Chapter 4
June
“James!”
I couldn’t move a muscle. All I could do was open my eyes to meet his cold gaze.
The moonlight made his facial features pale, enveloping his sharpest features.
“What are you doing here?!”
I felt the pressure around my wrists slacken. James released my chest from his weight, allowing me to breathe again.
“Are you trying to fucking kill me?” he spat, picking the knife up off the ground.
“I didn’t think it was you!”
“Using this? It’s not even sharpened!” he remarked, examining the blade.
Both hands flew to my mouth. “Jesus Christ! What if I hurt you?”
He burst out laughing, and put the knife on the windowsill. His amused snicker made me lose my temper.
“You know what? I actually want to kill you, Hunter.”
“Oh really?”
James feigned indignation as he took a joint out of his jeans pocket and squatted down on the porch steps.
“I could’ve done it with the justification that I thought you were someone else.”
“I told you I was taking a walk, dumbass,” he retorted, as he filled the paper.
“What’s that got to do with anything? I thought you were with Tiffany.”
“Then don’t think.”
I crouched down next to him without thinking too much about it.
“Why are you here?”
He raised an eyebrow, pretending he didn’t understand the question. He always did that, and he did it on purpose. Insufferable.
“You heard me.”
“I’ll finish this and head home,” he said, licking the paper.
“Did you come just to smoke outside my house?”
“I didn’t want to be at home.”
My mind went instantly to my mom. I had a feeling that she’d lied. So that’s why she didn’t chew me out when she knew perfectly well that I went to sleep at Amelia’s was a lie. It seemed like she was a gold medalist in lying. That devious liar wanted to hold on to the world record.
“I wonder why they’re sneaking around behind our backs,” I mulled, whispering.
James clenched his jaw as he narrowed his eyes. He lit up the freshly rolled joint then shot me a steely gaze.
“Tell me, White, where the fuck would you hide such a big and heavy corpse like mine?”
Got it. Don’t talk about his dad.
“I have a giant freezer in the basement,” I revealed smugly.
“Pfft. With your ridiculous tiny arms you wouldn’t even be able to move a newborn.”
“Hunter, what are you talking about?”
My gaze slid from my thin arms to his enormous ones.
“You should take some classes for boxing or something like that. You’d at least know how to defend yourself in situations like this.”
“You just took me by surprise,” I explained.
“I threw you against the wall in two minutes, White. Do you really have a giant freezer in your basement?”
“Honestly, I don’t even have a basement.” We both burst out laughing.
“I’m not offering this to you again, otherwise you’ll faint.”
James played with the joint between his fingers.
“Classy.”
He looked up to stare at the sky.
“You’re cute when you shut up for two hours in a row.” Then his eyes darted down quickly and met mine. “And when you’re not attacking people with a fucking toy knife.”
Remember you hate him.
As much as I couldn’t stand him, it was really hard to be around him. Especially when I was wearing fuchsia pajamas with highlighter-yellow bananas when he always looked perfect whatever he was wearing.
“I didn’t expect it to be so hot in California.”
James scowled. “You’re really someone who stoops so low as to talk about the weather? Really?”
“And you’re really someone who’d stoop so low as to fuck your own girlfriend’s best friend, aren’t you?”
He laughed, biting his lower lip.
“I knew you were too smart for small talk.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re a fucking busybody. You move around just to hide your real intentions to ask uncomfortable questions.”
“Such as?” I challenged him, recognizing the glint in his eyes. The same one that I thought I saw every time I provoked or argued with him.
“Like indirectly asking me if I have a girlfriend.”
I shook my head and let the locks of my hair fall on my face to cover my embarrassment.
“Look, I usually ask you things directly.”
“Not if it’s just you and me.”
I looked down. Couldn’t you be hot and dumber than a box of rocks?
“I was just drawing attention to your bad behavior.”
“Bad? And tell me, princess, who would determine that?”
“Well, if you have a girlfriend . . .”
“Taylor isn’t my girlfriend.”
He inhaled a breath of smoke and exhaled it furiously.
“Does she know that?”
“What the fuck, you sound like Jackson. Yeah, she knows that perfectly well.”
Soft sounds drifted in the background, maybe it was cars or people talking.
“White?”
“Huh?”
I watched his slim figure stand up. James put his hands in his pocket and stared at me with his cutting gaze.
“Will asked me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“To swing by your house before going home,” he said firmly, his gaze fixed on me.
“Oh, yeah.” Of course, who would’ve ever thought otherwise?
“I would’ve never come otherwise. But—”
I hung on to every word spoken in his slightly gruff but at the same time deep and entrancing voice.
“But what, James?”
He moved a lock of hair with a flick of his wrist and walked down the driveway.
“But I always have my phone with me. Even when I’m sleeping.”
“So?”
“If you need anything, you can call me.”
>> <<
“I ate rice cakes for two days.”
“That’s great, Poppy, but that’s not for me.”
I wasn’t just talking about diet food but also the umpteenth invite to the millionth party. I tried to refuse, but it seemed to be the topic of the day. The girls talked about it like it was the event of the century.
“And I drank water, so much water.”
“I can’t come,” I repeated, while Poppy made some strange faces.
“June, I’m definitely not missing it after these sacrifices!”
“Sorry, why did you eat that crap? Doesn’t it taste like Styrofoam?” Video chatting with them was rather entertaining chaos.
“To feel the brief sensation of a flat stomach. Oreos don’t have the same effect.”
“Is it a pool party?” I asked reluctantly, focusing intently on rearranging my math notes.
“Yeah. But not like the others,” clarified Amelia, who wasn’t even looking at the camera, occupied with ripping the wax strip from her shin. Watching her wax during the video call was painful, even though I wasn’t even the one doing it.
“No, ladies, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t really get what it’s about.”
“I get it, Amelia. Poppy told me eight times. It’s a secret party in a secret place where you can only get in if you know the password, blah, blah, blah.”
Poppy was already on her third stick of gum. She put a fourth in her mouth before talking again.
“I’ll tell you how it went last year if you want.”
“Shut it, Poppy!” Amelia said, holding back a painful groan before ripping the strip off her calf. “Come on, June, it only happens once a year!”
“My mom knows how to be much more convincing than both of you combined,” I teased.
“Yeah, it’s a pool party, but there are still tons of hot guys,” continued Amelia.
“Objection! If I had two guys like James and Will to look at, you know I wouldn’t care about any others,” Poppy said.
“Enough with that crap, Poppy. June isn’t with that asshole Hunter. She’s with Will. Right, June?”
Amelia’s suspicious expression didn’t go unnoticed.
“Why are you asking me? Of course I’m not with Hunter. Besides I already told you, I might not even be with Will.”
“You’re officially free like us. Another reason to come! James usually brings fluorescent paint.”
“I bet. He can’t wait. I hope he drowns in that stuff,” Amelia said curtly.
“He is pretty good at painting. I think he should take one of the courses your mom teaches, June. Do you remember the—”
“Poppy, enough. Is it just me, or are you a little more uptight than usual?” Amelia cut her off, reproaching her.
“Why do you have such an issue with him?” I asked, before Poppy started off on another of her monologues.
“Because he’s awful. So it’s decided. June’s coming.”
Did I really have to sneak out? Who was reassuring me that this was worth it?
“Let’s do it like this. I’ll come but you gotta tell me what happened at Tiffany’s party last year.”
Amelia jumped then shot Poppy a threatening look.
“Damn it! Mr. Rabbit never stays in his cage! I gotta go!” she shouted, hanging up.
“Who?”
“Her stupid rabbit. I still don’t know if it’s real or imaginary.”
Amelia and I burst out laughing.
“Come on, June, then we’ll talk tonight,” she begged me with a smile.
“I don’t know what point Will and I are at, but I don’t like all these secrets,” I whispered.
“If you really care that much, I’ll tell you what happened with James last year, but you have to come to the party.”
Checkmate.