Page 135 of Worthy

My phone pings on my pillow with a text from Jaxon. I reach for it, typing out a quick reply.

When I look up, Melanie is watching me with a frown.

“What?” I question.

“Can you not manage a single day without texting each other all the time?”

“Why do you dislike Jaxon so much? What did he ever do to you?” I sound as defensive as I feel.

She lies down on her bed, stretching one leg out, the other one bent at the knee. “I dislike you both equally.”

“Why?”

Placing the earbuds in her ears, she asks, “Do I need to have a reason?”

My teeth grind and then I flop back down on my soft bed and stare up at the white ceiling. Melanie is so damn infuriating.

I’m not stupid, I know she hates that her dad has moved on.

She feels threatened.

In her mind, we’re a replacement family.

“Have it your way. I won’t talk to you anymore.”

Her response is to press play on her phone and tap her foot in time to the blaringly loud music in her ears.

I don’t even know why she winds me up this much. So, she doesn’t like me? Why do I care? Screw her. I don’t need her to like me. I’ve got my own friends and Jaxon.

There’s a soft knock on the bedroom door, and Melanie’s dad pops his head inside. “Let’s go hiking. It’s due to snow tomorrow, so today is our only opportunity to explore the countryside.”

“What?” Melanie pulls out her earbuds.

“We’re going hiking.”

Her eyes flick to mine briefly, and I raise a brow, smug to have gotten one over on her.

“Make sure to put on lots of layers, girls. It’s cold out there.”

He disappears again, pulling the door shut softly.

Melanie, in no hurry to dress up warm, flips me off and puts her earbuds back in.

Chapter two

Melanie

Day two of this tedious trip. Dad took us to a Greek restaurant near the hotel, and now we’re seated at a candle-lit table beneath a sea of fairy lights.

Isn’t it stupid to travel to Norway on vacation only to have dinner at a Greek restaurant?

Dad and his wife have had too much alcohol. My stepmom giggles like a schoolgirl with a crush while Dad sits with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. They’re none the wiser to what Miss Perfect is doing.

I watch Jessica with raised eyebrows as she talks to a stranger at the bar.A stranger…Quite frankly, I never thought she had it in her to do anything out of line. She has the perfect boyfriend and the perfect life, but here she is, smiling at a stranger who is at least five years her senior, if not older. Color me intrigued. I can’t stop watching this landslide.

My back straightens when the barman hands her a drink. I peer at my parents, but they’re still clueless.

What the hell is she up to? More importantly, why do I care? I can’t answer that. I’m intrigued because her behavior tonight is so out of character.

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