Page 71 of Hate Game

RUE

My plan backfired and now I’m paying for it. Malice will be angry when he finds out Josh wants me to be his BFF.

“Thanks for the ride, Josh.”

We’re in his truck parked in front of Malice’s parents’ burnt house. Leigh went with me to speak with him the day Malice broke his nose.

Rather than accept my apology in Malice’s place, Josh blackmailed me. Introduce him to Isaac, “The Punisher,” and he won’t have his dad press charges against Malice for assault. I can’t imagine what Malice’s parents will do to him should that happen.

“No, probs. When will Isaac see me?”

“Isaac is protective of his time and his space.”

“That bag of money will help my family.”

“Maybe if you take back the word blackmail,” I eke out. “It’s such a dirty word, Josh.”

He hangs his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Rue. Running with the wrong crowd in Alexandria stunted my brain for the worse. Your use of ‘agreement’ is more appropriate.”

Josh is a decent guy. He, his three siblings, and his dad moved to Cambridge for his dad’s job in construction.

“Let me talk with Isaac. I’ll let you know what he says.”

There’s a tap on his window. We look. It’s Malice. Josh rolls down his window and extends his hand. “Hey, Sterling. Sorry for what I said to you and about Rue.”

Malice’s eyes widen. He stares at Josh’s hand and works his jaw back and forth, his eyes darkening like he wants to punch Josh in the face again. Thank goodness he does the opposite.

They shake. It’s a truce and a step in the right direction. I am tired of drama and conflict in my life. I just want to do a good job, get paid, and find my parents. I open the door and slide out of Josh’s truck.

“Again, thanks for the ride.”

“Yeah, thanks, bro. From now on though, Rue’s gotta do her job, or else she doesn’t get paid. That means where I go, she goes, and vice versa. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

They fist bump. We watch Josh drive off before we walk side by side to Malice’s place. In my peripheral vision, he shoves his hands in his jeans pockets and looks down at the ground. “I’m at a loss here, Rue. What the fuck happened?” He shakes his head. “That is not the same guy.”

Malice is moody as fuck, but inside, he’s like the rest of us. He wants to be seen and heard. Look and listen, Rue. It’s how you’ll win over his heart.Trace’s words to me.

Trace believes Malice wants to be seen and heard. I want the same. That means seeing and hearing the same thing rather than assuming. I tell Malice what happened. “Leigh brought along a baseball bat. As soon as he saw her with it, he apologized and explained why he said what he said.” I give Malice the reason.

“You believe him?”

“That he wants to change for the better and leave his bad rep and bad behavior behind? I do.”

“Because you relate?”

“Yes,” I admit.

“Then I believe him too. But if he hurts one hair on your head, I will break his leg with Leigh’s baseball bat. Yeah?”

“Okay.”

“Be sure to tell him that.”

“Fine,” I mutter.

We’re at the front door. Malice opens it and waves me inside. The scent of chocolate chip cookies hits me hard. My stomach growls. I clutch at my stomach.

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