The Boyfriend Thief

CHAPTER 26





“And that,” Molly said, planting her hands on her hips, “is how Cake Toppers Bakery becomes an undercover CIA operations by night.”

The entire business economics class was silent. Nathan, Molly’s business partner, stared at her open-mouthed, looking as if she had sideswiped him with her explanation of the real backroom behind the bakery they had put together. I couldn’t blame him. He had been in the middle of explaining what kind of clients they would service with their cakes and pies when Molly started her own presentation, complete with a fully functioning surveillance system she demonstrated on her laptop and lists of suspicious citizens, which included Nathan himself.

It didn’t take a CIA operative to figure out that Molly had never told Nathan about this part of her business plan.

Mr. Freeman cleared his throat as he stood from the desk in the front row where he had watched the presentation. “Well, thank you, Molly. And Nathan,” he added as an afterthought. “That was very...impressive and well thought out.”

Molly beamed as she packed up her laptop and headed back to her desk. One of the guys in the class stopped her and said, “Hey, do you think maybe I could hire you to get some of that surveillance going on in the girls’ locker room?” His friends seated around him whooped with cheers.

“You wish,” Molly told him.

“All right, settle down.” Mr. Freeman looked at his list, then said, “Next up, we have Avery James and Zac Greeley.”

I glanced at Zac, sending silent messages for him to look at me just once. That was all I wanted. One look to let me know everything would be okay.

But instead I got the back of his head as he made his way to the front of the room.

Zac set up his laptop and logged into the school’s wireless network to bring up our website. I stood nearby with our business notebook in hand.

“We decided to set up a matchmaking business,” Zac explained. A low murmur of comment flowed throughout the room at this. Everyone probably thought it was funny that someone like me, who had never dated anyone, was running a matchmaking business. “A to Z Love Matches. We have a website with only a basic working database set up for now, but we plan to expand over the summer.”

Zac went on to explain the basics of our business and to pass out the profile worksheets to everyone. When it was my turn to speak, he still didn’t acknowledge me at all. He just stopped talking. I realized after a moment that was the only cue I would get from him, so I launched into my rehearsed speech about our business projections and marketing campaign.

“Of course,” I said, “we don’t guarantee that everyone who uses our service will find their absolute perfect match. There are some things that even a well-designed computer program can’t predict. Sometimes it’s not about common interests or lifestyles. Sometimes you can’t predict chemistry.”

My voice cracked a little at the end and I coughed, trying to hide it.

“Impressive,” Mr. Freeman said when we were done. “And very ambitious to try to turn this into a real business. I hope you’ll let me know if you find success with it.”

We returned to our seats. I felt relieved that the presentation was over and everyone seemed to like it. A few people had already started filling out the profile sheets.

I glanced at Zac, but once again, I got no acknowledgment from him. He had completely cut me out of his life.

Maybe it would have been better if I had left him alone, but my heart wouldn’t let me. I needed one last chance to make amends. If he still hated me after that, I’d let it go and forget my feelings for him.

So after economics, I followed Zac to his locker and managed to trap him by stepping into his path as the school janitor stopped in the hall with his big trash can on wheels, blocking Zac from scooting around me.

“Zac,” I said in a low voice, “I’m so sorry.”

Zac’s face was blank. He didn’t even look at me as he said, “I have to go.”

I pressed my hands against his chest, trying not to notice how nice it felt. “No, please listen to me. Please talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say?”

There was only one thing I really wanted to hear, but I knew he was too hurt to say it.

“What happened between you and Elliott that made you stop being friends?”

Zac’s head snapped up and he blinked at me. Clearly, I’d caught him by surprise. He’d probably been expecting anything other than that question.

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Apparently it does. Elliott told me to come to you if I wanted answers.”

Zac shuffled one foot along the floor, kicking up dust. I waited, barely breathing, but he didn’t say anything.

“Please. I never meant to hurt you.”

Finally he exploded. “Never meant to hurt me?” His voice echoed off the lockers around us.

The hall was nearly half empty by then, but the students that were still around turned to look at us. I stepped forward, hoping Zac wouldn’t give them an entertaining show.

“Please, Zac,” I whispered. “I needed the money, for Costa Rica, and I didn’t expect to develop any feelings for you. It was…a job…”

“My life is a job to you?” Zac’s face was now creased into a look of anguish, as if he were hurting deep inside.

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

“My feelings, my thoughts, it’s all a dumb job to you? Just a way to earn a few extra bucks so you can go on some trip and make yourself feel like you’re better than everyone else?”

I stepped back as if I had been slapped.

That was when I realized it: I was no better than my mother. She had hurt Dad and Ian and me more than anyone else possibly ever could. And now I had done the same to Zac. I had spent my life trying to be perfect so I wouldn’t be anything like her, but I was. I always had been, I just didn’t want to admit it.

“The ninth grade Valentine’s Day dance,” Zac said, changing the subject abruptly. “Everyone says Elliott cheated on Lila by kissing Melanie. The truth is I had a crush on Lila and while Elliott went to get some punch, I decided to take a chance and tell her how I felt. I did…and then I kissed her. No one saw it except Elliott, who was coming back with the drinks right then. He got mad and kissed Melanie to get back at Lila.”

He paused, unable to meet my gaze. “Everyone, of course, saw that kiss and that’s how the rumor that Elliott cheated on Lila got started. But actually, it was entirely my fault.”

I stared up at Zac, not knowing what to say. All this time, Elliott had not only kept my secret, but Zac’s too and took all the blame for what had happened.

“Elliott never told anyone the truth,” Zac went on. “But he also never saw me as a friend again after that night. I knew I had hurt him, but I didn’t realize how much until I found out the truth about you. Because now I know what it’s like to have someone you care about betray you.”

People watched us as they stood in the hallway, casting glances in our direction and pretending not to be listening. I wasn’t used to having people talk about me. I usually tried to stay invisible. Their stares bored into the side of my head, but I kept my focus on Zac.

“Zac, please understand,” I said, fighting back the sob that threatened to erupt from me. If I cried now, I knew I wouldn’t stop for a long time. “I never meant for any of this to happen, I didn’t mean to hurt you like this—”

“Yeah, well, you did a great job of not hurting me.” I had never heard him speak in such a low, harsh tone before. “These last few weeks I gave you the real, honest me. And this whole time you were playing some game for your own benefit. I don’t even know what about you is real or not anymore.”

He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick out at a messy angle. “You wanted out of the matchmaking business all along? Here you go. I’m freeing you of it. You can go back to not hurting everyone else in the world or whatever it is you do. Our partnership and everything else ends now.”

With that, he pushed the janitor’s trashcan out of the way and started down the hall.

“What about not walking away?” I called after him. We had a true audience now, with everyone not even trying to pretend they weren’t watching and listening. My voice cracked as I spoke, but I tried to hold it in, tried to hold it together and be perfect, strong Avery James.

Zac froze mid-step, his shoulders tense. He turned slightly so I could see his profile.

“Maybe you were right all along,” he said. “Maybe some things can’t be fixed.”

A sob choked me as I watched him disappear down the hall. Other people pushed past me to get to class, but I couldn’t move. If I took a step, I was certain I would crumble into nothingness.

I had expected Zac to be upset when he heard the truth, but I had held onto the tiniest bit of hope that things would be okay in the end. That maybe he would be so grateful to me for exposing Hannah he’d forgive me for what I’d done. Maybe he’d even think the entire thing was funny and a clever way to earn some extra money. But he was right. I had betrayed him and I didn’t think we could ever move past that.

A hand on my arm made me jump. I turned to see Molly standing next to me.

I leaned into Molly’s open arms. Tears ran down my cheeks, but I didn’t care who saw them. I couldn’t stop my shoulders from shaking as I cried into Molly’s shoulder and she squeezed me tighter.

She led me into the girls’ bathroom as the bell rang. I had never skipped class before because it would ruin my perfect student image. But right then, I didn’t have the courage to face anyone.

We sat on the floor next to the sinks for a long time, not speaking. It was good to be close to my best friend again.

“I’m sorry for not trusting Elliott,” I said at last.

“I know,” Molly said.

“I apologized to him too.”

“He told me. I can’t believe you spied on him. That’s something I would do.”

“Well, I learned from the best.” I managed a sheepish grin.

“And how is it possible Ian was able to get pictures without my noticing? If I was a real CIA operative, my cover would be blown now.” She paused, and then said, “I’m sorry for not telling you I was going out with Elliott.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Molly waved one arm. “I thought you’d tell me I was being stupid. You won’t accept that people can change and I didn’t want to deal with that when I was still trying to figure out how I felt about him. I needed some time to work things out on my own, you know?”

I nodded. “You should have told me to shut my fat mouth. If you want to be with Elliott, then be with him. It doesn’t matter what I think.”

She slapped her hands on her knees in frustration. “It does matter what you think because you’re my best friend. How can I date a guy that my best friend doesn’t like?”

The lump in my throat I was forcing down must have been my pride. I pulled at a loose thread on my backpack. “There’s something I should have told you long ago.”

Molly looked intrigued. “What’s that?”

“Elliott and Hannah and I used to be friends. Best friends. From preschool through seventh grade.”

Her eyes were wide with confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

“Because I didn’t want you to hate me.” I took a deep breath. “There’s more to the story. You know my mom left near the end of seventh grade. One day I woke up and she was gone. I was confused about a lot of things during that time and I tried pushing Elliott and Hannah away. It hurt too much to care about anyone because I knew they could leave at any moment.”

I closed my eyes, remembering that warm summer day in Elliott’s basement. “Hannah had developed a crush on Elliott and it seemed like maybe he had a crush on her too. I hated that they might have something that didn’t involve me, that maybe somehow I wasn’t good enough for Elliott to like me better instead. So I went down to Elliott’s basement where we always used to hang out together and turned off the light. I made him think I was Hannah. And then I kissed him—”

Molly sat up straight, her pink and blonde hair whipping all around her shoulders. “Hold up! You did not kiss Elliott.”

I nodded, cringing. “I believed maybe if he kissed me first, he’d like me better. But Hannah came down the stairs, turned on the light, and caught us. She got mad at me for trying to steal the guy she liked and Elliott got mad at me for tricking him.”

I could remember everything they’d said to me that day, but I didn’t want to say the words out loud.

“So you guys never made up after that?” Molly asked. “You were never friends again?”

“I never gave them the chance to patch things up,” I admitted. “I pushed them away and I told myself it was better not to have any friends. But then you came along and found a way inside the walls I’d built around myself.”

Molly grinned. “I am like a ferret in that way. I’ll weasel into any tiny hole I can find.”

We laughed, warmth spreading through me. A life without friends wasn’t better than this.

“So why didn’t Elliott ever tell me about any of this?” Molly asked.

“I used to think it was so he could have something to hold over me. Like, if I messed up, he’d run and tell you all about my big secret.” I shrugged. “But I think maybe I’ve been wrong about a lot of things concerning Elliott. Maybe he’s not the kind of guy who spreads secrets around.”

“And Hannah? Why did she keep the secret?”

I blinked up at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the plaster with my eyes. “That I don’t know. Maybe it was her plan all along to get me mixed up into some crazy scheme of hers. Like she’s waited four years for the perfect opportunity to destroy me. Who knows? Hannah is barely more than a stranger to me these days. She’s not anything like what she used to be.”

I turned toward Molly, eager to change the subject. “So? How do you feel about Elliott?”

Molly blushed. My best friend, the self-proclaimed independent, forward thinking girl who never got flustered, actually looked a bit embarrassed at this question. “We have absolutely nothing in common, but I think that’s good for me. Opens me up to new experiences away from my computer.”

“That’s always good,” I said, trying to be the supportive best friend.

“I might...I don’t know, I might really, really like him. You know what I mean?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Do you mean love him?”

She shrugged, smiling a little. “Maybe. Am I stupid?”

“No. Besides, you could never top me in the stupidity department.”

We fell quiet again and I listened to the sounds of water moving through the pipes in the walls.

“I wish the truth didn’t have to hurt so much.”

Molly looked at me, raising her eyebrows. “You like him, don’t you?”

“It was never part of the plan, but I can’t stop thinking about him. And when he kissed me—”

“Wait! Back up!” Molly twisted around to glare at me. “He kissed you and you didn’t think to mention it to your best friend in the whole universe?”

“Well, you were giving me the silent treatment,” I said.

“Which you deserved,” Molly said. “But I’m not anymore, so spill. Details now!”