Chapter 14
14
RUE
T he moment I walk inside Isaac’s house, I’m collared around my neck and pulled into a bear hug before being spun and pushed onto the couch.
I fall into a heap of testosterone.
My fight with Red temporarily forgotten, I swat away the hands coming at me, hop onto my feet, and put my fists in front of my face.
“Do that again, and I will take you all down.”
The guys laugh.
Looking each one in the eye, I swipe my thumb across my lower lip. “I mean it.”
They break out into more laughter.
“Rue, you should get into acting.”
I’m snatched by my waist and lifted off the ground.
“Put me down, Isaac.”
“Not until you say the magic word.”
“Please.”
“Try again.”
“Pretty please.”
“Not it. Should I tickle it out of you?”
Oh, God, no. I shake my head.
“Are you sure?”
A hand goes for my armpit. Laughter bursts from me.
“That’s better.”
Isaac puts me down. I face him with my hands on my hips.
“Laughter isn’t a word. It’s a sound.”
“Semantics, but you can’t deny laughter is magical.”
If I had eyes in the back of my head, I’m betting the guys are rolling their eyes so hard their eyeballs will get stuck in their heads.
“What can I do you for, Rue Lee?”
I tilt my head at his bedroom door.
He extends his hand to me. I set my hand in his. He leads me inside his bedroom and shuts the door behind us.
“That bad, huh?”
My fight with Red. Malice’s hot-one-minute, cold-the-next treatment. I have to do better. I must keep the line a solid black. Otherwise, everything everyone’s said about me is true: I will amount to nothing.
His parents hired me to keep an eye on Malice, not get inside his pants. I cannot let them down. The whole point of my job proposal was to give me a place to stay and get over Malice. Will living under the same roof as him help me get over him? It’s an insane move, but if I can do this, I can see him at their family’s get-togethers and not cry when Malice shows up with a girl on his arms. If me and Red are still friends.
I mutter a pathetic “yes” and sit on the bed. Isaac takes a spot next to me. I glance sidelong at him, in awe of how handsome he is.
Six foot three. Lean. Dyed dirty blond hair. Gray eyes. A prominent nose that looks like it belongs to a Greek god. Cheekbones as sharp as a newly sharpened blade. Isaac would be an anime fangirl’s dream come true.
“Want to talk about it?” He takes my hand and toys with the promise ring, a mystic moonstone mood ring. “Beautiful like you, Rue.”
I look down at my hand in his. Small to large, and they are not harmless. I used mine to steal, and he’s used his to cause pain. He should come up with a better plan for making money.
I slip my hand out of his. “I have a job.”
“Cool. That is cool, Hard Knocks. Is anything else bothering you? ’Cause you look mighty bothered.” He scoots back on the bed and grabs the pillows, putting them behind his back and his head.
I shake my head, not in the mood to bring up Red. Isaac has a love-hate thing going on for my friendship with Red Sterling, and giving Isaac the latest will have him hating Red more.
“Okay, I’m fine with not talking. Silence is golden, yeah?”
It’s not. Hurt feelings and unspoken words fester in the silence. I hug my knees to my chest and spill the last two days’ events. Bad idea. Isaac shoots off the bed and stomps to the door, his large hands balled at his sides.
“When I get ahold of Red, I’m gonna make him regret ever guilting you into jumping off the cliff.”
“Leave him be. I’m the one who lost the bet.”
“And what bet would that be, Hard Knocks?”
“I’m not telling. He’ll kill me.”
“I’ll murder you both if you don’t tell.”
I mime zipping my mouth and throwing away the key.
He huffs and puffs. Finally, he realizes I am not betraying my best friend. He takes his old spot on the bed.
“Isaac, with what money I get, I’m going to hire a private investigator to look for my mom.”
“How do you know she wants to be found? Didn’t Riley tell you to mind your own business?”
“Why would she say that? Doesn’t she want to know where our mom could be?”
“Or she does and thinks you shouldn’t.”
“That’s messed up.”
“Just saying, Rue. It’s not like our parents are up for the parents-of-the-year award.”
He’s right. His mother died of a drug overdose when Isaac was seventeen. Isaac is twenty-two, the same age as Riley.
“Do you wonder where Dad is?”
“Yeah. Between another woman’s legs. That’s where he likes to be.”
“Not fair, Isaac. We don’t know what his story was.”
“I couldn’t give two fucks. He left me. Left my mom to deal with her habit. He left us , Rue.”
I can’t deny the obvious.
“You haven’t told anyone, have you?”
That he is my half-brother. I glance sidelong at him. “Why? Are you ashamed of us?”
“It’s not shame, Rue. I’m keeping you and Riley safe. You two are the best thing that’s happened to me.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet.” I throw my arms around him. He tips over, pulling me down onto the bed with him, and that is how Malice finds us.