Chapter 12
SEPTEMBER 15 – MONDAY 7:38 PM
T heo
“What year did Einstein publish his theory on special relativity,” I asked.
“Easy, 1905,” Ren answered.
“What three new fields did theorists experiment in once special relativity was established?”
Ren sat back on the bed while Blake and Myles watched with—what I could only assume was—a mix of boredom and fascination as they kept track of the score.
I held up my fingers as I rhymed off the answers.
“Atomic physics, quantum mechanics, and nuclear physics. That was too easy. Better luck next time,” I said as Ren huffed.
She’d only missed one question all night, but one was all it took for me to take the win.
We all jumped as the door burst open, and Liam marched in.
“Are you fucking kidding me,” he snarled at me.
“Whoa, what’s going on,” Blake asked, standing, but I held up my hand, stopping my brother from interfering.
“You’ll have to be a little more specific,” I said, even though I knew damn well what he was going on about.
Pissing him off and seeing him bent out of shape about it…well, that was just my little revenge. Apparently, I had a petty streak.
He held up a class schedule and waved it in the air.
“You moved all of your classes, so you’re no longer in any with me.”
“And you felt the need to print it off? Is it so that you could wave it around?”
“Answer the question,” he ordered.
“Technically, you didn’t ask a question, but yes, I did. We’re not together, and you have hardly spoken to me in three days other than to say good morning, so what do you care?”
“You said we were on a break, not done for good. I thought you wanted some space to think.”
“Exactly, so putting distance between us seemed logical. How are we supposed to know what it feels like to really be without one another when we live side by side, hang out with the same friends, and are in most of the same classes?”
Liam’s eyes were livid. If I’d pissed him off like this when we were still together, he would have fucked me until I couldn’t stand and then punished me. All of which I would have happily taken, but me begging him to prove himself hadn’t worked, so it was time to shake things up. Liam detested change and loathed being out of control. Fuck with both of those at once, and you got this, a man on the edge. Now, all I needed him to do was jump.
“Logic…you don’t get to make a decision like this without talking to me about it first.”
Crossing my arms, I cocked my head and stared at him.
“Oh yeah? And why is that? We’re on a break. I don’t work for you, and you have no authority over me in any other capacity. I can do whatever I want, see whoever I want, fuck whoever I want…but look on the bright side, so can you.”
I swiveled my chair to face the desk, knowing he would lose his mind.
“Did you just dismiss me? And where the fuck is your watch?”
Rubbing at my bare wrist, I didn’t bother to look up at him. I felt naked without it, but wearing it would give him the wrong message.
“Yeah, there is nothing else to say. I’m not changing it back…you can leave.”
“Um…should we go and let ya talk this out,” Myles asked.
“Yes,” Liam barked.
“No,” I countered.
“Oh, well, that clears it right up,” Myles drawled.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Liam growled, the sound as alluring as always.
He crumpled the schedule and leaned on the edge of my desk. His shadow pressed in on me even if he wasn’t physically touching me.
“And what exactly do you think that is?”
“You’re trying to get under my skin and piss me off. Well, it’s working. I’m pissed. This is a fucking childish maneuver and beneath you,” Liam said.
“Fuck you, Hicks,” I snarled, meeting his angry gaze. “You’re literally in every part of my life. I can’t take a piss without seeing something of yours or you being there right beside me. I’m trying the best way I know how to get the fuck over you. There, I said it. I don’t think you want to fix what’s going on between us, and I need to find a way to move on.”
Pissing him off was only part of the goal, but it ran so much deeper than that. Whenever we fought, the first thing Liam did was go radio silent. I understood that it was part of his personality and that he wasn’t actually trying to hurt or manipulate me. At least, I didn’t think so, but it didn’t matter. It was always me who caved, and deep down, I knew that was what he was hoping for again.
“Liam, I genuinely wanted to give you the space without me around to decide if you want to accept me for who I am. That means the parts you want and don’t want. It can’t be just about how good the sex is, not anymore.”
My voice was calm, but my body sure as hell didn’t feel that way. A tremble had started under my skin, and I clenched my hands into fists to keep it from spreading.
“I really think the three of us should go and leave you two to discuss this alone,” Ren said, standing.
Both of us turned our heads and looked at her.
“No,” we said in unison.
“Okay, then….” She sat down between Blake and Myles.
“If we are going to be in this relationship together, then all of us need to be part of this discussion. Because, like it or not, this is what you’ve signed up for,” I said to the three of them.
“Touché,” Ren whispered as she nodded.
I turned my attention back to Liam.
“You know how I feel and what I need. I’ve been crystal clear and have never lied to you. It’s your turn to choose, so choose.”
“Fine…fucking fine. You want me to try with Ren as part of your new you , right?”
There was no point in answering a question I’d answered a million times already, so I just kept looking at him. Standing up straight, he rolled his shoulders and fixed his stare on Ren.
“Alright, that’s the way you want to be, fine. Ren, I can’t get to know you the way I need to and give us an honest effort here.”
“Um…okay. I don’t know what that means,” Ren said, standing.
He approached her like a hunter going in for the kill. Even with his hands in his pockets he looked intimidating, but Ren didn’t back down.
“It means that this happens on my turf. There are way too many ears inside these walls, and I hate people knowing my business. I want you to go camping with me. Alone.”
I burst from my seat.
“Hell no. It’s not happening.”
“I’ll do it,” Ren answered as I grabbed her arm and tugged her away from Liam.
“No, you’re not going camping with him. I forbid it.”
She arched a brow at me. “First, don’t tell me what I can and cannot do. Second, why? What’s your reasoning?”
“There are a million reasons. For starters, it’s way too dangerous to be off school property that long. Look what happened in Canada, and we were followed on our date. And….” I faltered because I trusted Liam. But did I trust him alone with Ren in the wilderness?
“He thinks I’m going to Hansel and Gretel you in the woods,” Liam said sarcastically.
“Well, can you blame me? You haven’t exactly been her biggest fan.”
He shrugged and fixed Ren with a hard stare, silently daring her to say no. He had that challenging glint in his eye, and I was tempted to tackle him, but I wouldn’t put it past him that he wanted that all along.
“I’m gonna interject here since I’m supposed to have an opinion,” Myles said from the bed. “This is a bad idea. Even before we knew that someone was tryin’ ta kill ya, Snowflake, it would be dangerous. If somethin’ happens on the trail, ya only have one another to count on, and you’d be a long way out if you go where I think Liam is wantin’ to take ya.”
Ren paced the room, and I glared at Liam, wanting to kill him myself. He knew that she would say yes. She was too brave for her own good and she so badly wanted to fix what she never broke.
“Ren, don’t do it. What’s going on between me and Liam started long before you arrived. He’s using this to shove my feelings for you back in my face, and in doing so, he’s putting your life at risk.”
“Think what you want, but I didn’t come in here with the intention of making this deal. You’ve put me in the position of having to come up with an idea that might work. You say you want us all to somehow be in a relationship….”
He held his hands out to Myles and Blake, emphasizing it wasn’t just Ren he was concerned about.
“Well, then I need to see if Ren and I can really connect. That’s not going to happen with you three assholes kicking around all the time and watching us like a fucking experiment.”
“Then be normal for once and go to dinner or something,” I argued.
“Yes, because that’s so me. When have I ever taken anyone out on a dinner date? I’ve never even taken you.”
“Don’t I know it,” I growled, and he huffed out a frustrated sigh.
“Why don’t I take her to one of the underground kink clubs? How do you think that will go?”
“For fucks sake.”
I threw my hands in the air and walked to the window. It was still light outside, and the leaves hadn’t started to change yet, but they would with the season as surely as the tide coming into shore and Ren saying yes. She wouldn’t be able to help herself.
Turning around, I faced them.
“If she goes with you, then I’m going too,” I said, crossing my arms.
“No,” Liam said, moving closer.
“Yes,” I said, matching his movements like we were in a backward dual.
“No.” He took another step, and we were close enough to touch.
“Yes,” I growled.
“Theo, you asked me to try. She told me to think outside the box. This is my out-of-the-box idea and my terms.”
Walking away from me, Liam stepped up to Ren.
“I need to trust you and connect with you. I have no intention of killing you. So you can take your chances for a single weekend with me, or Theo and I are over for good because I don’t see any other way to find common ground. If you choose to do this, and we can hammer out details to make the three of us work, then I promise to put in the effort for the other issues lying between me and Theo.” He looked up at me. “Including telling my parents.”
My mouth dropped, but I quickly recovered.
“You can’t use Ren like a poker chip and toss her into the center of the table. It doesn’t work like that,” I argued.
“Why not? You did it to me.”
The room fell deathly quiet as we glared at one another, and I hated that he was right. I was forcing his hand, but I hadn’t done it like this or to be manipulative. Was I really any better? Shit.
“When?” Ren broke the silence.
“The weekend after Nash’s dinner in Seattle. The weather will still be good, and it’s before my initiation and swearing-in. I have no idea what that will entail. So, what do you say, Little Rabbit? Will you take the carrot? This was sort of your idea, after all.”
“I’ll do it,” Ren said.
“Fuck.” I shook my head at them. “This is not smart, not fucking smart, and for once, I really don’t want to say I told you so.”