Page 40 of Rules

“Exactly!” I shout, throwing my hands in the air.

What the fuck does she like about him?

He’s arrogant, crude, and a total player. He’s been bullying Lia for years, he treats people, especially girls, like crap, he...

“He’s your friend, not mine,” she deadpans.

This time I can’t hold in the wince because she’s right. Despite all his wrongdoings, Drewismy friend.

“He’s not a bad guy, Anette.” I sigh. Rubbing a hand over my face, I sit down on the edge of the bed. “He’s angry and misunderstood. He’s broken and damaged like…”

The flash of her skinny body cradled in my hands comes to my mind, but I push it away almost as quickly as it got there.

I stop mid-sentence. The words I want to say are on the tip of my tongue, yet I can’t say them out loud. I don’t want to say them out loud.

But of course she knows what I meant.

“Like me,” she whispers softly. “He’s broken and damaged like me.”

Her face falls, fight leaving her body. And I hate it, hate myself for hurting her. For causing her pain.

Shifting in my seat, I turn around and pull her in my arms, my head touching her shoulder. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, Anette.”

My voice is a quiet rasp against her skin, clogged with so many emotions.

For a while, she lets me hold her, my arms wrapped around her slender body tightly because I’m afraid if I don’t hold on, she’ll disappear. She almost slipped through my fingers once, and the fear of it happening again is real. But all too soon, she pulls away.

“You don’t have anything to worry about. There is nothing going on between me and Andrew. Nothing will ever be going on between us.”

“Anette…” I try again, but she doesn’t let me.

Shaking her head slightly, she gets off the bed, takes her things and without uttering another word, she walks away. I watch her retreating form, bathroom door closing tightly behind her. It’s just a physical reminder of the emotional wall she put between us.

Sighing, my head falls down, and I catch a glimpse of that damn photo again. Irritated with myself and the whole situation I throw the offensive thing away so I don’t have to look at it.

“Fuuuck!”

Chapter Fourteen

BROOK

Hushed voices and rushed footsteps wake me from my sleep. The bright light of the day shines through the window and straight into my face, making it hard to open my eyes. Groaning, I turn around on my small, twin mattress, turning my back to the window and blocking the daylight.

Usually, I don’t sleep in. I don’t have the luxury to do so, but after my shift yesterday, I got home and did some homework. I couldn’t fall asleep, and besides, I had to catch up. With all the extra shifts I’ve been taking lately, I was falling behind on studying. I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but I know it was late, or early, depending on how you look at it.

Now it was probably early afternoon. I stretch, working my tired, stiff muscles as more heated words are exchanged behind the thin walls of our apartment. I’m not sure who’s out there with Josephine; I can’t decipher their voices or words. It can’t be her boyfriend because when they’re in their on-and-off phase, they’re loud, irritatingly so, and there is no stopping it, so I’m sure it has to be somebody else.

Maybe it’s the guy from the other night.

The thought comes out of nowhere and makes me jump out of bed. The movement is so sudden, I end up striking my toe against the leg of the chair.

“Dammit.” I swallow the curse, hoping I didn’t make too much noise that they know I’m up and hiding in my room. I hop on one foot, shaking the other one in hopes of relieving the pain.

When it finally subsides, I slowly move to my door and press my ear against the cool, sleek surface. The voices are still hushed, but this time I can hear what they’re talking about.

“I’m not doing it, Josephine,” the man says. I’m not sure if it’s the guy from the other night or not since I didn’t actually hear his voice that night. Maybe if I saw him I’d know, but I wasn’t risking opening the door.

“The hell you aren’t!” Josephine slurs angrily at him.

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