Anti Cupids

Thirty Two

C H A P T E R  T H I R T Y  T W O

Ray's house was quite far away from ours. Consequently, it was going to take almost an hour to drive all the way back to where we lived. About thirty minutes into the journey, Julian started freaking out because he suddenly realized that he was also Connor's ride and he had forgotten to take him along.

After a five-minute phone call, which consisted mainly of Connor cursing his friend in aggravation, Julian's mood took a one-eighty degree turn and I got worried. What if he threw us out of the car in the middle of nowhere at half past two in the morning?

Even though I now knew he wasn't that bad, I wasn't very sure. He'd done that to me once. Well, it was morning then but whatever.

"Julian? You can drop us off at the mall. We'll walk from there, okay? It's not a very long distance from home," I offered, genuinely concerned now.

"Oh no, don't worry. Connor's a drama queen. I'm sure he can wait there for a little while or ask Zach or something," Julian answered in a terse voice. However, his anger didn't seem to be directed at me.

"Come on, Julian! It's already almost three. It will take you another hour to get there! You'll save at least fifteen minutes," I insisted.

"Are you kidding me? You think I'll leave a girl to walk home by herself at freaking three in the morning!?" He exclaimed, giving me an incredulous look.

"But Jace is with me! I'm not alone."

"Sure. As if he's in a position to help you if something goes wrong. If anything, you'll have to help him walk back."

"Hey! I'm sick, all right. But I'm perfectly capable of protecting my sister!" Jace protested, barely managing to speak with his sore throat.

"Says the guy who can't even talk properly," Julian mocked, glaring at him through the front glass.

"You son of a—"Jace started, but I yelled at him before he could finish his sentence.

"SHUT UP JACE! He's being nice, okay? Why do you always have to be a jerk!? Can't you ever stop being a jealous bitch and see that Julian might actually have good motives?" I screamed at my vexatious brother, who immediately stopped speaking at my stern tone of voice. Julian, on the other hand, busted laughing, much to Jace's chagrin.

Jace opened his mouth to argue once or twice but my fierce look kept him from saying anything back. He decided to satisfy himself by burning holes in Julian's seat with his eyes instead. I sighed in response.

At the end, Julian didn't agree to drop us at the mall and the Camaro halted in front of our house with a screech of tires so sharp, we must have woken up the whole neighborhood. With another ear-piercing screech, the car took a reverse turn and sped past the houses at lightning speed. Typical Julian style.

I released a heavy sigh at his departure and had just turned round when I saw our wacky old neighbor, Mrs. Peterson, hurrying out of her house in a frenzy. It must have been a lot of effort for her, especially at this time of the night, for Mrs. Peterson was almost a million years old.

She had excessively wrinkled cheeks and greasy grey hair. With the huge glasses she wore, it was a wonder how she could even see.

Anyway, Mrs. Peterson looked dazed as she rushed to the gate. The high-pitched noise of the tires must have meddled with her sleep. When she saw nobody out but us two, her lips twisted into a sneer. Her expression turned even more scornful when her eyes landed on Jace—her innate enemy. From that day when Jace had accidentally pushed her face in a bowl of scorching porridge(he was five years old), she hated him passionately and never forgot to tattle on him to our mother whenever he was out late at night.