Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton (novels for beginners txt) 📕

“It’s not like it’s a little bit of money,” Holden bursts out. “It’s millions of dollars! That could—it will—change my life.”

“Or mine,” I mutter. “Even if there’s nothing between us. Even if that was all fake—”

“It wasn’t.”

“Shut up. I can’t deal with that knowledge from you right now. You know what the worst part is? I was actually considering giving you the ticket. Like, you’re not perfect, I know. But I figured you’re eighteen; you can change. Maybe you’d do the right thing with the money. But then you broke into my room and trashed it. That was the lowest thing you could’ve done.”

Holden lets out a long breath, like someone who knows they’ve picked the wrong course of action, but now that they’re embarked, they have to stay on it. “I had to, Jane. I need that ticket. I’ve got to get out of this town, and I wasn’t sure you were going to give it to me, so I took matters into my own hands.”

“I want out of this town too!” I practically shout. “But I’m not threatening my friends or someone I once loved to get there.”

“No. You’ve been lying to everyone and sitting on millions of dollars.” Holden makes a disgusted noise. “You don’t even deserve to win it. Like, what are you going to do? Donate it all to some ocean fund?”

That’s exactly my intention for some of the money, not that Holden needs to know it.

“Maybe. But it doesn’t matter if I deserve to win it or not. Luck doesn’t work that way.”

Holden slams the picnic table with his fist. “It’s not fair. I need the money!”

“You really don’t. Your family is doing fine. You have a car, nice clothes, and you’ll go to college, get a job, and probably still end up loaded.”

“Give me the ticket,” Holden says through gritted teeth.

“I won’t.”

“Do you have the ticket on you?” Holden’s voice has a dangerous edge.

He moves toward me, and it’s then that it occurs to me that meeting him out here, this late at night, was a terrible idea. But it’s not like he’d actually hurt me. Right? Or would he? I thought I knew Holden, but this blackmailing, angry guy? I don’t know him. Not even a little bit. He absolutely could hurt me.

“It’s in a safe place,” I jump off the picnic table and step away from Holden.

“I’m still going to release the information!” he says, grabbing my arm. His fingers dig into my flesh. “I’ll do it right now.”

I wrench his fingers off my arm. “Go ahead and try, but I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Phase two begins now.

I pull out my phone and open the link Bran sent me. It’s a video he just posted on his Instagram. In it, Bran stands in front of Wanda’s with my mom, who’s looking nervous and excited. She holds the lotto ticket in one hand and twists one of the buttons on her shirt with the other.

“Hi, folks!” says Bran. “You’re not going to believe it, but I’m standing here with Joy Lynn Belleweather, resident of Lakesboro and the winner of the $58 million lotto ticket!”

My mom waves to the camera.

Bran goes on, “Tell me, Mrs. Belleweather, what does it feel like to have won the lottery?”

Mom just blinks at the camera for a minute and then smiles. “It’s amazing. Like all my dreams have come true …”

The interview goes on, but I shut it off. I can watch the full thing later. Beside me, Holden has turned a nasty shade of purple, and he looks like he’s going to puke. Which is delightful.

“You didn’t … Jane. You gave the ticket to your mom?” His hands are fists, and he slams one into the filthy picnic table.

“I did. I’d rather her spend it all on random crap than give you a cent. You broke my heart, Holden.”

Holden lets out a high, cold laugh. Like a villain in a cheesy movie. Good grief. “I don’t even care,” he says. “You were a shitty girlfriend, and you’ll never find someone to love you.”

His words cut through me, but somehow they don’t hurt quite as much as they would have a few days ago. Maybe my heart is healing. Maybe I have better armor. Maybe I finally see him for who he is.

“You’re wrong, Holden. I have lots of people who love me, and there will be many more. And even if I don’t, I’m more than enough for myself.” I start to walk away.

“I’m still going to release the photo of you buying the ticket!” he calls out.

I turn around and shrug. “Go ahead. But it’s not going to prove anything. It’s just a picture of me holding a lottery ticket. No one will know if I actually bought it or if it was just a scrap of paper I found lying around. And if you release that picture, you’re basically admitting to breaking into Wanda’s.”

Holden lets out a frustrated breath. He knows I’m right. Check and mate.

We have nothing more to say to each other, so I get into Mom’s truck and drive away. For the first time since Holden broke up with me, I don’t look back.

AT LAST! LUCKY LOTTO WINNER FOUND BY BRANDON KIM

The small town of Lakesboro was delighted to discover the big lotto winner had been in their midst all along. Joy Lynn Belleweather, 42, has come forward as the lucky winner, and I got an exclusive interview with her. When asked about why it took her so long to come forward, Belleweather said, “I’ve been thinking of what to do with this ticket. It’s a lot of money, and I needed some time to wrap my head around all the possibilities. But I’ve got a very solid plan now.”

Belleweather plans on cashing the lotto ticket first thing on Monday morning, and we wish her all the best as this exciting new chapter of her life begins …

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

MONDAY AFTER SCHOOL, I COME STRAIGHT