Damaged Boys Don’t Fall For Bubbly Girls (Invisible Girls Club #14)

Chapter One

Lexi

Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the past.

I try not to groan as I stare at the pile of stuff on my bedroom floor. My mom asked me to clean out my room because I’ve kept most of these things for years and I really need to let some of it go. But ugh, how am I supposed to know what I might need in the future?

“You think we’ll be in the same classes?” my friend Finn Lansford asks from where he sits on my bed with a superhero comic. “Sucks if we don’t share at least one.”

We’re starting our junior year tomorrow at Edenbury High School, in our small town of Edenbury, Georgia, and I’m kind of a little nervous. I do okay in school, but I like having fun with my friends and goofing off instead of stressing out about school.

“As long as I share every class with at least one of you guys, I’m cool,” I say as I open a cardboard box labeled “Old Puzzles” I got from the top shelf of my closet. Our friend group consists of six guys and me, the only girl. We’re a tight group and do basically everything together.

“Are you done yet?” Finn asks as he turns a page. “You need to read this. It’s awesome.”

I give him a look. “You can help me, you know.”

He considers it for a second before shrugging and pushing his blond hair out of his dark brown eyes. “Nah.”

I roll my eyes and focus back on my work. There’s a reason I’ve been avoiding this all these years. Who wants to spend their last day of summer vacation holed up in their room going through all their junk? But Mom insisted I do this because, according to her, my room is worse than an antique store. Which is so not true.

“Forget this,” I say as I push the box away and get to my feet. “Throw me the first issue, Finn.”

A noise behind me catches my attention. When I turn around, I realize that something tumbled out of the box when I shoved it away. I’m about to spin back around, figuring I’ll pick it up later, but something about it makes me move closer.

It’s a 3D tiger shark puzzle I put together years ago. With my former best friend, Brock Hastings.

I swallow hard as I study it, the memories swarming my brain and taking complete control. I can hear our giggles and groans of frustration as we tried to fit the puzzle pieces together. And then how pleased and satisfied we were when we finally finished it after hours. And of course I can’t forget how I accidentally dropped it, sending all of our hard work out the window. Brock wasn’t upset, though. He was so sweet. He smiled reassuringly and said it should be easier doing it a second time because we already knew what to do. He didn’t make me feel stupid or ashamed for being so clumsy. I wanted to throw my arms around him and give him the biggest hug in the world. Maybe a kiss on the cheek, too. But I didn’t. I wish I did. I wish I did a lot of things differently the last few years.

“Lexi, think fast!”

Something whacks me in the side of my face, yanking me out of the memory. The first issue of the new superhero comic. “What?” I snap at Finn.

He holds up his hands. “Geez. I was calling your name for like five minutes.”

I blink and rub my forehead. “Sorry. I was just, um…” My eyes drop to the tiger shark puzzle Brock and I glued together with special glue because there was no way in heck either of us would let that thing come apart after working so hard on it.

Finn raises questioning brows, but then he follows my gaze. His chest expands as he takes in a sigh. “Lexi—”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I get down on my knees and carefully gather the puzzle into my hands, examining it closely to make sure it’s not damaged. I put it in here two years ago because I couldn’t take it sitting on my shelf anymore. Not when Brock made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want me in his life. But I would never throw it out or give it away.

After gently putting it back in the box, I sweep the comic book off the floor and make my way to my bed, bouncing onto it and gathering my curly brown hair into a high ponytail. Then I lean against the wall and start reading the comic, but I don’t make it far because I feel Finn’s eyes on me. When I raise mine to his, he looks away. I focus back on the comic, only to feel him watching me again. But he once again quickly looks away when our eyes meet.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head as he turns a page. “Nothing.”

“Liar.”

He keeps his attention on his comic.

“Fine. Whatever.”

It’s quiet as we read. I don’t mind it. The guys and I usually sit in silence when we read comics. It’s only Finn and me today, since the rest of the gang had family stuff they needed to do.

My eyes creep to the cardboard box sitting in the center of my room. I feel so…I don’t know…blah. Down. Depressed. The way I always feel when Brock slips into my mind.

“What do you think so far?” Finn asks.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. It’s awesome.”

Finn narrows his eyes at me, then focuses back on his comic. I barely finish the first page because memories of Brock attack my mind. I guess I haven’t been obsessing over him and what happened between us lately. Like I did the last four years since he left for Boston to live with his grandparents. Does that mean I’m finally getting over him?

But if that were the case, why do I feel like my insides have been turned into mashed potatoes?

With a sigh, Finn chucks his comic book away. “Are you thinking about him again?”

With my eyes on my issue, I mutter, “I’m not thinking about anyone.”

“Yeah, right.”

I ignore him.

“You should just throw the puzzle away. It’s clearly not healthy for you.”

I raise my eyes long enough to give him a glare.

“Come on, Lexi. It’s been four years. Shouldn’t you be over him?”

I glare at him again. “He was your best friend, too, Finn. How could you just throw him out of your life like that? How could any of you throw him away like that?”

“You know all of us miss him just as much as you do, and we would do anything to have him back. But he doesn’t want to have anything to do with us, Lexi. He doesn’t want us in his life.”

I look away, fighting the tears battling to break through.

Finn sighs softly as he shifts closer to me, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Lexi, we need to move on. You need to move on. I get that you and him…well, you guys were super close. But you’ve been crying over him for four years. Four years, Lexi. That’s insane.”

I look into his eyes. “What are you saying? That I should just forget about him?”

“What I’m saying is…” He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “What I’m saying is that he’s holding you back from living your life and being happy.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “That’s not true.”

“It’s not? Haven’t you been hoping the last four years that he would talk to you? Why should he determine your happiness? I’m not calling him a bad person—you know I love him just as much as you do—but you need to accept the reality. Brock is not the Brock we grew up with. He’s a different person. And if you don’t accept it, you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life.”

Every part of me wants to yell that it’s not true. Four years isn’t that long, is it? After what Brock has been through, it’s understandable that he’d behave the way he’s behaving. Who are we to judge? But the other part of me can’t help but admit Finn is right. I have been crying over Brock for the past four years. Hoping and dreaming for the day he would finally text me or call me. Or answer the letter I wrote him two years ago. But he’s always done everything possible to avoid me. A deep part of me knows that he hasn’t stepped foot in Edenbury because he doesn’t want to run into me.

Finn now has both hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “We don’t have to forget him, but we could try to move on. You deserve to be happy, Lexi. You deserve to be with someone who will treat you right. Someone who…” He swallows and his voice shakes a little as he says, “Someone who will actually be there for you.”

I stare at him for a few seconds, then scoot away when I catch the emotions dancing across his face. “Finn…what exactly are you saying?”

His cheeks are pink as he scratches his neck. Averting his gaze to my bedspread, he says in a low voice, “You haven’t noticed?”

“Noticed…?”

“How I am around you?” He slowly lifts his eyes to me.

My heart starts to pound in panic. I don’t want to hear this. Not Finn, the closest guy in my life since Brock. When I slide off my bed, he says, “Please don’t run away.”

“We’re just friends, Finn.”

“We don’t have to be.” He reaches for my hand and guides me back on the bed. “I’ve been feeling this way for a while now and…” He takes in a shaky breath. “I’m just going to admit it. I like you, Lexi. I’ve had a crush on you for a while. I haven’t said anything because of the whole Brock situation, but it kills me to see you so unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“Of course you are! You’re letting him break your heart like this.”

Tears flash in my eyes. “How can you talk about him like that? You’re making him sound like such a jerk. But he’s not. You know he’s not. He’s been through something so horrible.”

“I know. I don’t think he’s a jerk. Not at all. But he does have a lot of issues to work through, and he decided not to let us be part of his life anymore. We need to accept it and obey his wishes.”

I don’t say anything, just continue battling tears.

“Don’t you want to move on with your life and be happy?” he insists. “You and I are such great friends. We always have fun together. I care about you a lot. I think I could be a wonderful boyfriend.”

I shut my eyes, not sure I can handle hearing this right now.

“Look, no pressure or anything,” he says. “I just told you how I feel. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same or don’t want to pursue anything with me. Just, make sure you’re putting yourself first, okay?” He leans back on the wall with his comic and continues to read.

My heart hammers in my head. So many confusing thoughts and emotions pump through me. Finn…likes me? How did I not see this? But then again, I’ve been preoccupied with Brock for so long. Have I really been making myself miserable?

Brock has made it clear that he doesn’t want me in his life. Wishing and hoping for that to change won’t make it happen. But can I really move on? I don’t know.

I pick up my comic and lean against the wall, too.

Finn and I read in silence. I can tell there’s so much he wants to say, but I’m thankful he’s giving me space. I’ve never seen him as anything more than a friend. Could he and I…?

I don’t know if I can ever be with anyone. Maybe I’m too messed up.

Finn’s phone dings. After fishing it out of his pocket, he glances at the screen and suddenly sits up. “Whoa.”

“What?” I ask.

“Gael just texted me. Brock is home.”

“What?”

“He said he just got back an hour ago—”

My comic flies to the ceiling as I race out of my room.