Chapter 33 New Friend

Chapter 33 New Friend

ARDEN

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I continued dragging bOwen /baway with no final destination in bmind/b, muttering curses under my breath. It was only when he pulled his hand away that I finally came to a halt. I let out a deep breath and turned bto /bhim. He didn’t say a word, but I could clearly see bthe /brelief in bhis /beyes.

“With that, I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes, attempting to steady my breathing.

“Are you always bthis /bcourageous?” he asked, breaking the silence that had settled around us.

A small smile crept onto my lips. “No,” I muttered, “not really.”

“That’s hard to believe,” he replied.

“You breally /bdidn’t have to do all of that, you know?” he added, “I told you–1 don’t need help.

“Let’s just say I didn’t do it to help you,” I rified, b“/bbbut /bbecause I was genuinely annoyed by Kieran.”

He sighed, crossing his arms defensively before turning to the side. “There’s no use arguing with people like him. It’s only going to make things worse. I promise he’lle back even stronger than ever.”

My brows furrowed deeply in frustration. “We can report them bto /bthe administration. There’s something that can be done to seek justice.”

A scoff escaped his lips as he looked deep into my eyes. “It must be nice to have some kind of hope.”

“I’m afraid your mindset is far from reality,” he said bwith /ba dismissive tone. “So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to help me banymore/b. I’m already having a hard enough time as it is

I pursed my lips, feeling a sudden sting in my heart. “I was just… btrying /bto help.”

b“/bYou’re not helping at all, he snapped, anger suddenly bfilling /bhis voice. Yet, even in that moment, he bdidn’t /bleave.

Despite the pain swelling bin /bmy chest, I bmade /ban effort to bunderstand /bhim. “Kieran is my bbrother/b,” I finally revealed.

He turned to me with wide beyes/b, bdisbelief /bseen across his face. I wasn’t entirely sure why 1 was sharing this with him–after ball/b, he was practically a stranger–but bsomething /bpelled me to let him in on this part of my life.

“He’s as terrible here as he is bat /bhome. We’re only a year apart, yet he has never btreated /bme like a sister. Instead, he bhas /bturned me into a tool to bmake /bhimself feel better–like he bis /bbetter than me in every single bway/b.

“I’ve tried bstanding /bup to him before, but it never ended well. My parents were always on bhis /bside, anyway, so I kept to myself and bottled up all my feelingsb.” /b

“This bis /bthe first time I’ve spoken up to him in bwhat /bbfeels /blike a blifetime/b. bBack /bthen, I bthought /bbthere /bwas bno /bhopeb: /bI believed I would be stuck in this situation forever.”

“However, even though bmy /bcircumstances aren’t ultimately betterb, /bbI /bbfinally /bbhave /bbthe courage /bto bconfront /bbhim /babout his bwrongdoings/b”

“I’ve bnever /blost hope, beven /bduring the most hopeless of times, band /bI truly hope you won’t either.”

bI /blooked–up at him, noticing that his bloodshot eyes were even redder than usual. I could btell /bhe was on the verge of tears, and watching him bswallow /bthe lump in his throat only bconfined /bbmy /bbsuspicion/b.

“Did you really break the vaser I bfinally asked/b, my bcuriosity /bgetting the better of me.

He swallowed one inore, running a hand bthrough /bhis bhair /bin bagitation/b. “No,” he muttered. “I went to the party by myself because they said everyone bwas /binvited I was bstanding /bnext to it bwhen /bKieran and his friends were ying some ball game. inside the house”

10:44 AM

Chapter 33 New Friend

“It bounced off my shoulder before shattering into pieces. Technically-

“So you didn’t do it,” I concluded, cutting him off. “It bwas /btheir fault.”

“Don’t worry.” I reassured him. “I’ll see bwhat /bI can do, alright?”

He didn’t respond this time, so I finally smiled. I had a feeling that Owen just needed a friend, too.

b+5 /bFree Cons

I felt even happier than usual during my shift for two reasons: bfirst/b, I finally stood up to Kieran, and second, Rowan wasn’t around to flirt with me.

Some students recognized me as the one who had confronted Kieran in the cafeteria, and while some looked at me bwith /bdisgust, others offered their praise. I made a conscious decision to brush aside the degradingments.

However, the next customers were people I simply couldn’t ignore.

“Wee”

My words caught in my throat when bI /bsaw Sienna and Jaxon striding into the bcafé/b, nked by Sienna’s friends. They froze the moment they spotted me, and a smirk crept across Sienna’s lips. I tightened my lips and forced myself to remain professional, greeting them with ba /bcurt smile.

“What would byou /blike todayb?/b”

Sienna chose to ignore my question and instead scrutinized me from head to toe, her friends bdoing /bthe same.

“I heard there was a ssy new cafe near our school. Someone must have gotten the memo bwrong/b.” Sienna began with snarky tone.

“Now I understand why she made such a scene in the cafeteria. She’s clearly envious of what we have because she can’t even bafford /bto bstudy /bwithout working.”

I bbut /bmy bhip /bband /bnced baround/bb, /baware bthat /bI couldn’t create a scene in here–bespecially /bsince I desperately needed this job. With a resigned sigh, bI /bbasked/b, “bMay /bI take your orderb?/bb” /b

Sienna let bout /bba /bsigh and finally bryed /bher order. I took it without bexchanging /bany further words. Her friends followed suit, appearing disappointingly dejected.

I then turned my attention to bJaxon/b, but I avoided bmaking /beye contact bIt /bwasn’t bthat /bI couldn’t; rather, bI /bsimply didn’t want to.

“And for you?” I inquired.

Sienna looked bas /bif she wanted to unleash banother /bsnide bremark/b, but Jaxon bgently /bbrestrained /bher, pushing her to the side. I wanted tough at the expression on her face, but I held it back.

Jason remained bsilent /bfor ba /bwhile, prompting me to let out a bquiet /bsigh of bimpatience/b.

The door chimed again, and I absently greeted the next bcustomers/b, offering a bsmile /bto the old couple bentering /bthe bcafe/b.

“bWee /bto Evermore,” I bsaid /bcheerfully. Yet, my smile quickly Ladeid as I turned my attention back to Jaxon.

“I bwould /bappreciate it if you bcould /bbshare /byour order, sir. I wouldn’t want a line forming. I muttered, trying to maintain my professionm

bull, he remained silent.

“You balready /bbknow /bmy order,” he finally replied, bbreaking /bthe

I paused in my writing letting bout /ba deep breath of realization.

A bin /bbck /bAmericano his sole order at any cafe, because he imed that all the other drinks were foe sweet. I had ba /bbsw /b

b2/3 /b

10:44 AM ch

Chapter 33 New Friend

tooth, but I toned it down when we were together because he didn’t like them.

I think you’re mistaken, bsir/b.” I said, finally looking binto /bhis eyes.

“I don’t recall knowing your order.”

I’ve forgotten about you.

+5 Free Coms