Free Breaking All the Rules by Abi Walters Page B

he hurt you?”
    “He tried. Benson stopped him.”
    “Ah-ha!” Lora nearly jumped. “Your sour mood is because of Benson, isn’t it?”
    “My mood is because Aaron grabbed me and told me I was a worthless slut and then Benson took me home and proved his point.” She looked over at Mrs. Tate. “I’m sorry.”
    She held her hands up, “It takes more than that to offend me.”
    “Just hold the presses!” Lora wedged her way in front of Mia. “Start from the beginning.”
    “I was born on a rainy Thursday evening-”
    Mrs. Tate chuckled while Lora rolled her eyes, “Seriously, Mia. How could you not tell me Benson Ward was going to be at the show? And why?”
    “Benson Ward?” Mrs. Tate perked up. “The same Benson Ward from that Forbes list?”
    “Yes,” Mia and Lora both shot gruffly at the woman, who once again raised her hands and sunk into the counter to watch the unfolding fight.
    “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it would be a big deal, Lora. I just have a crush on the guy-”
    “It’s more than a crush. You are wild about that man.”
    “He signed Burnside on opening night of his venue without even listening to them. I honestly wanted him to hear them. But he showed up and he is just so perfect I couldn’t help but melt into him. He just looks at me and I’m flustered. I went to the bathroom, and on my way back, Aaron was standing there. Waiting for me like the plague.”
    “He’s so sleazy,” Lora shivered. “Have you seen him since the hospital?”
    Mia looked at Mrs. Tate, ashamed. Lora had called her mom that night, frantic and afraid, after finding both Aaron and Mia unresponsive. Aaron had overdosed on some concoction of drugs and Mia had drunk herself into a stupor that resulted in getting her stomach pumped. When she was released from the hospital, Mia cut all ties with Aaron and anyone associated with him. She was reckless, but she recognized the slippery slope she was running down. Even though the Tate family accepted Mia, she always felt like they were embarrassed of her past. She felt like a charity case.
    “No,” She finally answered. “You pulled me out of that scene pretty quickly. I can’t believe he was there. I can’t believe he still shakes me up like that.”
    “Shakes you up, as in, you’re still attracted to him?” Lora gawked.
    “No!” Mia drew back; horrified her friend would even consider that. “As in he makes me skin crawl in unhealthy ways. He makes me want feel so unworthy of life. I look at him and I think of how terrible I was and when he looks back, I feel like I’m that 19 year old broken mess who deserves to be walked on. He is a predator, and all these years later I’m still trying to regain my strength from him.”
    “I’m so sorry, Mia,” Mrs. Tate wiped her hands on a towel and crossed over to hug her. She rubbed comforting circles in her back. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think you would recognize 19 year old you if you looked back. You’ve changed. You’re stronger.”
    “Mom’s right,” Lora nodded. “You’re better now.”
    “I don’t feel better,” Mia sniffled, embarrassed by her tears. “How can someone drain you of life so quickly? And then Benson was there. He was ready to beat Aaron into the floor. I had him take me home, but I was so empty and needy that I invited him in. He left after. He woke me up getting around, and then he left.”
    Mia would spare them the details. She had propositioned Benson. She wanted him way before the whole ordeal at Pluto Lounge. But she was searching for an excuse for the throbbing hole in her heart. She didn’t tell them that there was something more between the two. She didn’t tell them how he inhabited every part of her body, mind, and soul… how the touch of his fingers were still hot on her skin hours later. He hadn’t just fucked her and left. He’d cared for her, tended to her, and then walked out. He made her break her rules and then didn’t stay to