Page 12 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

Poppy

“Poppy. Aaron and Sofia are here.”

Crap.

He wasn’t supposed to be here. I snatched my cell off the desk ready to text Sofia and ask her what the hell she was thinking.

But that would suggest I cared.

And I didn’t.

At least, that’s what I wanted her and Aaron and the rest of the world to think.

I was done being the girl in love with her best friend. It was exhausting.

My entire life, I’d been his best friend, his confidante, his partner in crime… but I’d never been his girl.

I’d never been the girl he looked at and wanted to kiss or touch or love.

Jesus, I needed to get a grip.

Senior year had made everything more intense somehow though. Aaron had cheerleaders hanging off him at every turn. He was hot property. The guy all the girls wanted a piece of.

That hadn’t been a big surprise. Aaron was gorgeous. Tall, dark, and handsome, he had his father’s piercing blue eyes, a tanned complexion thanks to his mom’s Latina roots, and some new ink that gave him that bad boy edge.

What was surprising was the way Aaron ate up the attention. The first time I’d seen him in the cafeteria with Zara Willis—head cheerleader and vapid mean girl—draped all over him, I’d thought I was seeing things.

Aaron had the attention of most of the girls in our class. Of course he wasn’t going to ever notice me. But Zara… did it really have to be her?

“Poppy—”

“Coming, I’m coming,” I yelled, stuffing my cell phone in my pocket.

Checking my reflection, I grabbed my bag and swung it over my shoulder.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Mom said when I entered the kitchen.

“Hey, Mom.”

“You look a little flustered, are you feeling okay?”

“Fine, I’m fine.” Plucking a banana from the fruit bowl, I went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Busy day at the clinic today?”

“Every day is busy.”

“I might stop by later. I need my puppy fix.”

“Great. I’m sure they’d like to see you. We just got a couple of dachshund puppies in and they are adorable. I sent Lily a bunch of videos yesterday… so cute.”

“Cute, right.” Of course, she hadn’t thought to show me. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “I’d better head out.”

“Okay, have a good day. Say hi to Aaron and Sofia for me.”

“I will, see you later.”

My heart fluttered wildly in my chest as I made my way out of the house.

Sofia waved from the passenger seat in Aaron’s car, and I climbed in the back.

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