Page 77 of Caught in a Bad Fauxmance
She doesn’t respond at first, fidgeting uncomfortably and glancing at the other competitors. Three of them are chatting about their dinner plans and the other two, including Liam’s teammate, are on their phones.
“I know this is probably a weird time to say this.” She pauses, closing her eyes for a moment. “But I’m sorry.”
Okay, they’redefinitelyup to something. I check over my shoulder for any sign of Julian or Henry lingering in the trees. When I turn around, Stella’s cheeks are dusted pink, her eyes downcast. I’ve never seen her look so…shy before.
“After Julian told us to call off our plans for the games, we freaked out. We’d just found that expired salami, and we had this great idea to plant a stink bomb under your porch, but it flopped at the last second. Bowing to you at the games felt like the last straw. We thought the chowder thing would be funny. Like old times. And we laughed at first, but then your sister started crying…. It doesn’t feel the same now that we know about all the stuff Dad did.”
“If you’re so sorry, why aren’t you apologizing to her?”
Her shoulders hunch as she shrinks in on herself, rubbingher hands along her arms. “Because I didn’t think she’d let me.”
She’s right. Maya wouldn’t let Stella get within five feet of her after everything that’s happened. I’m not inclined to believe her, but there’s something unusual about thisquasi-apology. Not in a suspicious way, though. In a…genuine way. Stella’s actually being expressive. She’s got three inches of height on me but somehow seems so much smaller, her usual confidence dulled. Like Maya, she’s never been afraid of using her piercing gaze to tear someone down. But now she can’t even meet my eye.
“Julian told us about the robot. The one Dad took from you guys…We really didn’t know. About that, or the bet he made either.” Her tone is almost shameful, as if she’s apologizing on her dad’s behalf. “Dad’s…a lot sometimes. All of the time.” A hitch of her breath, and suddenly she’s looking at me. “I’m sorry.”
There are countless things she could be apologizing for, but it doesn’t feel like I’m the one who should accept them.
“Julian is sorry too,” she adds when I don’t respond, looking down and kicking one of the rocks at her feet. “If having you around all the time when you were fake dating was annoying, it was nothing compared to you two actually together. He never shuts up about you.”
The best thing to do would be to ignore Stella and focus on breathing exercises until Dad comes around the bend and hands me the baton. But…
“Really?” The minute the word comes out, I wince, wishing I could take it back.
She picks her head up, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Yeah, it’s super gross.” For once, I don’t detect a bite behind her voice. It’s just a regular sarcastic joke, not a barbed insult or backhanded compliment. “This was the first time he’s ever come to me about dating advice. I guess the Liam thing spooked him.”
“He…what?”
“He wrote down all these things about you. Honestly, I thought it was kind of creepy until he told me about how Liam dumped him over stupid, petty stuff like not knowing his favorite snack. Still, Julian was pretty hopeless before he came to me, so you’re welcome.” Her smile widens, blossoming into a grin. “Except making you that cake. That was his idea.”
My stomach flutters with a glimmer of hope. That maybe it was all a misunderstanding—that Julian really did stop scheming. But I hesitate, squashing that hope before it can grow into something dangerous. Maybe there was room for genuine interest in me somewhere in between the lies, but the list, the plotting against me.Thatwas all Julian too. I was naïve enough to fall for a façade once. I can’t afford to do it again.
“He really wants to talk to you,” she adds.
My already sour mood worsens.
I shift my attention back to the race, stretching my leg out in front of me. “Well, I don’t want to talk to him.”
“I figured you’d say that.” She stands in front of me, arms crossed. “I know I’m the last person you’ll probably listen to, but can you please consider hearing him out?”
The audacity of this family never ceases to amaze me. “You’re in my way.”
A scream startles us before she can respond.
“They tripped me!” a voice cries out somewhere far behind us. The knot in the pit of my stomach tightens. It’s Liam. “Those assholes freaking tripped me!”
I’ve done my best to push away the memory of Julian’sscribbled list of ways to sabotage me, but the first entry comes rushing back.
Trip them during the 5K.
They’re still doing it. They’re still cheating.
A smirk tugs at the edge of Stella’s lips. Like she’s proud of what they’ve done.
Am I next?
Through the trees, I can make out a shock of red, followed closely by a blur of blue. Dad and Julian. My body tenses, every muscle pulled taut as Dad comes into view, his shirt completely drenched. He has a narrow lead, but Julian is quickly gaining on him and who knows what they might have in store for us. For a split second, I lock eyes with Julian. Stella holds her ground beside me, not preparing to run. Preparing to block me. They’re going to try and corner me, tackle me, or something. But I can’t lose. I can’t let Julian distract me again.
I hold my arm out as far as I can, taking off the second the baton touches my hand.
