She's Bad News

Chapter 8

“I’m going to go check on her,” Jesse said, stepping out of his shoes and heading towards the stairs that lead to the upper floor but he stopped when he saw Corinna heading down towards us, her lips curved into her usual smirk and her eyebrows raised at Jesse in question.

“You were coming to check on me?” she asked, her tone light as she stopped on the step just above the landing and reached her hand out to pat him on the cheek. “That’s so cute,” she said, giving him a little pinch as he stood there with his eyes wide and shocked.

“Cory, are you okay? What was that phone call all about? Who was that guy?”

“A creditor,” she said more softly, her eyes flashing with an emotion that didn’t last long enough for me to read. “A very persistent one apparently but don’t worry, it was all a misunderstanding. He won’t call you again.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about, Cory,” Jesse said as she brushed past him and headed towards me.

“Ready to study?” she asked, smirking up at me. “You can’t back out, you promised.”

“Tell me the truth.”

“You need a haircut.”

I made a sound in the back of my throat that I could only describe as a growl of frustration and lashed my hand out, gripping her arm hard and yanking her a step closer to me. “Tell me the truth,” I repeated, my voice low and vibrating with barely restrained anger.

“I just did,” she replied, her eyes flashing with anger and if I wasn’t mistaken, panic before settling into their usual cool mask.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Are you going to help me with my homework or not?” she asked, her voice flat and emotionless as she stared up at me coldly.

“Let go of her arm,” Jesse said, making me realize that he was standing right beside me, his eyes focused on where my hand was still gripping his sister.

I blinked, realizing how hard my grip had been. “Sorry,” I mumbled, immediately loosening my hold.

“Whatever,” she said, shrugging and turning on her heel. “Are you going to help me or not?” she asked, heading into the dining room, leaving the two of us standing in the foyer.

“You’re taking this a little personally, aren’t you Flynn?” Jesse asked and when my eyes met his, there was a knowing gleam in their blue depths.

“She’s like a sister to me,” I said, ignoring the nervous jump in my gut.

He quirked an eyebrow and the move reminded me of Cory only Jesse’s eyes lacked the coldness that hers were so filled with. “Are you sure that’s it?”

“Yes, of course,” I responded smoothly, looking him right in the eye as I lied. No good could come out of telling him that I was in love with his sister especially because it didn’t seem like Cory would be feeling the same way any time soon. “I’ve known her for as long as I can remember, Jesse. It’s perfectly normal for me to be worried about her.”

He let out a breath and took a step back, giving me a sheepish look as he ran a hand through his short, light brown hair. “You’re right. I’m sorry, man, it’s just that, with everything that just happened, I really don’t need something else to worry about. Plus, I think my friend Aaron likes her.”

“Oh yeah?” I said mildly, feeling my eye lid twitch lightly and my hands clench at my sides. “What makes you say that?” I asked, impressed that my voice came out relatively normal as thoughts of strangling that irritating Aaron guy were floating across my mind.