Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1)(21)

But my eighteenth birthday was right around the corner, and I hoped that he’d ignored her. I didn’t want to rely on Dash anymore.

It was surprising to some that Mom and Dad were amicable, considering he still loved her. When I’d asked, he’d stated he was too old to try to keep someone who didn’t want to be kept. He’d respected Mom’s decision to have her own life, as well as her honesty, no matter how much it’d pained him when she decided to leave him.

He’d never remarried. Though I knew at fifty-six that wasn’t likely in the cards, I still wanted him to be happy.

When the table was spotless, and I figured I’d ignored the devil in my room long enough, I squared my shoulders and decided to get it over with. It was my freaking room, after all. He didn’t get to make me avoid my own personal space.

He was playing the Xbox, his boots kicked to the floor, and his eyes bloodshot.

“Are you stoned?”

“Who cares if I am?”

I shook my head and shut the door. “What are you doing here?”

He cursed as his player died and then tossed the controller aside. “School is starting tomorrow. This tantrum needs to stop; it’s been forty-eight hours.”

“I haven’t been counting.” I moved to my desk, pushing some magazines aside to set my box back in the corner.

“But you admit to having a tantrum, right?”

I counted backward from ten, then turned around. “I’m not being a brat about this. You deliberately interfered with my life, my feelings, and my self-esteem.”

He looked like he was about to roll his eyes, then caught himself. “If it walks like a brat, talks like a brat, and is still carrying on like a brat …” His gaze fell on me, blank and callous. “Then it’s probably a brat.”

Fuck this. “Okay, bye Dash. Window is that way.” I grabbed my phone, then the door, and shut it behind me, annoyed beyond reason that I had to leave my own room.

Byron had been texting me since our date, but I had no new messages today. I’d contemplated texting him, but I didn’t want to come across as too eager.

Dash remained in my room, or left, I didn’t know. I plonked down onto the couch and unlocked my phone. When I went to open a new message to Byron, I frowned as I discovered some marked as read from him that I hadn’t read yet.



Byron: What kind of flowers do you like?



Byron: Ok, so that was probably random. But I’m excited to see you tomorrow.



Rage engulfed me when I realized what Dash had done.

He’d opened my messages and read through them all. There was nothing too embarrassing said between us, but that didn’t matter. He’d taken this stupid game a step further and snooped.

Thankfully, he hadn’t responded.



Me: Sorry, Daphne and Willa were over. I love sunflowers, and I’m excited too. :D



Byron: Sunflowers, huh? What were you guys up to?



After texting back and forth for a while, I finally returned to my room. It was empty, and the window was closed.





Peggy



The giant ivy-covered gates of Magnolia Cove Preparatory were opened.

The two acres on which the castle-like structure sat upon a cliff face was a glowing green, the summer heat no match for the top-of-the-line irrigation system and the landscapers kept on payroll by the school.

The gray wood and stone building, which was larger than most mansions in the area, was draped in moss and serpentine whorls of greenery, disguising the age and dressing it in classic beauty.

The hedges were trimmed, the lampposts polished, and the parking lot almost full as Mom’s car crept closer to the drop-off zone.

At least when I rode with Dash, no one snickered at Mom’s small, ordinary SUV.

“Let them be shallow dicks,” Mom said, giving the stink eye to a few onlookers as we pulled up. “I’ve driven cars even their fat trust funds couldn’t afford to buy. It’s only money on wheels.”

“Love you, Mom.” I blew her a kiss, which she caught and pocketed, then I dragged my backpack from the back seat and shut the door.

Daphne was waiting by the fountain, tapping away on her phone as Reese Dillon tried to talk to her. Daphne’s light green blouse was tight over her chest, and her plaid skirt barely hit mid-thigh. She wore her black socks to her knees like most girls and finished off the ensemble with black heels. Me? Well, I just threw my blouse, skirt, and shin-high socks on, then did my best to lace my boots while I was still fast asleep most mornings.

This morning, I had every intention of getting up early to do my hair and makeup, but I’d hit snooze on my alarm and passed back out. I’d managed a quick brush through my hair and an application of mascara in the car on the way here, though.

“Thank God,” Daphne said beneath her breath, grabbing my hand and pocketing her phone. “Bye, Reese.”

I waved at Reese, who stared after us with his hands in his pockets. “Reese is nice.”

“I don’t want nice. Nice is boring.”

“Nice is underrated, trust me,” I said, tugging my skirt down when I felt the breeze kiss my thighs.

“Dash is apparently one hell of a hookup, so don’t judge before you try.”

I feigned ignorance even as my stomach dipped. “Ew.” My nose wrinkled as we neared the steps. “I haven’t been awake long enough for that.”