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“Alex barely had any involvement in that,” he lies flatly. “It was mostly me.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
“Okay.”
He nearly growls. “You’re so frustrating sometimes. Seriously, are you always like this?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” I admit truthfully. “But, FYI, you’re equally as annoying. And I know for a fact that you had nothing to do with my tires getting slashed or the flyers. But it’s cool. I get you’re trying to protect your brother, so I’ll let it drop.”
He assesses me with his lips pressed together as he steers up his driveway. “I can’t figure you out at all. I mean, you can be rude and intense and maybe even slightly crazy, yet you’ve been so understanding with stuff, and you’re just …” He shakes his head. “I don’t get you.”
I stay put despite how badly I want to dive out of the car. But he’s got that stupid look on his face again, the one where I’m pretty sure he can see through my layer that I keep hidden.
“Most people can’t, so you should probably just stop trying to do it.”
He shakes his head, not saying a word as he pushes the shifter into park, neither agreeing nor denying with my request, leaving me to wonder.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to school?” he asks, glancing at his brother. “I can hurry and put him inside then drive you, if you need me to?”
“Nah, I can drive myself. I’m not a very good passenger anyway. I like to be behind the wheel too much.” I try for a smile to lighten the mood, but this ride has been too intense and I’m not really feeling it.
Blaise seems on the same page, offering me only a stiff smile.
“All right,” he says, making no move to get out.
“Okay.”
I tell myself to get out of the car, but instead, I just end up staring at him, wondering, wondering, wondering.
Wondering way too much about him.
As awkwardness stretches between us, I find myself missing arguing with him again. At least then I didn’t feel so out of my element.
Throwing him a quick grin, I jump out and hurry toward the fence, feeling weirded out. I try to blame it on lack of sleep, but the truth is Blaise got me all baffled and confused. My first initial assessment of him feels way off now. Still, I can’t get past the first time I met him.
How can that cocky jerk be the guy who just opened up to me? Or who takes care of his drugged-out brother?
As I make my way up my driveway and toward my car, I watch out of the corner of my eye as Blaise opens the back door of the SUV, gently picks up his brother, and carries him toward the house.
Who is Blaise Porterson? And, can I trust him?
Part of me says yes, but the other part—the part that believes he knows more about my dad’s job than he’s letting on—cautions me to be careful.
20
HADLEY
I haveto cover up the hickey on my neck with some concealer before I go to school. I arrive right around the time lunch ends, so I have no time to talk to my sisters. After I check in with the office, giving them a forged note excusing my absence, I hurry to class to avoid being late again. Since I missed fifth period yesterday, I ask the teacher what I missed. Then I take a seat in the farthest row back, hoping to keep my head down and avoid the gawking, because apparently, people haven’t gotten over the whole flyer thing yet.
“Hey.” Rhyland drops his books on the desk in front of mine then plops down in the seat. “You made it?”
“Yeah, just barely.” I dig a pen out of my bag then straighten in the seat, too aware that the gawking around me has increased since Rhyland started talking to me. “Hey, thanks for giving my sisters a ride this morning. That was really … nice of you.”
“Nice?” He smiles amusedly. “Wow, did I just get a compliment from you?”
I shrug, trying not to smile, but it’s complicated.
