Page 150 of Loved

I pressed my lips together.

“Especially after what you both did to Professor McCarty? Don’t either of you ever think before punching someone?”

Ian stayed quiet even though he’d been there with us when we visited Professor McCarty.

“I thought they were your best friends. Who punches their best friends?”

Rob turned around to look at us from the front seat. “You saw what they said. They’re a sack of dicks.”

“Maybe they were provoked by what you two said to them? Did you ever think about that?”

“I didn’t say shit to them,” Rob said.

“Well one of you did. Something about their parents hating them? Or…loving Brooklyn or something? I don’t know. I’m so confused. I thought you guys grew up in Manhattan? Why did Matt say you loved Brooklyn more than him? At least, I think that was Matt. I didn’t exactly get the introduction I was promised.”

Rob and I glanced at each other.

“Great, you’re not going to tell me.” She threw up her hands. “Just keep me in the dark like always.”

“Penny.” I grabbed her hand but she pulled away from me.Fair.“I think maybe Isabella set us up.”

“What?” Penny and Rob both said at the same time.

“That invitation always felt off. When I first got it, I was worried about it being from Isabella. But then I texted Mason and I thought he said it was from him.” I shook my head. “But I don’t know. Maybe he just said he was excited to see me too. Because he got an invitation from…me? I saw it in his hand. And I didn’t fucking send it.”

Penny just stared at me.

“And there was a polaroid on the ground next to Matt. I definitely didn’t send that.” And I was pretty sure I knew what it had said. That Brooklyn loved me more than him.Fuck.I never would have said that to him. “And Rob didn’t send it.”I hope.“Right, Rob?”

“No,” he said. “Shit, are you serious right now? Isabella did this?”

“Isabella is the only one who knows the four of us well enough to get under our skin. And we played this dumb prank in high school one Thanksgiving involving chocolate pudding. She was there.” The prank had been on Isabella. And she’d never gotten over it.

“So Isabella is the only one that knows the four you that well, huh?” Penny asked. Her voice was quiet. She sounded so hurt.

“That’s not what I meant. She knew the four of us back then. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“It’s fine,” Penny said. But she sure sounded upset.

“Penny…”

“I’m not an idiot, James. I know you were married to her. I know she knows you. All of you. I just…” her voice trailed off. “It doesn’t matter. This is all such a mess. But if the two of you had listened to me and stopped fighting, maybe you could have figured this out together. And no one would have gotten hurt.” She stared at my eye that I was sure was starting to turn purple.

Fuck.I wasn’t used to being part of an us. I was used to doing whatever I wanted. Whenever I wanted. No matter how fucking stupid it was. But I wasn’t single anymore. And I was trying to be less destructive.

What had I been thinking? I opened my mouth and closed it again. I didn’t know what to say.

Penny folded her arms across her chest and stared out the window.

The rest of the ride home was silent.

I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been. I knew in my gut that something felt wrong about the invitation. I knew it and yet I hadn’t followed up. I pulled out my phone and found the text exchanges between me and Mason. I’d asked him how he was. And he’d responded: “I’m good, man. Excited to see you in a couple weeks.”

I’d never asked him about the fucking invitation. I’d been too distracted about my life blowing up around me. Which Isabella knew. Because she’d leaked the story to the press. She knew I’d be rattled. Off my game. That crazy bitch.

I took a deep breath and turned to Penny. And now I’d messed this up. Because I’d implied that Isabella knew me better than Penny did. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Ian seemed eager to get away from the awkwardness, because as soon as we parked, he pretended to take aphone call. I knew it was a fake call. The only person that called him this late was me. And also his phone didn’t ring.

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