Chapter 26
26
RUE
T race and I didn’t have a crash-and-burn screaming match that signaled our breakup.
Instead, he broke up with me during our lunch period in a spot notorious for being Cambridge High’s prime place to break someone’s heart.
We’re seated opposite one another on a covered park bench. To our right is the lunchroom, the double doors open wide to let in the warmth from the sunshine. To our left is the school parking lot. As soon as we took our seats, the noise in the lunchroom fell to a low hush.
My hands are clasped on the table. Trace reaches for them. Out of respect for Malice, I shake my head. He sets his hands at his sides.
“We don’t have to do this,” he says.
“We do. I won’t be responsible for hurting another girl’s feelings. We girls raise one another up. We don’t put each other down.”
“Who are you speaking of? Be very clear, Rue.” He leans forward, his greenish-blue eyes twinkling. Strands of dark hair fall across his forehead. Trace Saints is sexy, but underneath his pretty boy good looks and a care-less attitude, something dark lurks beneath the surface.
For a quiet, broken girl like Leigh’s friend, Sorrow, the darkness in Trace must be scary but appealing. What is the darkness within him, and can it be tamed and controlled?
“Sorrow Sophia,” I reply. The girl with two first names. The girl who lost her father in a fire and is now living with the Saints. “I see the way you look at her and her at you. Give her a chance to get to know the real you.”
“Called out and caught in the open.” Trace chuckles. “Nothing gets by you, does it? And you? Will you do the same with Malice?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not sure what you’re speaking of.”
“Oh, come on, Rue. Everyone knows you have a thing for Malice.”
“For your information, I don’t need to open up to him. I’m trying to get over him.”
“Living with him will help you do that?” He rubs the pad of his thumb over his lower jaw. “How does that work exactly? Give me pointers, Rue. I’m not into my current housemate like you believe I am, but in case I catch feelings, share these pointers. Fair?”
What a clueless, lovesick, pretty boy. I see on his face what is on mine in the mirror when I think of or say Malice’s name. Longing. Frustration. Frustration for longing for someone who is out of my league. Sorrow, with how broken she is, is beyond Trace’s help. How can darkness penetrate through the shield Sorrow’s placed over her heart?
“We hate one another, okay?” I answer. “Hating one another puts distance between us.”
“Except you forgot one thing.”
I did? “What?”
“There’s this saying. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder.’” The lunch bell rings. Lunch break is over, and it’s time to get to our fourth period. “Be careful, Rue. There is no love without hate and no hate without love.”
We stand. Trace extends his hand to me. The lunch crowd holds back. All eyes are on us. Is our breakup amicable? Yes, it is.
I give Trace my hand. Except he surprises me. He reaches out, trenches his fingers in my hair, and pulls me forward. His mouth crashes over mine.
Shocked, I can’t move or protest. His mouth is soft. He tastes like minty gum. Had he planned this? The nerve of this guy. I go to shove him away. He ends the kiss and holds me in place with his large hands on the sides of my face.
“What have you done?”
“I’ve woken up the green-eyed monster for the both of us, Rue. Shortest relationship of my life.” He drops a chaste kiss on my forehead. “Malice is moody as fuck, but inside, he’s like the rest of us. He wants to be seen and heard. Look and listen, Rue. It’s how you’ll win over his heart.”