Bronagh Murphy was my opposite in every way. When she wasn’t pretending she was invisible—she was loud, sassy, and had a solid backbone. She was funny too, and though she didn’t think so, she had a banging body.
My and Bronagh’s pairing was an odd one, and we hadn’t always been friends. In fact, it was only over the past few weeks that we decided to give the friendship thing a real go after I was attacked by the school bully, and Bronagh defended me. After that, we quickly found we were, in fact, BFFs and just had to hang out all the time.
We were a work in progress for Bronagh, though. I wasn’t exactly a social butterfly, I could make friends easily enough when I wanted to, but Bronagh couldn’t. She had trust issues, and landing a spot as her friend was a miracle in its own right. I had been in her class for all of secondary school and often saw her around primary school, but I never really knew her. No one did… until Dominic and Damien Slater moved to our town, got lumped into our tutor class and, quite literally, cornered her until she had no choice but to come out swinging.
Damien Slater, my mind drifted. Where do I start with Damien Slater?
I licked my lips and exhaled.
Damien was… my God—he was perfect. He was drop-dead gorgeous, tall, had an accent, and he made me laugh. He was an identical twin, but to me, he was nothing like his brother Dominic. I knew from the moment I saw him on his first day in school a few months ago that I would secretly obsess over him. I just didn’t know I’d be obsessing twenty-four-bloody-seven over him.
I had never had a real crush on a boy before Damien entered my life. I thought some boys around school and town were cute, and hot celebrities obviously drew my attention like any other red-blooded teenage girl, but I had no one who I really fancied myself being with. That all changed when I first saw Damien. His personality was larger than life, and as cheesy as it sounds, he looked like he was carved by angels. He was one of those perfect people you looked at and instantly knew that they would never glance in your direction, much less gaze in it.
Ten seconds after I clapped eyes on him, I was imagining our wedding. My stomach somersaulted when I pictured his white blond hair standing out against his black tuxedo as we said ‘I do’. How his grey eyes would stare into mine as he declared his undying love for me to the world. How his plump rosy lips would feel like velvet as they covered mine and claimed them in a heated kiss. How his smile would erase my every worry and fear and replace it with hope. How his large hands would hold mine when we strolled down the street.
It took another ten seconds for me to realise that I never stood a damn chance. Nearly every girl in our class, and the damn school, most likely had the same thoughts as I did and jumped to be the first one to grab and hold his attention.
It was mortifying to admit it to myself, but Damien consumed a huge part of my life, and we were barely even friends. If that didn’t label me as pathetic, then I didn’t know what would. The only thing on my side was that no one knew those embarrassing pieces of information… except for Bronagh, who was too attentive for her own good.
“Alannah, what’re you sighin’ for?” she asked, bumping my leg with hers.
I turned my attention to her. “Huh?”
“You keep sighin’.”
I do?
“Sorry, I’m just thinkin’.”
Bronagh stared at me, a perfectly shaped brow raised in question.
“About Damien?” she asked.
I felt my cheeks stain with heat. Bronagh was my best friend, but that title was new, and that meant she didn’t really know the depth of my feelings for Damien. No one did, and if I had it my way, no one would.
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
Bronagh simpered. “You’re so cute when you blush.”
‘Cause that’s what every eighteen-year-old wants to be viewed as. Cute.
I playfully kicked at her. “Leave me alone.”
“Sorry,” she said, amusement gleaming in her eyes. “I forget how… much of an introvert you are.”
“I’m so not an introvert. You are.”
“Me?” Bronagh gleefully laughed.
I nodded. “Which one of us kept to ‘erself for years?”
“I was purposely blockin’ everyone out, though; you weren’t.”
I didn’t reply, so Bronagh raised her brow and stared at me, a knowing grin on her pink lips.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “I’m a little bit of an introvert, but it suits me fine. When I try to be outgoin’, it fails, so keepin’ to one’s self is a safe bet.”
“When did it fail?” Bronagh quizzed.