Page 16 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

“Let him do his thing,” I said.

“Seriously?” She frowned.

“What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know… I just thought after you and Zara had a bitch fight over him…” Sofia trailed off, pity glittering in her blue eyes. Eyes she shared with Aaron.

“It was hardly a bitch fight,” I scoffed. So I may have thrown a drink at her the night I saw them kissing and she may have tried to pull my hair out but it wasn’t that bad.

Sofia arched a brow and I shrank under her knowing gaze. But then a ripple of irritation went through me and I said, “Did you really think we’d get to senior year and he’d realize that he feels the same about me?” The words soured on my tongue. “He doesn’t.”

“I don’t buy it. I’ve watched the two of you dance around each other for years.”

“Seems like he has a new dance partner now.” I cast another discreet glance in Aaron’s direction, hating the way my heart withered at the sight of him with Zara.

“Poppy—”

“Can we not do this?” I let out a frustrated sigh, swallowing the ball of emotion lodged in my throat. “He doesn’t see me like that.”

He never has.

“But you’d be so good together, I don’t understand.”

“Friends. We’re friends.”

At least, we used to be.

“So you’re going to give Eli a chance?”

I met her sympathetic gaze and forced a smile. “I am going to do what Aaron is doing. Make the most of senior year and forget about the things that aren’t important.”

The second the words rolled off my tongue, I felt the lie in them. Because Aaron was important to me.

I couldn’t ever imagine a time where he wouldn’t be.

“Okay, but I’m going to go on record and say this is a bad idea.”

“Sofe.”

She held up her hands. “I’m just saying, Eli is sweet and nice and he deserves someone who can reciprocate his feelings.”

“I like him,” I said as if it was that simple.

“Well, that’s good. Because what a disaster it’d be if you were going out with him just to get back at my brother.” Her lips twisted with mild amusement but I didn’t reply.

What was there to say?

I did like Eli.

But I loved Aaron.

It was going to take time to bury those feelings.

I owed it to myself to try though.

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