“It’s not like you’d really be dating him,” Tessa said. “You’d be faking it.”
Miles chuckled. “She can’t fake it with him if she can’t get him to date her in the first place.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What?” he said. “It’s a genuine flaw in the plan. You and Chase despise one another. He’s not exactly going to fall at your feet.”
“Miles has a point,” Mia agreed.
Tessa wouldn’t be derailed though. “He doesn’t have to fall at her feet,” she said. “Chase is a boy, and Ally is hot. I bet if she came onto him there’s no way he would resist. All she needs to do is have Mr. Lockwood catch the two of them in a compromising position. If what he sees is convincing enough, there’s no way he would let Chase stay in the house.”
My cheeks were flaming with heat by this point. Tessa was now suggesting I seduce Chase, which was simply crazy. Even if I wanted to go along with the plan, I shared Miles’ and Mia’s doubts. There was no way Chase would be even slightly tempted by me. He thought I was a total loser and hated my guts. I could have looked like a Victoria’s Secret angel and it wouldn’t have mattered—looks just didn’t come into it when you shared a hatred as strong as ours.
I’d held so much hope in Tessa’s brilliant plan, and it was completely deflating to realize she hadn’t come up with the miracle I was hoping for. I was officially stuck with Chase. I let out a long, sad sigh as I looked around at my friends. “It won’t work,” I said. “And I don’t think I could go through with it anyway. I couldn’t get close to someone as horrible as Chase even if I was just pretending.”
“So, you won’t even try?” Tessa asked, disappointment clouding her eyes.
“I can’t,” I replied. “Look, perhaps living with Chase won’t be so bad?”
“It’s been one day, Ally,” Tessa said. “You’ve only spent one night with him in the same house. You don’t know how bad it will be.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Maybe it will be better than I’m expecting. He suggested a truce, after all, so perhaps I can handle living with him for a year.”
Tessa frowned and got up from the bed. I could have sworn she muttered the word “delusional” under her breath as she turned away.
“Anyway, I should probably get home and start my homework,” I said, pushing myself up off the bed. The thought of returning to the house and finding Chase there set me on edge, but I couldn’t admit it out loud. Not when I’d just told my friends I thought I could handle living with him for a year. They were all giving me identical looks of concern though, and I knew they could see right through my façade.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “You’ll see.”
5
Ally
Chase’s car was already in the drive when I arrived home, and I hesitated on the sidewalk. Shane wasn’t back from practice yet, and my dad’s car was nowhere to be seen. It would just be the two of us in the house, and the thought had my eye twitching in agitation.
There wasn’t one reason that seemed good enough to lure me inside. Not even my Kindle felt worth the risk of seeing Chase. I wanted more than anything to turn around and go back to Tessa’s house, but I could hardly spend the rest of the year hiding out there. The only thing that persuaded me to start walking toward the front door was the fact I had homework to do. I really wished I wasn’t so committed to my study schedule.
The house was quiet as I entered, and I crept through it, searching the lower level for any sign of Chase. When it seemed like the coast was clear, I let out a breath. He must have been up in his room, and I was more than happy to leave him there.
Relief washed over me, and I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. There were leftovers from the previous night’s dinner waiting for me in the fridge, and I couldn’t wait to get stuck into them. It was a rare occasion when Dad cooked, and his lasagna was amazing. It was Mom’s recipe, and he somehow always managed to make it taste exactly like hers. The moment I opened the fridge though, my heart plummeted. The lasagna was gone.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered as I stared at the blank spot where I’d placed the Tupperware container the night before. Not only was the food gone, but the cans of soda I’d left in the fridge had also disappeared.
I closed the fridge door, and as soon as I turned around, I found the remnants of dinner by the sink. The lasagna container was cleaned out, and two empty cans of soda were scrunched next to it.
White-hot anger rushed through me. Not only had Chase invaded my house, but now, he’d commandeered my food and finished off my favorite drink. It was like he was trying to start a fight with me on purpose. I stormed from the kitchen and up the stairs toward his bedroom.
I flung open the door to Chase’s room, ready to unleash my anger on him, but I stopped dead as the door opened wide. Chase wasn’t alone. He was lying on his bed with Jenna next to him, and the two of them were wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing heavily. Chase’s shirt was nowhere to be seen, and I watched in horror as Jenna raked her fingers across his bare chest. Thankfully, the rest of their clothes were still on, but Jenna was uttering unnecessarily loud moans of pleasure that I knew were going to haunt me for days.
The blood rushed from my face and bile rose up in my throat as the two of them stopped and looked over at me. They froze when they saw me standing in the doorway. Jenna’s eyes were wide with shock, and even Chase seemed uncomfortable by my appearance.
I somehow stuttered out some idiotic apology before pulling the door closed and racing into my room. I slammed the door and tried to subdue my rapid breathing.
“This can’t be happening,” I said to myself, as I took in deep breaths to try to calm down. The moment the noise of my beating heart started to ease though, Jenna’s giggles came from across the hall, and I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, wishing I could block it out.
I wanted to tear my ears off, but since that wasn’t an option, I quickly put some music on and turned up the volume. It was a blessing in disguise that Dad was strict on Shane and I because I’d never had to see something so disgusting before. My brother would never dream of bringing a girl home for a hookup session in his room, and I had never been more grateful for the fact.
I wanted to burn out my eyes, but the image of Jenna and Chase had seared itself to the inside of my eyelids. It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten dinner because I probably would have thrown it up.
I kept telling myself it could have been worse. At least the two of them hadn’t been naked, and from what I could see, they were only kissing. Heavily kissing. Yep, I officially wanted to puke again.
I must have hidden in my room for over an hour before a loud knock sounded on my door. I ignored it, but the knocking didn’t stop. Eventually, I let out a groan, turned the music down, and went to see who was there. I was relieved to find Shane standing outside my room rather than Chase.
“Is there a reason you’re blasting Adele from your speakers?” he asked.
“Yes. Your friend is a pig.” I glanced in the direction of Chase’s room. The door was open now, and there was no sign of Jenna or him. Thankfully.
Shane smiled. “And he’s a pig because…”
“He ate my lasagna, drank my pop, and I walked in on him making out with Jenna.” I scrunched my face up as I relived the ordeal all over again. “I was trying to drown out the noises they were making, and I was hoping a little Adele might make it all stop, you know?”
Shane burst out laughing. “Oh, man, you look horrified.”
“Well, the whole ‘Jenna’ thing was horrific. And you know how I feel about leftover lasagna.”
“Yes, I did learn that one the hard way,” he admitted. “Was it one week or two you stopped talking to me after the last time I finished all the lasagna leftovers?”
“Two,” I replied, letting out a long sigh. Shane might have given me crap about my attachment to the lasagna leftovers, but at least he understood it. They were one of the few remind
ers we had of our mom, and we usually tried to share them. It might have seemed pathetic, but when I ate her lasagna, it felt like a small part of her was still with us. I could hardly expect Chase to understand that though.
I let out another sigh as I thought of him. “Is this really going to be the next year of my life? No food in the fridge and floozies in the house every day?”
Shane’s expression sobered a little at my question. “I’ll talk to Chase about it. I’m sure he didn’t realize it would upset you to take the leftovers, and I’ll tell him to keep his dating activities out of the house.”
I gave my brother a grateful smile. “Thanks, Shane.”
He ruffled a hand on top of my head and grinned back at me. “I’m going to order some pizza for dinner. You want some?”
I shook my head though. “I’ve kind of lost my appetite, and I ate my body weight in brownies at Tessa’s house after school.”
“Oh, man. Did you bring me any?” Those brownies were the only reason Shane ever made sure to make an appearance when Tessa came over. She always brought her mom’s brownies, and I was pretty certain it was because she knew how much he liked them.
“Nope.”
Shane’s face fell in response. “Well, I’ll expect you to bring me make-up brownies next time you go.”
I shook my head at him and laughed. “Fine, whatever.”
He gave me a quick grin before disappearing down the hallway to his room. I slowly closed my bedroom door and turned off my music entirely. I didn’t need it anymore.
I finished off my homework in silence before putting myself to bed. It was almost midnight, and I was half asleep when the door slowly opened and my dad popped his head into the room.
“Dad?” I murmured, blinking my eyes open.
“Hey, sweetie. Just wanted to check in on you before you go to sleep.”
I pushed myself up slightly, but he shook his head. “Don’t get up for me. I know it’s late. I just wanted to see how you first day of school was.”
Part of me wanted to tell him what happened with Chase, but Dad looked so tired. His shoulders were slouched with exhaustion, and I could almost see all the weight of his work sitting atop them. Dad was a family lawyer, and I knew he struggled with how emotional his job was. It looked like he’d had a hard day, and I didn’t want to burden him any further.
I made a quick decision not to tell him about Chase’s antics. I knew Dad wouldn’t kick him out for having a girl in his room. He’d get a stern talking to, sure, but right now, I was more concerned about Dad than I was with Chase.
“It was great,” I said, giving him a bright smile.
“And you did your homework?”
“Yep, all done.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, his voice gentle and filled with warmth. “I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
“Night, Dad.”
He smiled again before he eased the door shut. I snuggled into my pillow, trying to get back to sleep, but the deep lethargy I’d felt before Dad entered the room had disappeared. I couldn’t stop thinking about Chase and wondering if I’d done the right thing in keeping his secret from my Dad.
I slammed a fist into my pillow in an attempt to make it more comfortable before rolling over and huffing out a breath. Shane was going to talk with Chase, but I had a bad feeling that girls in his room and stolen leftovers were only the start of my problems with Chase. He needed to be dealt with. Tessa’s plan wasn’t sounding all so crazy anymore.
6
Chase
“Dude, you can’t have girls in your room. Dad will lose his shit if he finds out,” Shane warned.
It was too early in the morning for a lecture, but I nodded and took a long drink of my coffee. It was scorching hot, but exhaustion seeped through me, and a burnt tongue seemed like a small price to pay for quick a hit of caffeine.
“And Jenna, of all people? I thought you’d decided you were done with her,” he continued.
“I am done with her.” It had been a massive mistake to bring her back to the house yesterday after school, but it felt like I’d been doing the right thing at the time.
“Then why did you bring her over here?”
“She said she just wanted to talk,” I replied. “That she needed closure after the breakup.”
Shane shook his head at me. “Didn’t sound like closure from what I heard.”
“I know.” I grimaced as I recalled being caught by Ally. I’d had no intention of doing anything more than talk with Jenna last night, but she’d had completely different ideas. Ally walking in on us had been like a much-needed splash of cold water to wake me up. I’d stopped kissing Jenna right away and reminded her that it didn’t change anything and we were over. I still felt so stupid. “It won’t happen again,” I said.
“Good,” Shane replied. “While we’re talking about last night, I also need to talk to you about the leftovers you ate.”
I lifted an eyebrow at him. “You need to talk to me about leftovers?”
Shane let out a breath and nodded. “Just ask before you take them next time. Our dad doesn’t cook much, and Ally gets upset if there are no leftovers for her.”
“She’s upset I took the leftovers?” I knew the princess was precious, but getting upset over leftovers was just ridiculous.
Shane nodded. “I know it’s stupid, but if you were serious about your little truce with my sister, then this is a hard rule for her.”
I shook my head, still unable to believe how irrational the girl was. “Fine, fine. No girls and no leftovers. Anything else I should know? Does Ally also freak out if I drink the tap water? Am I allowed to watch the TV?”
Shane chuckled and gave me a shove as he walked past me and headed for the stairs. “Just those two, but I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.”
I smiled and watched him leave the room. My face quickly fell though as the troublemaker herself came waltzing into the kitchen. She was wearing a set of ridiculously tiny pajama shorts that highlighted her long legs and a tight tank top that left little to the imagination. Her long hair was still messy from sleep, and she looked like she’d just walked out of some guy’s daydream.
It took me a long moment to remember that I hated her. But when she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the movement seemed to jolt me back to my senses. My back stiffened, and a wave of irritation rose up inside me as I thought about the conversation I’d just finished with Shane about Ally’s demands.
“Good morning, princess,” I said.
Her eyes had been focused on the floor, but they widened as they darted up to meet mine. She looked a little like a rabbit caught in the headlights, and I hated how innocent she seemed sometimes. It made it harder to despise her when she appeared so harmless.
Her eyes hardened though, and the girl I knew began to return as her gaze strayed over my chest. I was shirtless, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. I took a bite of my toast but then lowered it from my lips as I recalled her little decree.
“Oh, I forgot. All the food in this kitchen is yours. Here…” I offered the half-eaten toast out toward her.
“That rule only applies to lasagna leftovers,” she grumbled.
“So, I can eat the toast?”
“Yes, Chase.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! I’m sure.”
“And you’re not going to change your mind once I put this in my mouth? I’m not against spitting it out again, but I feel like it might offend your delicate disposition.”
A noise, somewhat like a growl, sounded from her throat, and I had to try really hard not to smile. I might have hated Ally, but I loved when I won our fights. This was definitely feeling like a win.
“Like I said before, eat what you want,” she said. “I only wanted the lasagna leftovers. Don’t be a jerk about it.”
She was being completely anal, and I was the jerk?
“And don’t you own a shirt?” she added.
“Why? Do
n’t like what you see?” I asked before popping the last bit of toast in my mouth.
“I saw more than enough yesterday, and I don’t really want to be reminded about it over breakfast,” she snapped as she walked past me toward the fridge. She got halfway there before she changed her mind and headed for the fruit bowl instead. She seemed irritable and flustered, and I liked that I’d riled her enough that she couldn’t even settle on what to eat. She’d ruined my breakfast too, so it only seemed fair.
She grabbed an apple and went to walk back the way she came. It was clear she wanted to get away from me as quickly as possible, but I stepped in front of her, blocking her escape. “Given any more thought to my offer of a truce, Ally?”
She folded her arms over her chest and scowled at me. “Can’t say I have.”
“Because you know it’s in both of our best interests.”
“I don’t know any such thing,” she replied.
I let out a laugh in disbelief. “Are you really so intent on hating me that you’re willing to fight with me for your entire senior year? Because I can almost guarantee that if you don’t cool your cannons you’re going to have a terrible year.”
“Is that a threat?”
“More like a community service announcement. If you can’t at least pretend to be nice around me, then why should I return the favor?”
“Good to know.” She didn’t wait to see if I had more ammunition to fire her way and stepped around me to return upstairs. I turned to watch her leave, a part of me wishing things between us didn’t have to be so hard. Having an enemy was so much easier when you didn’t have to share a kitchen with them.
“Remember, Ally, we can make this a lot easier for each other,” I said, my voice following her as she went to leave the room.
She cursed under her breath and paused in the middle of her grand exit. My heart skipped a beat, and I wondered if perhaps she’d changed her mind.
I Hate You More Page 6
