Page 33 of Hate Game

“What gives you the idea I’m seeing him?”

“It’s obvious, Rue.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“Looks to be more. Plus, you saw his junk,” I point out. “Tell me, what guy shows his girl BFF his junk?”

“Red does, and that’s because he knows I don’t have feelings for him in that way. Red has feelings for someone else. She left without giving him closure, and he’s sworn off girls ever since.”

This is the first time I’ve heard of Red’s broken heart. “He’s not being truthful, Rue.” My nice way of saying he’s a liar.

“It doesn’t matter what you think of him.” She stares at a spot over my shoulder, lost in whatever is on her mind. “This whole time, you believed I cheated on Red with you?”

“Yeah.”

“How could you after what I said after—” She waves her hand. “After we made love.”

Why won’t she own up to her lies? “We didn’t make love. Wefucked.”

She gasps. I’ve gone too far, but Rue doesn’t disappoint. She is a fighter.

“I hate you.”

“Good. It’ll make the time with you go by faster. Now take the damn mask off, and I’ll drop you off wherever you want to go.”

12

MALICE

Rue doesn’t take off the makeup, and I refuse to give her a ride. We stew in silence, avoiding one another in a suddenly too-small house.

In the afternoon, she goes for a walk. The air is cool, and the sky is clear. I take a long draw of refreshing air into my lungs and follow close behind her. Now that I’ve had time to think, I give Rue’s theory of the fire being intentional more thought. But I lose my train of thought the moment my gaze lands on her swaying hips in a pair of snug jeans that highlight her fine ass.

This morning, when I caught her red-handed roaming around in the dark with what I believe are stolen NVGs, she didn’t exactly answer my question.

Where are you going, Regret?

Anywhere but where you are.

Was she meeting Red for a quick hookup?

Then again, she said they’re friends. Did she? My brain is a chaotic mess. Her words don’t matter. What’s important is how Red looks at Rue with possessiveness and hunger. He’s into Rue, and his interest is enough reason for me to keep her at arm’s length.

Our friendship and whatever good feelings I had for her are gone. What’s left is lust, and it warps into hate at every turn, threatening to destroy me from the inside out.

To get my peace, I have to let go of my desire for Rue.

We’re not good for one another and are too alike. Opposites attract, and Cassie is my opposite. She has a good head on her shoulders, and there’s no worrying she’ll get into a situation she can’t get out of.

I pull out my phone and check my messages. There’s one from Cassie that I haven’t answered. I was too irritated and focused on the turn of events. Rather than getting stuck with troublesome Rue, I should be cruising the streets in my GT-R with a drop-dead gorgeous girl riding shotgun.

Yeah, it was my fault for leaving people unsupervised in my parents’ home, but Rue’s ruthlessness led her to propose the living situation with my parents.

Didsheset fire to my parents’ house?

Why would I think that?

Rue is ruthless and a thief, but she isn’t crazy. Why put the blame on Rue? I’m the one who messed up.

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