They looked really happy together.
“Lane!” Kale smiled when he spotted me in the parlour.
I smiled too and got up to hug him, and then I hugged Drew in greeting because it was the polite thing to do.
“How are you?” she asked.
I nodded. “Fine, and you?”
She beamed. “I’m better than ever.”
She shared a secret look with Kale and grinned at him, while he seemed uncomfortable as he kept flicking his eyes in my direction. He cleared his throat and called out to Lochlan when he spotted him. He looked relieved that he didn’t have to stand with Drew and me any longer.
I excused myself and moved to the back of the room, my mood turning sour. I wished I had Lavender to hang out with, but she had left the party half an hour ago so she could get home to Daven, who lived with her in our old apartment. After the attack, I’d moved home and considered dropping out of university.
I didn’t want everyone on campus staring at me, whispering behind my back or, worst of all, pitying me. My father and uncle met with the chancellor of my university, and I was granted permission to attend class online, which meant I could finish my remaining two years and get my degree. I must have hugged my father and uncle every time I saw them for a week straight after I got the good news.
“Lane?”
I turned when my uncle’s voice called me.
I walked over to him and smiled. “Yes, birthday boy?”
He snorted. “You don’t look very happy – is everything okay?”
I didn’t want to put a downer on his night, so I smiled and said, “It is, but I’m just really tired. I don’t think I’m able to keep up with you old-timers.”
My uncle cracked up before getting pulled into another conversation, which I was thankful for.
I turned and my eyes, as usual, found Kale. He had his arms around Drew, and his head was tipped back as he laughed. I didn’t want to look at them so I headed up to my room, where I changed into pyjamas. I went into the bathroom to clean my face, and tied my hair up in a bun.
When I exited the bathroom, I came face-to-face with Drew Summers.
“I want to talk to you,” she said firmly.
Uh.
“Can it wait?” I asked. “I was just about to go to sleep.”
“It can’t wait,” she said. “I want to talk to you now.”
I gestured her into my bedroom. I closed the door behind me and folded my arms across my chest, standing across from her.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“You hate me,” she said confidently.
I blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
She grunted. “You. Hate. Me. I know you do.”
I scratched the healed cut above my eyebrow. “I don’t understand what is happening here.”
“I saw you downstairs, watching Kale with me, and you looked angry.”
I was more sad than angry, but I tried to downplay it and said, “I’m just tired—”
“Don’t lie,” she said, cutting me off. “You hate me. Admit it.”
She wants to have this talk? my mind hissed. Fine.
“I don’t hate you,” I grumbled, “but I don’t like you either.”
That was a white lie. I did kind of hate her.
“Why?” she pressed. “I’ve never done anything to you.”
She was right; she hadn’t.
“I know you haven’t, Drew,” I sighed.
“Then why don’t you like me?” she asked. “Is it because I rang Kale after you were attacked?”
“No, I know you were trying to help that day, Drew,” I sighed. “But part of me wishes you hadn’t told him.”
“Why not?” Drew asked, exasperated.
“I didn’t want Kale, or anyone else, to look at or treat me differently, but now they do. Everyone treats me like a china doll.”
It pissed me off.
Drew frowned and folded her arms across her chest. “Would you rather Jensen had gotten away with it? He didn’t get to rape you, but what about the next girl who might not have been so lucky?”
The lump that formed in my throat kept me from replying.
“Once you have time to think on it, you’ll see having Jensen sent to prison was the right thing.”
“I know it was the right thing to do, and I’m over it,” I said. “You were right to do what you did.”
She frowned. “Then why do you hate me? Is it because of Kale?”
She must have read something in my expression because her face turned murderous.
“I knew it!” she snapped. “I knew you liked him. I have always had a suspicion, but Kale assured me you were just best friends.”
“We are just best friends,” I confirmed.
Drew’s gaze didn’t stray from mine. “But you want to be more?”
I rubbed my suddenly throbbing temples. “What does it matter? He’s dating you, not me. You.”
Her jaw set. “I don’t want you around him anymore. I refuse to let you ruin us.”
I blinked. “You’ve got to be fucking joking me. I’m not going to do anything to ruin your relationship. If that were the case, I’d have done it years ago. I’m not that fucking bitter.”
“Are you sure about that?” she questioned, her eyebrows raised.
I scowled. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Well, I’m not sure,” she stated. “I don’t trust you around him.”
Oh, for God’s sake.
“You’re the human version of Monday morning in my everyday life – I hope you know that.”
Drew blinked at me. “Flat out saying you hate me would have been less bloody hurtful.”
I hated that she was so nice. This was the first time she had ever been angry with me, and even then she wasn’t being half as mad as I would be if our roles were reversed.
“Sorry,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
I knew I was being horrible, but I just couldn’t help it. My feelings for Drew were petty, childish and completely out of order because she was quite possibly the nicest human being on the planet, but it was what it was.
She’d saved my life; any good person would be extremely nice to her, but I was a miserable twit who couldn’t get past her being Kale’s girlfriend.
I was acting bitter and plain pathetic, and knowing that only made me feel even worse.
“Stay away from Kale, do you hear me, Lane?” Drew said, the venom in her voice not going amiss.
I reared back. “Or what?”
“You don’t want to know what I’ll do,” she said through gritted teeth.
Well, shit, Drew actually looked like she was going to kick my arse if I gave her reason to.
“Whatever,” I said, not really confident that she wouldn’t come at me if I said something to challenge her.
She glared at me hard before she turned and stormed out of my room, pulling my door closed behind her. I shook my head clear and turned off my light, then climbed into bed. I lay staring up at the stickers on my ceiling for an unknown amount of time. Eventually, I heard more voices join the party downstairs, and they were loud as hell.
“Bloody hell,” I groaned to myself, and turned on my side, putting my pillow over my head.
My night certainly didn’t turn out how I wanted it to, I silently grumbled.
I must have fallen asleep, because I awoke to a clicking noise that startled me awake. I sat upright on my bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I squinted into the darkness but almost jumped out of my skin at a loud clank that sounded against my window.
I tiptoed over to my bedroom window and looked out to find someone in our front garden, directly under my window. For a few seconds, I got really scared, but then I squinted and realised who the person was.
I opened my window and hissed, “Kale, what are you doing?”
He put his hands up to his mouth and said, “I want to talk to youuuu.”
He was drunk.
“Damn it, Kale,” I said in a low growl.
“It’s the middle of the night.”
“It’ll take two seconds,” he said, and held up five fingers.
My God.
I shook my head. “Wait there. I’ll be right down.”
I closed my window and carefully crept out of my bedroom and down the stairs, where I turned off the house alarm before unlocking the front door. I shivered and carefully walked out to the front garden in my bare feet.
“I’m going to kill you for this,” I warned Kale in a harsh whisper as I came to a stop in front of him.
I rubbed my hands up and down my bare arms to generate some heat.
“Okay,” Kale chuckled. “You’re mad, but this is very important.”
I’m sure it is.
I sighed. “So talk.”
He opened his mouth to do just that, but his gaze flicked to my eyebrow, then to my left cheek at the purple scars that marred my face. I knew what he was thinking, and it annoyed the hell out of me.
“I’m. Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Please stop treating me like a victim. He didn’t rape me. He just smacked me around.”
“Lane,” he murmured.
“He didn’t rape me, Kale,” I said, trying my best to be strong. “He tried to, but I fought. I promise I did.”
His arms came around me.
“I know you did, Laney Baby,” Kale whispered in my ear. “You did good, babe. So bloody good.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry. I should have brought you or one of my brothers with me—”
“Don’t do that.” Kale cut me off and pulled back out of the hug, keeping me at arm’s reach as he looked at me through his bloodshot eyes. “Don’t place the blame on yourself. Jensen is a piece of shit who wanted to hurt you and did, and that’s not on you. It’s on him.”