Page 18 of I Hate You More

The house was quiet as I entered, and I crept through it, searching the lower level for any sign of Chase. When it seemed like the coast was clear, I let out a breath. He must have been up in his room, and I was more than happy to leave him there.

Relief washed over me, and I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. There were leftovers from the previous night’s dinner waiting for me in the fridge, and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into them. It was a rare occasion when Dad cooked, and his lasagna was amazing. It was Mom’s recipe, and he somehow always managed to make it taste exactly like hers. The moment I opened the fridge though, my heart plummeted. The lasagna was gone.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered as I stared at the blank spot where I’d placed the Tupperware container the night before. Not only was the food gone, but the cans of soda I’d left in the fridge had also disappeared.

I closed the fridge door, and as soon as I turned around, I found the remnants of dinner by the sink. The lasagna container was cleaned out, and two empty cans of soda were scrunched next to it.

White-hot anger rushed through me. Not only had Chase invaded my house, but now, he’d commandeered my food and finished off my favorite drink. It was like he was trying to start a fight with me on purpose. I stormed from the kitchen and up the stairs toward his bedroom.

I flung open the door to Chase’s room, ready to unleash my anger on him, but I stopped dead as the door opened wide. Chase wasn’t alone. He was lying on his bed with Jenna next to him, and the two of them were wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing heavily. Chase’s shirt was nowhere to be seen, and I watched in horror as Jenna raked her fingers across his bare chest. Thankfully, the rest of their clothes were still on, but Jenna was uttering unnecessarily loud moans of pleasure that I knew were going to haunt me for days.

The blood rushed from my face and bile rose up in my throat as the two of them stopped and looked over at me. They froze when they saw me standing in the doorway. Jenna’s eyes were wide with shock, and even Chase seemed uncomfortable by my appearance.

I somehow stuttered out some idiotic apology before pulling the door closed and racing into my room. I slammed the door and tried to subdue my rapid breathing.

“This can’t be happening,” I said to myself, as I took in deep breaths to try to calm down. The moment the noise of my beating heart started to ease though, Jenna’s giggles came from across the hall, and I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, wishing I could block it out.

I wanted to tear my ears off, but since that wasn’t an option, I quickly put some music on and turned up the volume. It was a blessing in disguise that Dad was strict on Shane and I because I’d never had to see something so disgusting before. My brother would never dream of bringing a girl home for a hookup session in his room, and I had never been more grateful for the fact.

I wanted to burn out my eyes, but the image of Jenna and Chase had seared itself to the inside of my eyelids. It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten dinner because I probably would have thrown it up.

I kept telling myself it could have been worse. At least the two of them hadn’t been naked, and from what I could see, they were only kissing.Heavilykissing. Yep, I officially wanted to puke again.

I must have hidden in my room for over an hour before a loud knock sounded on my door. I ignored it, but the knocking didn’t stop. Eventually, I let out a groan, turned the music down, and went to see who was there. I was relieved to find Shane standing outside my room rather than Chase.

“Is there a reason you’re blasting Adele from your speakers?” he asked.

“Yes. Your friend is a pig.” I glanced in the direction of Chase’s room. The door was open now, and there was no sign of Jenna orhim. Thankfully.

Shane smiled. “And he’s a pig because…”

“He ate my lasagna, drank my pop, and I walked in on him making out with Jenna.” I scrunched my face up as I relived the ordeal all over again. “I was trying to drown out the noises they were making, and I was hoping a little Adele might make it allstop, you know?”

Shane burst out laughing. “Oh, man, you look horrified.”

“Well, the whole ‘Jenna’ thing was horrific. And you know how I feel about leftover lasagna.”

“Yes, I did learn that one the hard way,” he admitted. “Was it one week or two you stopped talking to me after the last time I finished all the lasagna leftovers?”

“Two,” I replied, letting out a long sigh. Shane might have given me crap about my attachment to the lasagna leftovers, but at least he understood it. They were one of the few reminders we had of our mom, and we usually tried to share them. It might have seemed pathetic, but when I ate her lasagna, it felt like a small part of her was still with us. I could hardly expect Chase to understand that though.

I let out another sigh as I thought of him. “Is this really going to be the next year of my life? No food in the fridge and floozies in the house every day?”

Shane’s expression sobered a little at my question. “I’ll talk to Chase about it. I’m sure he didn’t realize it would upset you to take the leftovers, and I’ll tell him to keep his dating activities out of the house.”

I gave my brother a grateful smile. “Thanks, Shane.”

He ruffled a hand on top of my head and grinned back at me. “I’m going to order some pizza for dinner. You want some?”

I shook my head though. “I’ve kind of lost my appetite, and I ate my body weight in brownies at Tessa’s house after school.”

“Oh, man. Did you bring me any?” Those brownies were the only reason Shane ever made sure to make an appearance when Tessa came over. She always brought her mom’s brownies, and I was pretty certain it was because she knew how much he liked them.

“Nope.”

Shane’s face fell in response. “Well, I’ll expect you to bring me make-up brownies next time you go.”

I shook my head at him and laughed. “Fine, whatever.”

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