Page 47 of The Bitter Words

The euphoria settles in and I start laughing. Bren joins in, losing his last drag.

He finds a bench to sit on. “Fuck, it’s good to see you like this again.”

“It feels good to be like this again.”

“Really? I thought you were into being clean.”

“It’s okay, but I miss the thrill of partying sometimes. It’s like I’m becoming a boring old person.” I shuffle over and nudge him to make space for me.

He scoots over and pats the seat next to him. “All you do is work, study, go to therapy, and screw your boyfriend, so I can see why you feel that way. It sounds exactly like what an adult would do.”

I sit close to Bren. “You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“About…?”

“Mom and Dad let you get your GED. Maybe they would let me. Then I could have more time to do some fun things.”

“Cut out the counseling and you’ll have a better time just by getting that out of your life.”

I rest my head on his shoulder. “I thought you’d want me to stay in therapy.”

“Wrong. I like that you don’t have as many anxiety attacks, but my bet is it has more to do with spending time with Cash.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You come home from those sessions looking like you’ve been crying the entire time. Sometimes I think it makes you more depressed.”

“It does.” I sigh. “It’s not something I look forward to. Talking about that hellish stuff is hard.”

“Then why go?”

“Callum, Mom, and Dad all think I need to heal from everything that happened.”

“What do you think?”

I raise my head and turn, resting my leg on the bench and facing Bren. “It helps a little, but the pain is still there. That never goes away. I’ve just learned how to hide it from them.”

“Then why waste your time?” He fiddles with his cigarettecase. “You’re young, Liv. Once you get older, you won’t have the same freedom you do now.”

I fake a laugh. “Some freedom.”

“Then start living. Beg Mom and Dad to let you get your GED. Stop going to therapy and enjoy your fucking life.”

“How? You know they wouldn’t let me do any of that.”

“Sure they would. Just make them believe you’ve got your issues under control.” He smirks. “I’ve taught you how to handle them. You just need to tap into your acting abilities and get them where you want them again.”

“Yeah, but you just come right out and tell them what you’re doing. They never get mad or stop you from doing anything. I don’t get that same treatment.”

“Bullshit. You’ve gotten your way your entire life. Go back to how you were before. Use the power you have and get them to flip.” He grunts out a huff. “I even watch you do it with guys. It’s kind of the same thing.”

“I don’t use any powers over men.” I push his shoulder.

He returns the favor. “Yes, you do. Cash was about to fight the guy you were flashing your cleavage to tonight. And let’s not forget when you told me you did it to Jaxon Crowne just to make him feel uncomfortable.”

“I can’t help it if men look at my boobs.”

“Come on, Livianna. You use your body as a weapon and you know it.” Bren takes out another joint. “Figure out what you can do to get Mom and Dad off your back and you’ll be able to do anything you want.”