more important things to focus on. I was almost thankful for Thane’s stupid prank that got me mad instead of letting me feeling depressed.
I smiled thinking of all the evil ways I would get back at him.
As I was putting my makeup on—I was a makeup minimalist—I thought about what Thane had done and was still in shock at his blatant nastiness. I had never liked him much, everyone knew that. He seemed much too self-important and greedy for my taste. Besides, Lila had filled me in on the shady business dealings he was part of. I cringed at the thought.
Lila and I arrived at Versailles about 40 minutes later and joined Shellene and Remi, who were already halfway done with their drinks. Lila explained what happened when we sat down, and they stared at me with dumbfounded looks on their faces.
“Don’t even go there. If I start talking about it, I’ll get up, drive to his house, punch his lights out, and send him to the hospital with fatal injuries. Let’s skip the conversation about it and order, shall we?” I had no desire to dredge up the humiliating incident. Besides, I needed to brew over my revenge alone.
Remi leaned over and took my hand. “I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve if you’re interested.” She winked at me. I loved Remi. She was the jester in our close-knit circle. You could always rely on her to come up with a good scheme. She was also the redhead in our group, with creamy ivory skin and a plethora of freckles dotting her face and body (something she detested more than anything). Moss-green eyes turned into half-moons when she laughed, which was the majority of the time.
“I will likely call on you later for some ideas, but I’m only interested in the ones that will hurt his ego,” I told her.
“Well, his ego is an easy target due to its intense size,” Lila said. We all laughed.
“Okay, so let’s get to the topic of Julian Fletcher, that wretched excuse for an adult male,” Shellene said. We all agreed. Shellene was my polar opposite, bless her heart. She was the soft-hearted one of the bunch, with short, wheat-blonde hair mixed with purple highlights, and intense gray-blue eyes. A little shorter than the rest of us, but she made up for it with heart. A magical personality, both gentle and sweet, she was always trying to keep the peace and always looking for prince charming. Oh, and did I mention? Flirtatious as all hell! I didn’t love her any less. On the contrary, I felt like I had to look after her to make sure no one took advantage of her kindness and soft heart. I felt I had failed her, by not protecting her from the male-whore. I was not even around but I still feel responsible. But it was not going to happen again. I would make sure of it.
The waiter took our order, but not before Shellene flirted with him. He took it in stride, flirting back and making her day. She watched him leave and swooned when he left to put our orders into the kitchen.
“Man, I’d like to get a taste of that.”
“So, ask him out,” Remi suggested, twirling a strand of deep red hair around her finger.
“Nah, he’s too young for me. I like them older and more mature,” Shellene said. She turned her attention back to the table and smiled. “Sorry, good-looking men are meant to be ogled.” Shellene had taken herself out of the dating game after her heartbreak over Julian, aka man-whore, but was getting ready to jump back in with both feet.
“So, whose turn is it to ruin one of Julian’s dates?”
“I believe it’s mine,” I said, grinning. “Welcome to the Broken Hearts Club, once again, ladies. Let’s reminisce about why we’re doing this. Julian Fletcher—the man who makes a game out of winning women’s hearts just to use them and toss them into the trash. We’ve all had our hearts trampled by this anti-hero at one time or another. So, here’s to crushing Julian’s chances of breaking anyone else’s heart.”
“Here, here.” Everyone agreed and held up their glasses.
“Do you have any ideas on how you will do it?” Shellene asked.
