Page 104 of Please Hate Me

“I think it’s great Mason’s back!” Leona rhapsodized.

“I never said it wasn’t.” Lucian sounded fed up with our sister, but I couldn’t blame him.

From what I remembered of Lucian’s mother, Leona was her clone. She possessed the same boisterous energy, the same know-it-all attitude, the same unbearably warm gaze. Each of these traits made Leo incredibly hard to be around for prolonged periods.

“And you’re going to be a dad again! Aren’t you excited?”

My heart stopped. Did she thinkLucianwas Lavender’s father?

“I’m not the dad. We’ve been over this.”

Oh, good. Maybe Lucian wasn’t lying to her after all.

“Cameron is,” Lucian continued.

My jaw clenched.

“I know! But Cameron and Sophia are your kids’ parents, even if they’re not related by blood. You can do that too!” Excitement dripped from my sister’s words.

“Leo,“ he groaned.

“Oh, stop being grumpy because you’re in love!”

He’d better fucking not be.

I tried to listen in more, but I was yanked back by the collar of my shirt. I stumbled for a moment before whipping around, muscles tight with rage.

Cameron glowered down at me. A nervous flutter filled my chest; I tried to chalk it up to anger at the fact that this behemoth was touching me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was a deep, dangerous rumble.

Normally, I was extremely quick-witted, but all I could think about in that moment was how much I wanted to strangle my brother. Mason wasmine.

“Don’t answer that. I know what you’re doing—you’re being a creep.”

My whole body shook as white-hot rage bubbled just under the surface. Who washeto talk tomelike that? I wasn’t the prime suspect in a homicide case.

“What I’m doing is none of your concern, Cameron Cole.”

“As long as you’re datin’ the mother of my child,everythingyou do is my concern.”

That was laughable. “Without me,youwouldn’t be dating the mother ofmychild. I’m the one who’s always been there for both of them.”

The tight-lipped smile Cameron shot me was maddening. “If you’re so confident, why are you listenin’ in on your brother’s conversation? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re jealous.”

My breath hitched as I realized this massive hick wasn’t as stupid as he looked. He had one thing wrong, though: I had absolutely no reason to be jealous.

“She broke up with all of you last night!” I snapped. “I texted Lucian and—”

Cameron’s hand appeared on my mouth, and I wanted to bite him. The smoky smell of Cameron’s cologne was so thick it wouldn’t have been out of place in a middle school locker room.

“They talked it out. He ain’t telling me what all they said, just that she’soursnow.”

Cameron pulled his hand back as my chest started to heave. Losing her was a fate worse than death. Without Mason, I couldn’t breathe. If I wasn’t good enough for her, I was no good at all—everything I had ever done to better myself would have been for nothing.

“No. She’s not. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have looked twice at any of you. Shelovesme.”

“Does she?” Skepticism dripped from Cameron’s words. “Yesterday, she told me she didn’t love anyone.”

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