Page 22 of Renegade Rift

She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth, I’m sure to rip me a new asshole,but stops when a streak of orange darts out from behind her dresser—also from another era—and lands in her lap.

Juliet smiles down at the fluffy ball of fur and scratches underneath the fat cat’s chin. “It’s okay, Lodhi. He’s not staying.”

Well, I’m not leaving. Not without some answers.

The cat nestles against her chest before glaring at me and hissing.

“I know. I feel the same way,” she mutters.

Fucking cat.

It’s a good thing I’ve never been fond of felines, anyway.

Juliet pauses her pets and looks up, raising her eyebrows.

“Don’t look at me like I’m the one who has something to explain.” I glance down at the bed and think better of sitting next to her for this conversation when the damn cat starts pacing in front of me. He’s looking at me like he’d like to make me his next meal.

Fuck that.

I take a step back and lean against the dresser. Cocking my head toward the hallway, I soften my tone and ask, “You going to clue me in on what’s going on?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“Nope, we’re past that.” I cross my arms over my chest, pretending to get comfortable when really my head is spinning a little from the pain in my hand. “Let’s start small and work up to the asshole outside. Why are you living in this shit hole apartment and working as a topless maid? I know damn well Tyler didn’t live here when he was alive, and you received enough to be set for life with the settlement from the crash.”

Her jaw tightens. “Again, I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“The hell it’s not, Juliet. He’d want me to take care of you.”

“Try again,Hulk,” she says with a laugh. “Tyler hated you.”

“Hulk?”

“I figured we were trying out different nicknames other than what I’ve explicitly told you my name was.”

Oh, she’s sassy when she’s fired up.

“Tyler may have hated me.” Absolutely, one hundred percent he did. “But he didn’t hate you.”

“That’s debatable,” she huffs, almost like it’s an afterthought. Then her eyes go wide as she realizes she’s said too much.

Oh no. I’m not about to let her off the hook that easily. I’m tired of the half answers.

“What the hell does that mean?”

Juliet sinks back into the pillows and turns her head to look out the small, clouded window. I can’t tell for certain, but I swear those are tears rimming her eyes.

My mind scrambles to put together a narrative in which Tyler had anything but love for this woman. From the moment he met her, he doted on her. His entire existence revolved around her.I’m wearing this because it’s Jules’ favorite color. I’m late because I had to make sure Jules made it home safely. I’m going to take the offer for the minors so I can stay close to Jules.

He even went so far as to never bring Juliet to the house because it was a gamble on if his father was going to be sober. He lived to protect her.

It’s why I never looked twice after meeting her that first day. She was Tyler’s girl. When my mom married his dad, I took so much from him. The bedroom that was supposed to be his. The star spot on every baseball team we played on. His father’s love.

The last one is debatable, but if you asked Tyler, it was true. Marcus loved the attention I brought because I was the best at what I did. At every game, he didn’t miss the chance to claim me as his son and bask in the glory for two point five seconds.

“It doesn’t matter.” Her words are confident, but the way Juliet’s lip quivers tells me it matters a whole heck of a lot.

I search what I can see of her face for the missing piece, but all I find are walls and sadness.

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