Page 24 of Bitter Lies

Bewildered, I stare after them as they disappear down the hall once more, wondering what the fuck is going on with my brother and whether I should be worried about it.

Chapter Seven

Why do they call it a broken heart if it still fucking beats?

Griffin’sin a bad mood when he comes home later that day, probably because they lost to a rival team, but it doesn’t stop him from having a party, and the house fills once again with what appears to be half the school. It’s so loud, I’m not sure why the neighbors don’t call the cops, but miraculously, Griffin must have them wrapped around his finger, too.

I’m still confused by Max’s demeanor earlier and his new buddy, but since I have no one to talk to about it and there’s nothing I can do, I decide to set it aside. I mean, I have enough of my own shit rolling through my head anyway. Why borrow his?

There’s no way I will be sleeping with the racket going on outside my room, so I give in and pull on semi-decent clothes to join the party, ignoring the way my skin itches as I walk around. I don’t see either of the guys, so I help myself to a beer, figuring just one won’t hurt. Besides, I’m a freshman in college—I should be able to have a little fun, right?

“Hey,” Miranda says, sidling up to me with a subdued smile.

“Hey,” I mutter, glancing around grimly at all the people. I’m pretty sure we’re breaking laws about maximum capacity or some shit right now.

“Brutal game.” She leans against the wall next to me and waves at some dude across the way with a friendly smile.

“Oh?” I wouldn’t know beyond the score at the end, and it looks like they put up a good fight even though they lost, but I guess that’s not the point.

“Yeah…I think it’s eating at Griff,” she says softly.

I really want to point out that I am not the person to rehash Griffin’s mental state. We’re not fucking friends, me and her and he and I, so the conversation is decidedly awkward and unnecessary. Besides, it’s clearly eating at him because when he came home, he was cold, quiet, and inside himself, the place he retreats when he’s processing deep emotions.

I figured that out the hard way when his grandfather died. He pulled away so quickly and deeply I was startled and afraid, afraid I had lost my friend and how he might be hurting. It was only for a few days, but they were the worst few days of my life as I tried to reach him, and he refused to break the distance.

When he came back to me, all smiles and gentle touches once more, he laughed it away, and I didn’t think much of it, but now, it’s laughable because it was a precursor of things to come. I just wish I knew what the fuck I did to make him back away and stay there.

“Hm,” I say, noncommittal, freezing up when Griffin says beside me, “Are you two done? Or do you need more time gossiping like little bitches?”

Miranda stiffens beside me, her entire body like a live wire, and once more, I shrink as the two face off. Although I’d like to tell Griffin to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine, I hold my breath instead as she raises a finger and pokes it in Griffin’s chest. “You’re being an asshole. I’m just concerned.”

Griffin grabs that finger and drops it away, sneering, “Don’t be. I don’t fucking need your concern, and I sure as fuck don’t need yours.”

He stalks away with a rude look in our direction in which, inexplicably, instead of looking at her, he looks at me as he grabs some bimbo with big tits and pushes her down the hall.

Miranda stands staring after him with wide eyes before snarling, “I don’t need this shit.”

And with that, she’s gone, and I’m left stunned. Oh, I’m not surprised by his hatred for me—that’s expected—but his rude behavior and downright nasty attitude toward Miranda makes me think there’s more going on below the surface than he’s letting on. But what? Is this about the game? Or something else entirely?

With a sigh, I turn away, right into a hard male chest as large hands pull me back and a husky voice says, “Whoa there. Hey, you’re hot.”

Lifting my eyes, I blink at the Adonis before me, his wide brown eyes friendly in a perfectly formed face with eyelashes a porn star would die for. He’s built tall and currently gazing at me with admiration.

This one could give Griffin a run for his money, and for the first time, well, besides Griffin, I feel a tingle of interest.

“Hi,” I say breathlessly as his mouth curls in a sexy grin.

“Hello there, darlin’,” he says, pulling me away from the crush. “What’s your name?”

“Um, Halsey,” I say, glancing at him through my lashes.

“I’m Chet.”

“Hey.” With a mental eye roll, I mourn my monosyllabic responses, but shit, it’s been so long since I had any interest in a guy, and as I’ve said, normal conversation eludes me anymore.

Still, you’d think I was an idiot with the way I can’t talk around him, and even though he’s hot, he doesn’t scramble my brains like Griffin. I’m starting to think no one can, but if anyone could try, it would be this guy with his pretty brown eyes and sparkly stare.

“So, you live here?”

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