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I want to keep pressing him, but I highly doubt he’s going to open up to me. And I need to find Payton, so …
I shrug. “Sure, we have a deal.” Then I ball my hand into a fist.
He doesn’t give me the satisfaction of appearing worried. He simply stands there with his arms crossed and a taunting smile on his lips.
I may be stressed out, but inner peace flickers through me the moment I raise my fist and slam it into Alex’s jaw. Hard.
“Fuck,” he cries out, clutching his face and hunching over.
I want to grin proudly, but holy shit, I put way too much force behind that hit.
As pain sears through my knuckles and wrist, I growl out in pain. “Goddammit,” I curse, cradling my hand against my chest.
Alex grits his teeth as he cups his jawline. “What the hell are you complaining about? You’re the one who hit me.”
“Because I think I put all that negative energy I feel toward you into the punch, which so wasn’t a good idea,” I gripe, my voice laced with pain.
His brow quirks upward. “Is that you’re way of apologizing?”
“Yeah, to my own hand,” I say, stretching out my fingers.
He shakes his head. “You’re seriously batshit crazy.”
“I’mthe crazy one? You’re the one who told me to punch you.”
“Yeah, because I thought you’d hit like a girl.”
“I do hit like a girl.” I throw him a cheeky grin. “A badass girl.”
He stares at me like he isn’t quite sure what the hell to do with me then shakes his head. “Come on. I’ll get you some ice for your hand, and then I’ll start making some calls to see if we can figure out where your sister is.”
I eye him over dubiously. “You’re going to help me? Just like that?”
“I said, if you hit me and it hurt, then I would. And”—he lightly touches his jaw with his fingertips and winces—“it fucking hurt.”
“But, why’re you going to help me?” I’m beyond suspicious, because this is Alex we’re talking about. The guy who slashed my tires and put up those flyers all over school.
“Because we made a deal. And while I may be an asshole, I’m also a man of my word.” He flashes me a toothy grin but then flinches. “I seriously think you might’ve broken my tooth.”
“Sorry.” But I sound completely unapologetic.
He aims for a smirk, but it looks funny with how puffy his jaw is getting. “Aw, now, come on. We’ve been so honest with each other so far. Let’s not stop now.”
I step inside the living room. “You say that like we’re friends, but we’re not.”
He kicks the door shut then turns to face me with a teasing smile on his face. “Don’t sound so sad about that.”
I lightly rub my knuckles. “I’m not. But if you want to tell me something, then I’d like to know what the hell my dad did to you to make you hate me and my sisters.”
“You really want to know?”
I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He motions for me to follow him as he crosses the living room.
Sighing, I follow him through the doorway and into the kitchen. He heads to the fridge, opens the freezer, and takes out two icepacks.
“You keep these on hand, huh?” I aim for a joking tone.
