Page 314 of Mad Girl

“Because he’s your friend.”

“He’s not my friend if he’s fucking around with you.”

My stomach lurched at the venom in his voice. At the cold, hard glint in his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yeah. I do.”

“It’s been over between you and me for a while now,” I said shakily. “Besides, our dads will never allow us to be together.”

“How convenient for you,” he said, voice so cold and quiet it sliced through me, sending a shiver up my spine.

“This isn’t about me. This is about what’s best for you—and that’s your relationship with Casey. You have to fix it.”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug, hands clasped together between his knees. “But I need you to do something for me first.”

“What’s that?”

“Admit you have feelings for him.”

My dad thought an admission like that would make things worse for you, and I could tell right then that Nic was right about this, too. It would make Michael angrier, colder, less open to accepting you as his brother.

“Just say it,” Michael said, softer, less guarded. And here was the other problem: it would crush him. It would break his heart. It would change the whole dynamic of our friendship. He might never look at me the same way again.

I fumbled with the scarf in my lap. “It’s just—it’s complicated.”

“Yeah. It’s complicated by your feelings for him.”

“No.” A huge, monstrous lie. “Look, it’s just—he’s going through a lot.”

“Going through what?”

“Just—stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“His friend being a total dick to him, for starters.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “What else? Secret stuff he shared with you while you wrapped your body around his?”

I closed my eyes. “It wasn’t like that.”

“It was like that. Did you pull his hair, too?”

“No.” Not that particular night, at least. “I need you to forgive him for not telling you he was adopted. I need you to stop letting your feelings for me dictate how you treat him. I need you to make things right again.”

“You need me to do these things? Why?”

“Because he needs you to, and I can’t be responsible if you don’t. I can’t get in the middle.”

“In the middle of what?” he demanded. “A dying friendship? I can assure you—he and I will both be fine if this one doesn’t work out.”

A dying friendship? I didn’t like the sound of that.

“No, you won’t! And Casey sure as hell won’t! You don’t understand!”

“What’s to understand? Friendships fall apart. It happens.”

My stomach dropped. How could Michael be so cavalier about this? How could he give up so easily? How could he just…let you go?