Page 10 of Only When It Breaks

Emmie

I told myself I’d hate it. Hate him. But our brief encounters, mixed with the messages, are forcing me to accept that Kai Banks is actually quite fun.

I roll onto my back and smile as I read the message he just sent.

Kai: What does a guy have to do to get his phone back.

I chew on my lower lip, thinking of a response.

Me: Beg

Kai: I prefer to beg in person. Meet me?

Me: I want to keep the mystery a little longer, gym boy.

Kai: What did you do tonight?

Me: Watched you . . . from afar.

Kai: So you were at my party.

Me: I’m surprised you noticed with Bella hanging off you the entire time.

Kai: Are you jealous?

I think over his words. Am I? I shudder. Absolutely not. Bella is a desperate hoe, and he can do whatever he wants with her. At his own risk.

Kai: Okay, so you’re not jealous?

Me: Not every girl wants to sleep with you, Kai.

Kai: Really? You’re hurting my pride here.

I smile. But let’s face it, if I didn’t have his phone, I wouldn’t even make it onto his radar.

My phone rings, and I accept Ava’s call. There’s a sniffling sound before she speaks and I frown. She’s crying. “Em?”

I sit up. “Yeah, I’m here. Are you okay?”

“Not really.” She sniffles some more. “I let Austin . . .” More sniffles. “I let him kiss me.”

“Was it that bad?”

“He laughed in my face. Said it was the worst kiss he’d ever had.” She bursts into tears, and my chest fills with rage. “Andthen Henry jumped out from behind a tree, and he was filming the entire thing.”

“I’ll kill them,” I mutter.

“No, I don’t want you to do anything. I just needed to talk about it.” When it comes to confrontation, Ava is very much a ‘back seat’ kind of girl. She hates it. But me, I am raring to go. Especially when it involves my friend.

“There are other ways to make them pay,” I say, staring at Kai’s phone. “But they’re not getting away with this.”

I disconnect and power up Kai’s mobile. It bleeps over and over as numerous messages come through. Most he’s seen from his old phone. One from Bella catches my eye, and I open it.

Bella: I don’t understand what your problem is, Kai. I’m literally begging, you and you’d rather chat with that freak girl. Wtf!

It brings a smile to my face.

Next, I open WhatsApp and notice a lot of messages in their chat, entitled ‘Boys’. Howoriginal.I scroll back to the beginning, and before I’ve even pressed play, I know it’s the video of Ava. I wince as I watch, and if I didn’t know the truth behind it, I’d almost fall for his charm, too. Ava certainly does, staring into his eyes like a lovesick puppy as he cups her face.Pig.

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