Free Vanished: A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance by Autumn Avery Page B

can’t remember the last time I actually made myself a good breakfast.
                  “You were in bad shape last night,” he says, dumping some eggs out of the pan onto one of the plates. Two slices of toast pop up in the toaster. He grabs them and two pieces of bacon.
                  “Bacon? I don’t think so.” I say. My stomach is nowhere near one hundred percent, and I don’t want a repeat of the catastrophe of last night.
                  “Okay,” he says, carelessly tossing a piece in his mouth and chewing away. “I like bacon.”
                  He sets the plate on the table and goes to the fridge, pulls out a carton of orange juice, and pours me a glass. Hesitantly, I step into the kitchen and sink down into one of the fabric-covered chairs I found at the thrift store. It creaks as I get comfortable. Joey brings the glass over and takes a seat in front of me. His chair sounds like it’s going to crack under his weight. He’s a bit bigger than I am, after all. I suddenly feel self-conscious about the state of my place. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a …stranger over.
                  Just looking at him sitting in front of me, brings memories flooding back to me. Sitting in art class, working on my painting when he came over to me. Finding the drawing of me in the trash can. All those times he stood staring at me from across the hall, and now here he is doing the same thing, only across the table from me.
                  The effect he has on me is impossible to truly describe. My apartment suddenly feels like his apartment simply by him being here, and adding to the fact that he’s just made me breakfast, I suddenly feel like a visitor. Somehow it’s comforting. I’m used to doing everything for myself. It started when dad left, and only continued after high school. With Joey around, somehow all the pressure has been lifted off of me, and I’m comfortable just letting him be in charge.
                  But at the same time, I’m still seething with rage, and it’s going to take a lot more than a couple scrambled eggs and toast to calm me down.
                  “You trying to buy me off?” I ask him, chomping threateningly on a slice of toast. “You think breakfast is going to make up for six years of silence?”
                  For the first time, I see a slight twinge of emotion cross over his face, like my words actually got to him. But it’s so brief, I wonder if it was actually even there. I’d had dreams of my life with Joey. I’d pursue my painting, and he’d encourage me. He would travel with me. We’d go to Paris, see the Eiffel Tower for real , and then he’d snatched it all away from me.
                  “Your scrambled eggs are shit,” I lie, sticking my tongue out as I chew.
                  “You think that’s going to gross me out after last night?”
                  Touché.
                  I look away, feeling embarrassed again.
                  “This is so weird,” I say, more to myself than him. “You being here. Doesn’t feel…real.”
                  “What’s weird is you not attacking me or something. I thought you were gonna hit me last night outside the bar.”
                  “I was going to,” I say quickly, feeling suddenly defensive. I take a deep sip of orange juice, washing down the eggs, which are actually pretty good. “But Brad and Devon beat me to it.”
                  He bursts into laughter so loud it startles me. “Those two idiots,” he says. “Some people never change.”
                  “And you have?” I ask. He looks back at me, eyeing me for a moment like he’s trying to decide what to say. When he doesn’t speak, I continue.
                  “I mean, you look different. Not as scrawny as