Broken

LILY

The summer between my junior and senior years was one of the best summers of my life.

I spent the long, hot days at the lake with my best friends Ava, Leah, and Harry, and of course my boyfriend of two years, Oliver.

At night we would go to different parties, drinking and dancing until the sun came up, then we’d repeat it all over again.

Until today.

Today is mine and Oliver’s second anniversary.

We plan on going for a picnic dinner at a “secret” spot he found, then we’re coming back to my house to spend the evening together. Everything sounds perfect.

“Okay, you look so fucking hot right now!” Ava exclaims, looking me up and down.

I’m wearing a blue-and-white backless sundress that falls mid-thigh, showing just enough cleavage.

“You think he’ll like it?” I ask, doing a little spin.

“He’s going to love it!” she squeals.

“I’d better get going,” I say, grabbing my phone and keys and throwing them into a small cross-body bag.

“See you tomorrow, you sexy thang.” Ava winks, slapping my ass as I walk past her.

The whole time I’m driving to Oliver’s my stomach does flips with excitement.

I pull up outside his house and double-check my makeup in the mirror before climbing out of my car and straightening my dress.

I slowly walk up to his front door, trying to calm my butterflies down before I knock. I wait about a minute before knocking again.

I frown to myself when he still doesn’t open the door. Maybe he’s in the shower.

I’m about to try the handle when the door flies open, and a disheveled-looking Oliver is standing in the doorway.

Seeing him standing in front of me in his boxers and blond sex hair, I let my anger overtake me.

“You motherfucker!” I yell. Kicking the door open, I storm inside to find out who the fuck he’s cheating on me with.

“Babe, just calm down. It isn’t what it looks like!” he yells frantically.

I ignore him and throw his bedroom open, only to see fucking Leah in her bra and panties.

“Lily.” She gasps at seeing me.

“Are you fucking serious?” I scream at both of them. “How long?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose to calm down.

“This is the first time.”

“Six months.”

Oliver and Leah answer at the same time.

“Six months.” I laugh humorlessly, shaking my head.

“Lily, let me explain,” Oliver begs, grabbing hold of my wrist.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” I yell, ripping myself free and running outside to my car.

How could he? Two whole fucking years I’ve wasted on him! And Leah! She’s one of my best friends! I never thought she’d do this to me.

I drive on autopilot to one of my favorite spots in the whole city. A running trail just on the outskirts and not too far from my home.

I pull up in the small parking lot and get out of the car and start walking, not giving two shits I’m in a dress and sandals.

As I start walking, I finally let myself cry. My whole life feels like a lie right now. I’m full-on sobbing when someone taps me on the shoulder, making me scream.

“Whoa, calm down, princess,” a boy around my age says, holding up his hands.

“You scared me,” I sniffle, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

“Are you all right?” he asks gently.

“I’m fine,” I answer.

“You don’t look it,” he states, going to sit on a large rock just off the path. “I’m a good listener,” he says, patting the rock for me to sit down.

“I just caught my boyfriend of two years cheating on me with one of my best friends,” I blurt out.

“That’s rough.” He whistles.

“They’ve been sleeping together for six months!” I exclaim and start pacing in front of him.

“We spent the whole fucking summer together!” I yell, kicking a stone, instantly regretting it when pain shoots through my big toe.

“I just don’t get it. I mean it’s not like I didn’t put out!” I shake my head.

“And my best friend…,” I whisper, sitting down next to the stranger. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?” I ask skeptically.

“I’m not going to kill you.” He chuckles.

“Senior year is going to suck,” I grumble, pulling my knees up to my chest.

“Do you have other friends?” he asks.

“Yes. But Harry is on the same team as Olly and will probably stop talking to me. Ava will probably still be my friend.” I sigh.

“You don’t mean Oliver Kingsley, do you?”

“You know him?” I ask, turning to look at the stranger, taken aback by how beautiful his green eyes were.

“We’re kinda mortal enemies.” He winces.

“Mason Cooper?” I frown, looking him up and down.

Oliver and Mason have been enemies since freshman year. They’re both the quarterbacks on the school teams that absolutely hate each other.

We’re rivals in everything. Every sport, academics, the graduating numbers, how many teen pregnancies happen. Everything and anything.

No one knows how the feud started; all we know is that we hate each other, and that’s the way it’s been for at least fifty years.

“You probably don’t want to hear this,” I mumble, looking down at my feet.

“I kinda like hearing how much he fucked up.” Mason chuckles.

“I go to Ridgewood,” I add, looking back at him.

“And I go to Greendale,” he replies in a “duh” tone.

“We probably shouldn’t be talking,” I state.

“Probably not. But you need someone to talk to, and I need a distraction.” He shrugs indifferently.

“What do you need a distraction from?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“Life.” He sighs. “You’re a cheerleader, right?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I am.” I sigh, wondering if I should just quit the team when school starts.

“I hate it. I only joined because my mom was in cheer and wanted me to. And it’s not like she’s ever home now or comes to watch me,” I babble.

“Oh god, and being on the same team as Leah—I couldn’t handle that. I’d want to punch her in the face every chance I got,” I groan, and Mason laughs. “It’s not funny,” I snap.

“It’s not,” he agrees quickly. “I’m laughing because I thought you were quiet.”

I purse my lips together and quirk my head to the side.

“I’ve seen you at games before. You never really talked with the others,” he explains.

“Because they all suck!” I exclaim, and he laughs again and agrees.

“Anything else you need to get off your chest, princess?”

“I think I’m good.” I shake my head. “What about you? Want to spill some secrets or have a full-on emotional breakdown in front of me to make me feel better?” I ask.

“Maybe next time.” He winks.

“Next time?” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“I have to go. But you can text me if you want to talk,” he states, handing me a black iPhone.

I look at the phone then back at him. Is he serious?

“You’re supposed to put your number in,” he says slowly, and I roll my eyes, punching my number in. “Want me to walk back with you?” he asks, slipping his phone into his basketball shorts.

I’m about to tell him I’ll be fine, but when I look around and notice the sun is getting lower in the sky, I quickly agree.

I hate being outside at night by myself. I’ve watched one too many true crime documentaries.

“How long were we talking for?” I ask, falling into step with him.

“About twenty minutes,” he replies.

“Thanks for listening,” I whisper.

“Anytime, princess.” He smiles sadly, kicking a rock with his sneaker.

“If you want to talk, I’m a good listener as well,” I offer, sensing something is bothering him.

“Like I said. Maybe next time.” He shakes his head as we reach our cars.

“Thanks, Mason.” I smile, opening my door. “Oh, my name’s Lily, by the way,” I say, turning around.

“I know.” He nods, opening his door.

I feel my cheeks start to blush, so I jump into my car and peel away.

Once I’m home, I kick off my shoes and flop down onto the sofa. I should probably call Ava. I grab my phone from my purse and go to call her, but instead, I find myself dialing my mom.

It rings two times before I’m sent to her voicemail.

Great. Not even my own mother wants to talk to me.

I look at myself in the reflection of the black screen when it lights up with a text.

I sigh to myself as I read her text. Dad has always traveled for work, and Mom used to stay home with me, but as soon as I turned sixteen, she started going on trips with him.

It feels like they’re away more than they’re home nowadays.

I don’t know when I fell asleep, but I’m woken by a vibration against my head. It takes me a moment to realize it’s my phone ringing.

“Hello?” I answer, my voice heavy with sleep.

“Did I wake you?” A male voice comes through.

I crack one eye open and pull back my phone to see an unsaved number. “Who is this?” I ask, sitting up on the sofa.

“Mason.”

“Oh. Hey,” I say, looking at the time.

12:06 a.m.

“Sorry,” he mutters before the line goes dead.

I frown at my phone wondering what just happened. I bite my lip as I think about calling him back.

I mean, he let me bitch and moan to him for an hour today. It’s the least I could do, right?

Not giving myself a chance to talk myself out of it, I call him back.

“Look, I’m sorry. Go back to sleep,” his voice comes out soft yet strained.

“I’ve already slept three hours,” I say, getting up and heading to the kitchen in search of food.

“It’s only midnight,” he chuckles.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I have had a very emotional day,” I reply, finding a frozen pizza and chucking it in the oven.

“Fair enough.”

“Do you want to come over and eat pizza?” I offer, sitting down at the counter. There’s a pause, and I check to make sure he hasn’t hung up again.

“What flavor?” he finally replies.

“Pepperoni.”

“Text me your address.”

I quickly pull my phone away from my ear and send a text to him.

“I’ll be there soon, princess,” he says almost immediately after I hit send.

“See you soon,” I whisper.

Holy shit. What the hell am I doing? Why am I inviting Mason Cooper over to my house? If Harry or anyone from school finds out, my life will be made a living hell.

My internal freak-out doesn’t last long as Mason texts to say he’s outside.

Why didn’t he knock like a normal person?

I go open the front door and see him standing on my porch dressed in a black hoodie and basketball shorts. “Where’s your car?” I ask, peering over his shoulder to look down the street.

“I live two streets over.” He half-smiles as I open the door wider for him to come inside.

“Sooo…,” I draw out as we sit next to each other at the counter, pizza in the middle of us.

“You feeling any better?” he asks, grabbing a slice.

“I do,” I answer honestly. Crying and sleep seemed to help. “I’m more angry than sad now,” I add, taking a bite of my slice.

“I think you were pretty mad before.” He smiles down at me. “So are you going to be the stereotypical cheerleader and plot your revenge?” He clears his throat, and I scrunch my eyebrows.

“Revenge? Sounds like it’d take too much time away from eating and sleeping.”

“So no revenge?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“No. I’m just going to forget it happened.” I sigh, knowing it’s easier said than done. “So is there something you want to talk about?” I ask, finishing the last slice of my pizza.

“I’d rather just be distracted.” He sighs, and I notice dark circles under his green eyes.

“Do you want to go swimming?” I ask, standing up.

“At the lake?” he questions with an amused smile.

“I have a pool.”

“I don’t have any swim trunks, and I don’t think you want to see me naked.”

“I’ve never been skinny-dipping,” I say, biting my lip nervously.

“You haven’t?” He gapes at me.

“All my friends have, but Olly always said it would make me seem like a slut,” I mumble, feeling myself blush.

“He’s an idiot.” Mason snorts, rolling his eyes.

“So, what, all your friends went skinny-dipping while you were in a swimsuit?” he questions.

“I sat on the shore,” I mutter, wishing I never brought it up.

“Well, come on then, princess.” Mason smiles, standing up.

“Are you serious? I’m not getting naked in front of you!” I gasp, looking at him with wide eyes.

“It’s not like I’m going to look.” He rolls his eyes, and for some reason I feel slightly hurt. “Live a little,” he adds, pushing his lips together. “Unless you’re a chicken.” He smirks.

“I’m not a chicken,” I state confidently, standing up.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he singsongs.

“Come on,” I demand, stomping toward the kitchen door.

“You might want to get towels for afterward! Unless you like running around your house naked!” he calls after me.

I turn around and stomp past him, not saying a word, and grab two towels before shoving them in his arms and stomping outside.

Once I’m outside standing at the edge of the pool I don’t feel as confident as I just did. “You promise you won’t look?” I ask quietly as I feel Mason come and stand next to me.

“I promise.”

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” I add, turning my head to look at him.

“If I did, I’d be admitting to being with someone from Ridgewood. That’s social suicide, and I actually want to enjoy my senior year.”

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes as I reach for the zipper on the back of my dress. I struggle to reach it and huff.

I’m about to just pull it over my head, but instead I feel Mason’s fingers brush my bare skin softly, goose bumps breaking out on my skin, then he slowly unzips my dress.

I let it drop to the ground and pool at my feet. Mason’s hands touch the middle of my back, giving me a small fright, then I realize he’s undoing my barely-there strapless bra.

Once my bra has joined my dress, I take another deep breath and slide my panties off. I look to my left to be greeted by Mason’s chest.

His eyes are focused on the pool in front of us. “Ready, princess?” he asks, turning his face to look at me.

True to his word, his eyes don’t stray further than my face.

“I’m ready,” I say and grab his hand.

“Three, two, one,” he counts down quietly before we jump into the cool water.