Page 7 of Make Me Pretty
Holy fucking shit.
Maybe I should start believing in fate, after all.
A smile pulls at both corners of my lips, spreading wide, filling the lower half of my lopsided face completely. “Peris Baxter,” I muse, feeling loads better already.
“Abel,” he spits my nameagain,just as tense. Definitely irate. Probably disbelief.
“Oh!” Elise exclaims excitedly, head swinging between us, completely oblivious to the turmoil surging through her son’s body. “You two know each other?” Our eyes never part, potency multiplying by the second. His shapely jaw shifts under the pressure of his molars grinding together. I watch in amusement as his hands ball into fists at his sides, turned knuckles skimming the material of his athletic shorts.
“We do,” I reply because, apparently, Peris has decided he’s keeping his mouth shut.Smart boy.
“We go to school together.” Elise smiles. “In fact, we’ve actually become friends since I switched schools at the beginning of the year.” I shoot Peris a wink, loving the flip in my stomach when his eyes narrow, nostrils flaring.
“That’s wonderful.” Elise wraps her arms around the both of us, forcing us in proximity. “Come on, let’s head inside.” The warmth inside the house pulls a grateful groan from my throat, accentuated for Peris’s benefit. He snarls when Elise disappears around the corner.
I glance around the small entryway. The walls are painted a soft purple color, nearly the same shade as the outside of the house. A few prints hang on the walls—nothing fancy, just cheap images you could find in any store, but it makes it feel homely.
I don’t realize I’m smiling until Peris’s arm shoots out in front of me, blocking my way. My feet stop inches away, the toes of my Converse digging into the plush, white-ish carpet below, keeping me grounded. I blink away the dark spots in my right eye, the left still nearly sealed shut with swelling. I’ve had many black eyes before, but this one definitely takes the fucking cake. Eventhinkingabout it makes it hurt worse.
Fuckin’ asshole.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Peris blurts. His chest is rising and falling like he just found air after being trapped underwater for endless minutes, arms vibrating under the tension.
I lift my chin to meet his eyes, waving my hand over my body. Peris follows the gesture, raking over my ill-fitting clothes, down to my old shoes, and back up to my swollen and bruised face. “Now, you wanna talk to me?” I smirk halfheartedly through memories of dejection. It’s always been fun playing with Peris, even when he blatantly rejects me, but I’m fucking tired today. “Not really much I can pull right now, Peri boy. Besides, it’s not like I have a choice in where I’m placed.”
His dark, bushy brows furrow. “You had to have donesomething.I mean, my fuckingmom—are you kidding me? I get enough of your shit at school.”
I roll my eyes and immediately regret it. My vision swims, flickering dark. Pain thumps and pulses in my temples, throwing off my equilibrium. “I didn’t even know she was your mom until two minutes ago when you finally opened your fucking mouth.” Peris has always said more with his looks than he ever has with his mouth.Confusion, irritation, ignorance.
He scoffs. “Yeah, okay.”
“Right.” My scoff is loud when I catch Peris’s narrowed glare, still unbelieving—which isn’t completely unwarranted, but… “Believe what you want. I’ve gotta go sit down.” I push pasthim, and he lets me by easily, his arm falling before I even get the chance to touch him. Shame. That would’ve been nice. I’ve always wondered what his muscles feel like. If they’re as hard as they appear when he flexes, or if they remain soft, hidden below the surface, but still tangible.
Shaking off the thought, I follow the sound of clanking pots and pans, followed by a refrigerator door opening.
“I’m making grilled cheese, if that’s all right? You don’t have any allergies or anything, do you, Abel?”
“No, ma’am. That sounds awesome. Thank you.” I pull out the chair in front of my discarded backpack and pull my bag between my legs.
“Ma’am,” Peris scoffs loudly, immediately clearing his throat.
“Peris!” Elise admonishes him. He sighs, then mumbles a weak apology.
“There’s nothing wrong with manners. Perhaps you could learn some from Abel,” she sasses him, then shoots me an exaggerated wink. His head jerks up, eyes wide. I snicker at his look of incredulity.
“Yeah, Peris. I think you could learn some manners from me.” I may feel like death ran me over—and backed up just to do it all over again—but I’ll always be well enough to poke Peris. It’s impossible to resist what scraps of his attention he decides to give.
“You… teachmemanners. You little?—”
My eyes shoot open wide as I lean back, a smile splayed wide, cracking my lip open again. I couldn’t hide my grin of glee even if I wanted to.Woo-wee, someone’s sassy. Maybe we’re finally getting somewhere.
Elise whirls around, brandishing her spatula. “That’s enough. I thought you said you were friends?”
“We are,” I reply easily. “We just like to tease each other, don’t we, Peri? It’s sorta our…” I twirl my hand in the air, “ourthing.”
He stares at me for a long moment, stunning golden-green orbs flicking back and forth, always trying to read me, to figure out what’s coming next.Good luck with that, buddy.
“Yeah,” he finally says. I swipe the blood off my lip with the tip of my tongue, all while Peris watches me like a hawk, like he’s trying to catch me in a malicious act.
