Page 90 of To Love or to Lose
“You can read between the lines—I never said you weren’t—but under these circumstances, you are wrong.”
“What exactly are ‘these circumstances?’”
“We’ve been in constant competition with each other since I got to America, Genevieve. We are basically fabricated to not get along. I’ve never hated you, not once. You annoy me to the greatest extent sometimes, and your intelligence can be aggravating.”
I scoff. Of course, he thinks my intelligence is aggravating. All intelligence that is being put head-to-head against your own is.
“But, at the end of the day, our competition is like fuel. We both feel the need to be the best, and we strive to exceed each other in pursuit of it. I’ve never hated you because I think you’re a bad person, or because I feel cruelty against others; I needed to dislike you because of our rivalry, because if our rivalry were to end, neither of us would have something to work toward.”
“Your argument lacks evidence,” I dispute. My head is still spinning, and I can barely see straight, but I try not to take notice of that. “It doesn’t matter what grounds you decided against befriending me on, you still decided to turn what could have been a great partnership into a toxic feud.”
It’s the truth.
“And I’m not blaming you for it, because I did the same thing. But what also contradicts the ordinary is the fact that you think lack of a rivalry would cause us to not work as hard. Maybe you’re speaking for yourself, but I have never tried to learn or to be the best merely to out-do you.”
I try to hoist myself out of his grip. We have barely made any movement to reach our room since this argument arose.He holds strong, sensing my impatience and taking a few steps toward the door.
I can see it; we are so close.
It still feels like an eternity away when Jameson begins bickering again.
“I’m only telling you this because I’m ninety-nine percent positive you have a grade one concussion and won’t remember most of this conversation in the morning.”
My elbow goes flying, using what little strength I have. “You underestimate me.”
He groans lightly but brushes it off quicker than I could have. “No, I’ve just read a fucking textbook all about head injuries. It’s science, Genevieve.”
“Well, let’s hear what you have to say then.”
“Wow, there really is a first for everything.” I’m tempted to elbow him again, but I restrain the urge. “Anyway, as I was saying, if we wouldn't have been so worried about defeating each other, we wouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t be in this position. We wouldn’t even know each other if you didn't come to Fairwood.”
“You don’t know that,” he responds optimistically.
We finally reach the door, and I reach for my purse that I somehow did not lose along the way.
Before I can attempt to remove the single strap left on my shoulder, I feel Jameson’s hand on my back as he pushes the strap back onto my shoulder.
“Why are you doing that? I’m trying to take it off so I can get my key.”
“What pocket is it in?” He asks.I try to take it off again, but Jameson is holding it in place. “What pocket is it in?” he repeats with a dominating tone.
I sigh. “Very front.”
He unzips my bag with ease, pulling the key card out and handing it to me. “Let’s test your hand-eye coordination skills while we’re at it.”
I swipe the card with ease, the green light appearing above it. I look back at Jameson, smirking in accomplishment, but before I can completely revel in success, my hand misses the door handle, and the light turns red because I have taken too long.
My body falls into the door from where my hand slipped, a loud thud sounding.
God damn it.
Jameson is watching me contently, a smirk residing on his face. I wish to smack it off, but I think I’ve committed enough violence toward him today.
I’m frustrated now. “Can you just open the damn door so I can get some sleep?” I quickly realize how rude it sounds, so I amend my question with, “It’s not funny to pick on injured people.”
He takes the key card from my hand. “I'll let you into the room, but you’re not allowed to fall asleep.”
