Page 28 of Waiting Game

He shrugged, “I do alright,” he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I see that you still like green,” I smiled at all the neon green artwork on the walls, and his emerald coloured couch. It was the only colour in the house, the rest of it, including the walls, the tiles, and marble kitchen counter - was black.

He shrugged again, “it’s my favourite colour, you know that. Used to be yours too.”

“My favourite colour is purple,” I said.

He smirked again and his eyes studied my face as he ate.

“Never used to be,” he said when he finished chewing.

“I’ve changed a lot since I was fucking eighteen, Ren.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” his eyebrows furrowed together and he saw straight through me.

I sighed, setting my cutlery down and putting my head in my hands.

“Why did I come here?” I asked, mainly to myself.

“Because you know just as well as I do that there’s still something between us, Val. You can deny it all you want to yourself, but you can’t fucking lie to me. I know you better than anyone.”

I shook my head, still staring down at the table.

“No you don’t,” I mumbled.

“Oh yeah?” he asked, sitting back and crossing your arms, “does your new man know all the things that I know? Does he know anything about your past? Big or small? Does he know that you don’t like toppings on your pancakes? Does he know where you got that scar on your collarbone from?.”

I mindlessly touched the scar that I often forgot about, pulling the shirt up higher on my chest.

“You don’t know anything about Pete,” I snapped, “he’s a good guy. He’s a doctor.”

Ren rolled his eyes, “who gives a shit? Being a doctor doesn’t automatically make you a good person. If you think it does, then it’syourmoral compass that is fucked, not mine. At least I’m honest about who I am.”

“Fuck this,” I snapped, getting up from the chair.

I snatched my dress from the ground, ripped off Ren’s t-shirt and threw it towards him, and slipped back into the satin dress.

I didn’t care how stupid I would look walking down the street in a bridesmaids dress, I just had to get back to my hotel and I could change.

“Val, stop,” Ren tried, standing up and coming towards me.

“No.Youstop,” I snapped again. Opening the door and slamming it behind me.

I would return to my hotel, I would charge my phone, and I would find the earliest flight back to Perth.

8

Chapter 8

Ren

Larissa showed up at my door not long after Valerie left. The last person that I wanted to see was my sister, the second person on that list was my father - but it was out of my control.

It was visiting day.

“I don’t want to go today, Riss,” I sighed, flopping onto the couch, “just tell him that I’m sick.”

“No,” she crossed her arms, “you haven’t been in months and I’m sick of going alone. All he asks about is you. I don’t even know why I bother going in the first place,” she complained.

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