Page 88 of Bitter Lies

Cars arrive around us as we unload, and Griffin leads me up the stairs and down the hall silently before pushing open a door and saying coldly, “You can sleep here.”

Ignoring his ice out and his gorgeous chest, currently stretching yet another damn shirt, I nod and step inside, eyeing the single bed and small dresser within. It’s tiny and at odds with the rest of the house and the rooms we passed with fancy beds and furniture.

It would seem, I’m to be punished. Whatever. I have bigger issues, like the sting of damn shame that keeps me from looking Griffin in the eyes even as rage beats with a savage intensity in my heart. He could have dropped Jason from his friend list, but I guess that was too much to expect from the heartless jerk.

With a mental sigh, I drop my shit on the bed, spinning when he speaks in a silky soft tone. “I suggest you stay out of the way. We wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“About what?” I ask cautiously.

Raising a brow, he says with eyes so full of hate I can barely breathe, “Let the big kids have fun. Those who drink too much and make shit up only ruin the atmosphere.”

Stretching my lips into a bitter smile, I raise a brow because what the fuck else can I do? “Right.”

“Hm, oh, and stay the fuck away from Jason. I think you’ve humiliated yourself enough.”

He backs out and walks away before I can react, and I sigh long and loud because once again I’m stuck at a fucking house with my rapist just beyond the door.

With a frustrated huff, I close the door to find a substantial lock and click it into place before collapsing on the bed. I don’t know what the lock means, but I refuse to entertain the idea that Griffin was looking out for me. Yeah, right.

The sound of music kicks on somewhere in the house as hoots and hollers follow, the party getting underway, and bitterly, I acknowledge this may be the longest five days of my life. I just hope whatever Max wants from me is worth the money. Otherwise, I’m trading one hell for another.

Chapter Twenty-Six

If you can’t beat the dicks, join ’em.

Since I can’t hide in here forever, I eventually decide to join the party, watching as the jerk’s frolic in the lake and the fucking pool placed before it.

Donning an old bikini, I pull on cutoff shorts and brush my long blonde hair. I’ve got my signature dark purple makeup on my eyes to hide the fucking past that I can’t outrun, and forgoing lipstick, I shuffle out the door.

As long as I avoid Griffin, I might have a little fun, and strangely, I’m determined to flirt and be normal for once in my pathetic life.

Searching out the kitchen, I help myself to a soda and stare out the back, pausing when I hear the distinct sound of Griffin’s deep voice farther into the house. I have zero desire to see him again, basically ever and step out the door, only to hesitate at the threshold as his tone grows louder.

“I thought…I…fuck.”

Glancing outside, I roll my eyes but tiptoe back through the kitchen and down an adjacent hallway. I can hear Griffin’s voice at the first open door, and I slam my back against the wall, cocking my head toward the opening.

“Relax, bro. You said it was fine. It’s fine,” Max says, his tone dismissive.

“It’s not fine. Not until I figure out what the fuck is going on. I told you I didn’t want him here.”

“Whatever. She told you she lied, right? Why are you being suck a dick?”

“Because I don’t fucking trust either one of them and I want to know what’s going on,” Griffin growls.

“I told you what’s going on. She fucked him. She fucked all of them. She’s a whore.”

I slap my hand over my mouth to cover my gasp as my fucking brother calls me a goddamn whore. Dick.

“Shut the fuck up.” Backing away from the door, I pause when I hear a scuffle before Griffin speaks again, “I’m tired of the fucking shit spewing from your mouth. Enough.”

Wow. Easing away, I speed through the kitchen and emerge out the back, making my way to the water. I don’t know how to feel about Max’s jerk attitude nor Griffin speaking up for me, but I’m too fucking tired to analyze it right now.

Turning my thoughts away, I dip my toes in the lake with a small smile, contemplating a swim.

“Hey, you’re Griffin’s old roommate, right?”

Turning, I find the same guy who called me hot in the library standing before me with a grin.

---