Page 118 of Keeping Score

“You know what?” I said, “she’d love to. Pick us both up.”

“Sweet!” he said, like it was a victory on his part. “Be there in twenty.”

“We’ll be ready.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Maggie

Was I being a little territorial? Maybe.

Logically, there was no good reason why I should’ve agreed to go out with Brody’s high school friends considering the current relationship between us—or the lack of one, I should say.

But I usually made decisions based on the vibe rather than the logic, and well, morbid curiosity won out. I wanted to scope the scene out. Get a glimpse into who Brody was before I ever knew him. And even if it was some form of masochism, I wanted to be near him.

Even if I had to fight him tooth and nail on everything to keep my feelings at bay while we navigated this weird new relationship we found ourselves in.

I already knew it was going to be painful. Abbey would be there. Stupid Abbey with her stupid beautiful hair and stupid history with Brody.

Guys never got over their first loves. Wasn’t that the oldest story in the world? And she swept in just in time, right in the wake of our breaking up, so she could get her probably unmanicured claws into him again.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

“Uh,” Liam’s voice stopped me in my tracks. “Are you okay?”

I ceased my movements, pulling my head off of the fridge I’d been banging my head against.

“Yup,” I said, slightly mortified.

“You sure? Because it looked like you were trying to leave a Maggie-sized dent in my refrigerator door.”

“I was trying to get the bad thoughts out of my head,” I admitted.

“Yeah. I know,” he said. “I haven’t seen you do that since we were kids.”

“Sometimes I feel like there’s too much frustration being kept in my body,” I said. “Do you ever feel like that?”

“Not anymore,” Liam said. “But I remember what it was like.”

“How did you get rid of it?”

“I had to just let it go.” Liam shrugged.

“I don’t know how to do that.” I bit my lip.

“I didn’t either. Or maybe I wasn’t ready to back then. I think you and I are the type of people who like to torture ourselves a little bit.” He let out a humorless laugh.

“I definitely like to torture myself,” I agreed, thinking of how I’d successfully pushed away everyone that mattered. The way they were in pain, too, because of me. “And apparently, I like to torture everyone around me, too.”

I stared up at my brother, feeling exposed by the sincerity I was trying—and probably failing—to express.

“I really didn’t mean to. And I’m sorry.”

Liam shrugged. “Forget about it.”

“I won’t,” I promised. “I’ll remember it, and remember how much it hurt you to remind myself of why I need to think things through before I do them.”

“I appreciate it, Mags,” Liam said. “I do.”