Page 59 of Break Point
When I step back inside the house, the music feels louder, the space feels more crowded, and faces blur around me. Liam’s calling my name, but I keep asking him to wait. Finally, I spot Robbie. He’s sitting on a couch next to a girl.
“It’s Liam. Could you—” I say, pressing the phone to his ear.
Robbie gives me an annoyed frown but takes the call. I rearrange my purse’s strap on my shoulder and saunter to the kitchen for a much-needed glass of water.
On my way there, I spot Henry talking to a girl just outside the kitchen. She’s laughing at something he said, and he’s smiling at her. The sight makes my stomach churn.
Henry looks my way, and it makes me realize I’ve been standing there too long, staring at their interaction. Normally, I’d look away after being caught, but this time I don’t. My mind is busy trying to piece together our conversation back home. Something went wrong. I remember the frustration but not the details.
Looking at Henry with someone else isn’t helping my brain work as it should, so I turn around and spot Gemma and Paxton in the kitchen.
Thank God.
“Hey,” I say, my eyelids feeling heavier with every blink.
“Are you okay?” Gemma asks, looking at me as if trying to figure out what’s wrong.
“I just need water.”
Paxton offers to bring me a glass.
“Gemma?” My voice trembles as I grab onto her hand.
“What’s wrong?” she says, her tone soft, like she’s trying to soothe me. “Talk to me.”
I glance over my shoulder, and Henry’s still talking to that cute girl.
Gemma follows my gaze and sees them. “Oh …”
I lock eyes with Gemma, silently begging her to understand what I’m feeling because I can’t seem to find the words to explain.
What is happening to me? How can my mother drink every day? This is madness! It’s like unlocking ten doors to my subconscious all at once. The untamed emotions are overwhelming me, slithering around my chest and demanding to be seen and heard. I don’t want this. I don’t need this. Not now, not ever.
I wanted to forget, but instead, every cell in my body is rioting, making a fuss over Henry talking to some girl who isn’t me.
I’m jealous! Crazy, irrationally jealous, and I can’t trust myself right now. No … it’s the gin. It has to be, because I’m still Liam’s girlfriend and yet all I can think about is how much I want to split Henry and that girl apart. And I hate that side of me!
He’smyHenry. Only he’s not, and it’s killing me.
“Belén?” Paxton says, holding a red plastic cup of water out to me.
“Sorry.” I blink, and a few tears slip down my cheeks. “Thanks,” I say, brushing them away before taking a deep drink.
“Do you want to leave?” Gemma asks. “We should leave.”
“Belén!” Robbie calls out, weaving his way through the crowd. Finally, he reaches us and hands my phone back to me. “Liam’s on his way with Tobias.”
“Okay,” I manage, though the word tastes wrong in my mouth.
Paxton grabs Gemma by the waist and lifts her onto the marble countertop. She lets out an adorable squeak, followed by a laugh. Robbie glances at them and says, “It would be best if you and Gemma went home. It’s getting late.”
“Gemma’s not going anywhere,” Paxton declares, dropping another kiss on her cheek. He grabs Gemma’s arms and wraps them around himself. She shrugs and rests her chin on his shoulder.
Robbie snorts, shaking his head twice as a tight smile tugs at his lips.
“I’m spending the night at Gemma’s,” I tell Robbie. There’s no way I’m going home tonight. What if my parents see me arriving in this condition? It’s best to sleep it off at Gemma’s and make them think all I did tonight was hang out with her at her place.
“You’re both impossible,” Robbie says, the annoyance evident on his features. “And so fucking stubborn.”
