Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“You came here to snoop?” Hollis demands hotly as he yanks the frame from my hand.
Holy fuck, the guy is a silent creeper. Where the hell did he come from?
“Just cleaning the attic,” I snap back. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Unfortunately, no.” His words are softer this time.
I sneak a peek his way. He’s no longer in his substitute teacher outfit. Wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a black hoodie, he almost looks normal. Under the yellow bulb of the attic, his eyes seem haunted and dark circles are more prominent under them.
“If you’re going to bother me, at least help,” I grumble, hoping to send him on his way. To my surprise, he picks up the box I’d just opened and carries it over to a far wall.
“So you help my aunt? You do work and she tutors Roux?”
“Yep. Got a problem?”
He picks up another box but gets distracted by the label. When he tears it open and sucks in a sharp breath, I can’t help but look his way. I get a brief glimpse of two guys wearing basketball jerseys—Hollis being one of them—smiling into what looks like an almost kiss. He throws the frame back in the box and stomps over to the corner with it.
Okay.
Who was that guy in the picture?
Were they going to kiss?
He continues to move boxes in an almost angry way. As though I’m the one who’s pissed him off. I’m getting tired of his attitude. I was doing just fine without his help. When he bumps into me, I lose it. Swiveling around, I grab the front of his hoodie and shove him into a stack of boxes.
“What the hell is your problem, rat?” I snarl, my face inches from his.
“Fuck you.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He flinches and gapes at me with such a wounded look, I release him. I take a step back and study his hurt features.
“Why are you so fucking pissy?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “Tell me.”
His eyes roll as he shakes his head. “Seriously? Hmm, let’s see. I was looking forward to my first day of school when some guy I don’t even know is a total dick to me. Then, he tries to break my laptop. Then, he and his friend keep me from eating lunch. Now, this same dickhead is in my home, messing with my shit. Oh, and his sister is friends with mine now too. So not only is he an asshole to me at school, but I also have to deal with him after school. Everything’s fucking peachy, Roan.”
I bristle at the way he says my name. It makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. The nerves in my body electrify. My heart speeds up angrily.
“Are you going to go downstairs and cry to your aunt?” I taunt, overwhelmed with the need to put more cracks in his perfect façade.
Disappointment flashes in his blue eyes that are darker in the attic. “No, man. She has enough shit to deal with than to worry about me.”
His comment worms its way inside of my head.
I’ve developed that mentality. I take the focus off myself and put every ounce into Roux. She’s the one who needs it. What I want doesn’t matter as long as she gets what she needs.
“Hey, boys,” Ms. Frazier calls out. “Dinner will be ready in fifteen. Roan, don’t you dare come to my table smelling like a locker room.”
As soon as she’s gone, I leave him without another word and head for the ladder.
Anytime I’m here, I take a shower after whatever grueling work Ms. Frazier puts me through. This is the first time I feel weird about it.
I hustle down the ladder and practically jump down the rest of the way. Like there’s a fire under my ass, I rush downstairs to grab my bag and then head back up. I’m just making it to the landing when Hollis is pushing the ladder into place in the ceiling. His hoodie lifts and it reveals, pale, toned muscles that pretty boys don’t get from just being pretty. Those are the kind of abs you work your ass off for.
His arms fall to his sides and his brows furrow. “What?”
Heat floods up my neck to my cheeks. I was not just checking out the abs of my new nemesis. That’s not fucking weird or anything.
“Sorry, rat, but there’s only room in the shower for one.” I laugh cruelly at him in an effort to chase away the awkward feeling settling in my bones.
“And your ability to be a bigger asshole with each passing second knows no bounds,” he grinds out as he storms down the hall and into Ms. Frazier’s office.
I stop him before he can close the door. “You’re just sad you won’t ever get a piece of this asshole.” I’m not one hundred percent sure he’s gay, but I have my suspicions.