Fate's Return (Twisted Fate, Book 2)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Any one of them would pay me to allow them to do what I suddenly couldn't.

"So, you're okay?" Brenan asked, looking down to the floor and sticking his hands deep inside the front pockets of his jeans. He was afraid of or too shy to look at me, and his inability to look up allowed me the chance to memorize the slight cowlick at the top of his head. "Nothing was broken?"

"Nope. Just bruises and a concussion." I shrugged, keeping my tone light, and held onto the edge of the counter as I swung my legs and searched the empty room, noting the games which needed lights replaced.

"That's good."

"You say it like it's not," I said, wondering aloud, and stopped swinging my legs to turn my gaze back to him, narrowing my eyes. "You sound surprised."

"I am. You... I saw you when you were brought in, Aly. Bruising doesn't cause someone to bleed like that." He looked up. "You were bleeding and puking... and bleeding in your puke? I don't know." He shrugged. "I just don't get it."

Neither did I.

"I'm fine. Sore, yeah, but not broken." Wiggling in spot, I raised my eyebrow, and then became completely still. "See? Maybe I just bit my tongue or something."

He took a step forward and I tensed. He stopped and sighed. "Do you want me to pick you up for your party?"

I shook my head and bit my cheek. That's my cue. God, it was like I could hear his heart breaking already and dreaded it. Don't be stupid, Aly. You had two dates, and the first didn't even count!

"Do you want to meet there?"

"No," I said, much more stable than I thought possible. "I mean, yeah, you should come, but as my friend. I, uh..." I looked down to my hands in my lap and swallowed before glancing back up. "I don't think we should date."

His eyes found mine but didn't look surprised. "Because of Gabe?"

I laughed, rolling my eyes towards the stairs. "No." This wasn't how I'd wanted to say it, but I couldn't regret that it had been said. But it had nothing to do with Gabe—not directly. "Because of me and you, and... I'm not ready for a relationship."

"And you just figured this out? After spending the afternoon with another guy?"

His implication and raised voice brought out my temper. "First of all, Gabe is like my brother." I jumped off the counter and began pacing in front of him, wishing this was over, but finding my mouth had other plans. "Secondly, I realized this before, right after I got home from the hospital, if you want the truth, but I couldn't say anything in front of the audience at school!"

"Right."

I blinked. "Right?" Scoffing, I shook my head. "Right, well, when you lied to me about why you were at the hospital, I knew for sure. I don't want to be your girlfriend."

"What lie? My Uncle—"

"You said it was your grandfather!" I raised my hands and let them drop again, looking back to the stairs. How weren't Mike, Gabe, and Raffy not hearing any of this? Seriously, the one time I wanted them to meddle, they didn't. Craptastic!

"Aly..." He shook his head. "My Uncle dropped me off to visit my grandfather right before you were brought in."

Coming to a complete stop, I stared at him. Just for a second, I wondered whether he could be telling the truth, but he refused to look me in the eyes. He was lying. I knew it. I didn't know how I knew, but I did, and my patience for pretenses and all of the desire I had to be kind was shot like I'd jumped from the warmth of a hot tub into the deep end of a pool. Every inch of my body tingled as though it had been shocked by the change in temperature.

With a final look to the top floor, I blew out the breath I had been holding and grabbed my keys as I headed out the front door. In all the ways I had pictured this conversation happening, not once had I imagined telling him that I knew he'd lied. If I had, perhaps I would have been able to avoid all the yelling. The best thing I could do now was leave, all notions of a possible friendship between us obliterated.

I didn't pause on the way to my car and walked through the rain that had begun without noticing my clothes getting soaked, sticking to my body so that no curve was left to the imagination. Through the pitter-patter of the falling drops, I didn't hear Brenan as he followed me until his hand cupped my shoulder and he pulled so that I would twirl around to face him.

My keys dropped from my hand and I swore, looking down.

"What do you want?" I stepped back towards my keys, just a few feet from my car. "I don't think we should talk anymore tonight, Brenan. Let's just cool off and then—"

"I don't want to talk anymore, either."

I stepped back again until my feet were parallel with my keys. All I'd have to do is reach down and pick them up, but in the few minutes since we'd been inside the arcade, Brenan—every single part of him—had changed. I sucked in a breath and swallowed, wondering if the rain would drown out my screams.