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It’severything.
It all comes crashing down, and I’m left standing in the ruins, dust and debris in my hair.
When I turn to look at Sterling, he slides out of my way like a snake, lifting his hands. “Dude, whatever you’re thinking of doing,don’t. I’m way too hungover to bail you out of prison.”
I ignore him, stalking up the stairs like one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. War, possibly. Maybe even Death.
Of course, Evie’s door doesn’t open when I turn the handle. I gave her a fucking key, didn’t I?
The door rattles in its jamb as I pound my fist against the wood. “Open up!”
Cigarette smoke warns me of Sterling’s arrival, but I couldn’t care less about having an audience right now. This woman has questions to answer, and only one of them is about the soap she finished when she fuckingknewI would have to wash my sheets.
There’s a small part of me that realizes I’m being irrational. Perhaps even downright insane. But it’s like I’m outside my body right now, watching a train wreck with morbid fascination and absolutely no intention of stopping it.
“I know you’re in there!” I yell. “Open up, or I’ll break it down.”
“Listen, Owen—” Sterling begins, but he pauses for another round of door pounding. “Owen, listen to me. This isn’t—”
“Evie!” From the corner of my eye, I see a door opening down the hallway. A dark head sticks out, and I don’t have to turn to identify Willow.
“Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, yeah. Just… stay in your room.” Sterling sounds pissed off. I guess my banging isn’t helping with his hangover.
“Evie! Open thisfuckingdoor or—”
“She’s not here!” Sterling slams his hand down on the door right where I can see it. “She’s. Not. Here.” He punctuates each word with a slap.
I step back, lungs working like a bellows as I stare at him. It takes me a second to register what he’s saying, a second for the red rage to subside. “What?”
“She left for town this morning with Kat.” Sterling jabs a thumb over his shoulder. “You missed them by like fifteen minutes.” As if he doesn’t realize I’m seconds away from punching him, he adds, “We had coffee before they went. How the fuck do you think I found out about yourliaison?” He says it in a shitty French accent, and dear God, I almost knock him down.
“She’s not here,” I say carefully, stepping back, swiping my hair out of my face. “She’s not here, and you let me bang on her door like an idiot?”
“In my defense, I was pretty sure you’d turn on me if I tried.” Sterling shrugs, takes another drag of his cigarette, and sips at the coffee he brought along for the trip. “You looked like you needed to get some serious rage out of your system, and I didn’t want that happening on my face.”
That’s what I keep forgetting about Sterling. Even with a hangover, he can see through all the bullshit. It’s a fucking talent.
Sterling grabs my shoulder, turns me away from Evie’s door. “Now how about we go find something to eat? I don’t know about you, but if I don’t get something extraordinarily greasy in my stomach, then I might just die.”
I let him lead me away, but a part of me still wants to break down Evie’s door, even if she’s not inside.
Why the fuck are you acting so surprised?
Iknewthis would happen. Girls are all fine with my dark side one minute, then run and hide the next. If I’d kept a cap on my urges—myneeds—then I’d have woken up with her beside me.
Hope is a cruel mistress.
For a second there, last night, I could haveswornEvie was into it.
Guess you were just fooling yourself.
No one wants to be with a monster. Not even Evie Larsen.
