"And if you haven’t crawled back home by then, we can talk some more."
His words hung in the air between us, and I realized I hadn’t gotten around to asking him what his issues were, which was my original intention. I knew that a discussion was most probably not going to happen, but it still rattled me to realize how quickly he was able to distract me from my plan. I mean, that's what adults did, right? Talk things through?
As my monologue swirled around in my head, I vaguely noticed that he had inched closer, so that his face was almost touching mine. He had beautiful dark eyelashes and full lips that were red and juicy. It was a curiosity, how such feminine features somehow made him an even more potent male. It was his jaw, I decided. That was what made his face so masculine. The signature minty scent I had begun to recognize as uniquely his swirled in the air around us, addling my mind further. He was a gorgeous male, and he was about to kiss me. Whoa, what?
I snapped my head backward in shock. Cole, his eyelids heavy-lidded and dazed, now appeared as horrified as I was. He took several steps back and scrubbed his hand over his face. That scowl of his reappeared. "Get out,” he growled. “And don't you dare come knocking on my door again. You and your mom have the same tricks up your sleeves that I should have seen from a mile away. Go whore yourself out to someone who would tap anything that walks.”
My cheeks heated up as if I had been slapped. Tears rushed into my eyes unbidden, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand, horrified by my display of emotion in front of this unfeeling monster.
”You can say whatever you like, but we both know it's not true. I came here purely to sort whatever issues you have with me and my mom, but it’s obvious you're not adult enough to handle it.”
I left the room with my head held high and slammed the door with a satisfying bang. Being around Cole was so frustrating. He was so frustrating. Confusing too, if his words and that near-kiss was anything to go by. I had started out wanting to learn what made him tick, but it was proving more difficult than I had anticipated. I found it hard to believe that someone could be driven to make another person's life a living hell just because they felt we were replacing a long-gone mother figure. It just didn't make sense. But then again, before I had moved to Gray Lake, I hadn't seen such animosity from anyone either. I touched my new hair subconsciously, the short strands feeling strange in my fingertips. My lips thinned remembering Cole's words about making my time at Gray Lake even worse. I couldn't even begin to imagine what that meant.
Chapter 12
Cole
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew they weren’t true. It was in the way her pupils dilated and how her pretty face shuttered before rage overtook her. I had hit her way below the belt, and we both knew it. But there was no way to retract my words now, and I watched as she stormed out of the room, leaving me feeling like scum. I felt guilty and I hated it. I hadn't been raised by my father to ever lay a finger on a woman, and I didn't want to start now. Yet the sense of betrayal by the man who had raised me prevailed, so I had to steel myself from my conscience. It was better for both Ella and I to be apart, so I told myself I had to inflict the lesser evil now.
My door opened and Hans strolled in, eyebrows raised in askance. “What's up with all the racket?” he asked.
“Are the parents home?” I asked by way of reply.
“Probably.” He picked up a pen from my study table and started to twirl it between his fingers. I listened for footsteps coming for me from the hallway but all was quiet.
“Why do you let her get under your skin anyway?” he queried, my pen now between his lips. I would have to remember to wash it later.
“You know why,” I answered. I didn't see what he was getting at. My head was beginning to throb and I needed some peace and quiet.
“Look. Why don't you let me handle this? You know I could get her out of this place in no time.” He straightened and pushed his chest out, looking at me straight in the eye.
I quickly shook my head. Hans knew no remorse. I had seen him hurt girls in an almost criminal manner. Ella didn't deserve that. She had come into my life uninvited, but she definitely didn’t deserve to be hurt to that extreme. A smirk appeared on Hans' face and I quickly followed up with, “I wanna have my fun with her.”
My bluff must have showed because Hans’ eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Well, if you need a hand, you know who to come to.” Tossing my pen back onto the table, he sauntered out of the room, leaving me worried. He was showing more interest in Ella now, and that was a bad thing. I wondered if I had, in fact, taken too long to drive her away. Maybe I was not as savage as I thought I was. I looked at the door again, trying to will away the worry that now seeped into my veins.
***
Her glossy golden hair graced the school hallways. That short haircut made her go from too-innocent to devilishly sexy, and she didn’t even realize it. She walked with an almost imperceptible limp now and the traitorous side of me was glad
