Chapter 6 Lucas was broke , but he was a good person . [ ] He was my friend - actually , my first real friend . [ ] Growing up , other kids always thought I was stupid and would mess with me on purpose . They'd trip me during jump rope , leave me hiding until dark during hide - and - seek . Nobody wanted to be friends with me . But Lucas would shake his head whenever I called myself dumb , telling me it was okay - mistakes happen , and they can be fixed . I stood my ground and said : Yeah , I bought it for him . What's it to you ? You want some too ? " ] off That completely set Dylan off - even his breathing got heavier . Cherry saw he was losing it and shot me an even nastier look . " A moron and a broke loser - perfect match . You guys can be all happy eating ramen and wearing three - for ten dollar shirts . Such simple pleasures … " ] That seemed to hit Dylan's pride , probably because we'd been dirt poor together once . He snapped : * SHUT THE HELL UP ! Cherry stumbled backward , too scared to say another word . He looked down , practically grinding his teeth as he spoke : [ ] " Anna , what are you , some kind of saint ? You see someone down on their luck and just have to play savior , bleeding your heart out for them ? " " Yeah , that's exactly what I did for you , wasn't it ? " ] He always used that to mock me . But I didn't get it - wasn't I supposed to be good to people in my life ? ] That seemed to hit him where it hurt for a second . I took the chance to yank my wrist free and walked away without looking back I could hear his voice belund me , barely above a whisper : [ ] " Is that all it takes ? Just someone to keep you company ? Doesn't matter who ? " I didn't answer . But honestly ? It wasn't that simple . In the beginning , I'd genuinely had feelings for Dylan Lucas had been pretty MIA lately . Whenever I'd text asking if he had time to work , he'd come up with all these different excuses to blow me orr . But here's the weird thing - every morning when I'd show up , the tea was already brewed and the ice machine was humming away . Like some kind of helpful ghost had been there , getting everything perfectly organized . Without Lucas around , business tanked pretty hard . The most frequent visitor now ? Dylan , of all people . He'd show up like he was enjoying watching my life fall apart , but with this totally serious expression : ] Anna , did that broke college kid finally figure out you're an idiot ? Is that why he's not coming around to babysit you anymore ? " ] " Not everyone you try to help is gonna be like me - sticking around even after they realize how dumb you are . Don't you get that ? I put on my headphones and cranked the volume all the way up , refusing to engage with his bullshit . ] Right as the song was starting , I thought I heard him saying something else . " I won't make fun of you for being slow anymore . You could stay … " ] But then the music kicked in with this clear female voice , and whatever else he said got drowned out . [ ]