The Heartbreakers Read Online Free PDF

English and all those other college-level classes.” She threw aside the lock of hair she’d been picking at. “How do you know he’s with her?”
    Kelly shrugged and then rubbed her stomach as if she felt sick. Probably she ate too much ice cream. “He’s going out with her on Valentine’s Day.”
    Sydney wiped at her face again, the tears slowing now. “Are you serious?”
    Alexia wanted to feel for Kelly, too, but her sort-of-boyfriend was worthless. They all thought so, but the only one honest enough to speak her mind was Sydney, which lessened the overall effect.
    â€œWill”—Sydney always said his name like it was a piece of spinach stuck between her teeth—“is a total jerk. Not to mention he’s a sucky class president.”
    That had nothing to do with the breakup, but Sydney hated that Will was technically in charge of the student council because he was the senior class president. She always used that against him as if it was a bad character trait.
    Kelly curled into a ball on the other couch. Her usually clear, peachy-toned skin looked splotchy.
    Maybe it was time for Alexia to back Sydney up. She ran through Will’s imperfections. “Now you don’t have to put up with his whining. ‘I ordered this with ketchup. Not mayonnaise. What, do you want to give me a heart attack?’”
    This made them all laugh, even Kelly, who usually defended Will against everything.
    â€œI wish I were you right now,” Kelly said, giving Alexia a serious stare.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œBecause you’re happy and not nursing a broken heart.”
    â€œSecond that,” Sydney said. “You have no idea how lucky you are.”
    â€œLucky? To never have had a boyfriend?” Alexia raised her eyebrows in question. “I think I’d rather be heartbroken and know what love felt like rather than always wondering.”
    Raven dug in her bag and pulled out her iPod. “I’m not even sure I loved Caleb—and I’m still heartbroken. A boyfriend is no guarantee.”
    Sydney shrugged. “Love is great. But heartbreak sucks.” She slouched farther into the couch.
    â€œYou guys!” Alexia said. “Have you forgotten that women cannot be defined by their men? You’re letting your state of mind suffer because of something a guy did to you. You need to stop.”
    â€œIt isn’t…that…easy,” Kelly said, sniffing.
    â€œNo. It isn’t,” Sydney agreed. “And I need a coping mechanism.”
    Alexia’s parents were both psychologists, so she knew that term well. When she was seven and her tabby cat, Gypsy, ran away, her parents told her to make a coping list. When she got sad about Gypsy being gone, instead of dwelling on it, she played with the dog. Instead of laying her head in Gypsy’s old cat bed and crying, she donated the bed to a pet charity. And when she saw a cat, she stayed away for a while, until she got over Gypsy, because playing with another cat would just make her miss her cat even more.
    Thinking of the coping list gave her an idea.
    â€œWait here a sec,” she said and got up. She went into the den and rummaged through a few desk drawers searching for the candles her mother always stored. She wanted to help her best friends with their heartbreak. It’d been so long since they were all together like this.
    Their boyfriends took up all of their free time. In the last six months, Alexia had felt like they were all drifting apart. Maybe the breakups were a good thing. She wouldn’t tell them that, but as she went back into the living room, she grew excited that maybe, just maybe, three breakups would create a whole new bond of friendship.
    A rekindling of best friends.
    Alexia lit the four candles she’d found and, within a few seconds, the melting wax threw a vanilla scent around the four girls. With the TV and ceiling light off, the living room