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Thank fuck he wasn’t staring at me, but at hisbrotherand the little bitch determined to hump both of his brothers.
“What the hell is going on?” Ramsey demanded.
“She attacked me,” Payton screamed, instantly bursting into tears. “She was going to kill me.” Then she threw herself at him and despite the pain in my face and my hand, I just rolled my eyes.
“She’s a psychopath,” I said without an ounce of her manufactured dramatics. “No fucking way am I sharing a room with her…”
Or anything else.
Ever.
Thirteen
RAMSEY
Determination, not rage, flooded KC’s eyes. The red mark on her cheek promised a bruise, water splattered her shirt, there was coffee on the floor, and the air around her solidified from chaos to almost tranquil.
It didn’t matter what happened next, she’d made up her mind. I could read it in the lift of her chin, the professional mask sliding over her face and the total lack of tears and weepiness. Payton, if anything, seemed to grow louder. The fact she sniffled against me was uncomfortable enough. Add in the soaking wet hair and the water trail it created on my clothes just added to the overall unpleasantness. Combine all of that with the totallackof dramatic meltdown coming from KC and it was a stark contrast.
“Rooms are at a premium,” Aubrey said slowly. “Not sure we’re gonna find an empty…”
“I have one,” Jonas offered. I wasn’t the only one who jerked my gaze to him. Payton sniffledloudlyand straightened.
“Thank you, Jonas,” she said in that tear-soaked voice. “I accept.”
“No,” Jonas said abruptly and with his characteristic lack of tact. “Not you. KC. KC can stay in my suite. There’s a whole empty room there.”
Fuck…
I barely had time to process that before Payton started sobbing all over again. The sound was…obnoxious.
“Why?” The question came in that husky, smoke-damaged voice. It was hard to believe the sound came from the same person who sang some of the fluffiest pop songs. It also made me hurt for her.
“What?” Jonas pivoted to face her.
“Why are you inviting me to stay?”
Because he was absolutely crazy about her. The crush had been troublesome in the beginning, then downright dangerous as Jonas had grown more and more obsessed.
KC moving in with him was not the best idea. He didn’t always handle emotional conflict well, especially when he wasn’t sure how he should react. Jonas didn’t process like the rest of us. Not normally a problem, but the last year it had escalated into violence…
“If we have to,” I said slowly. “KC can stay with me. The RA suites are larger…”
The look KC sent me was not encouraging. The sobs from Payton cut off, she lifted her face. The faint redness to her eyes the only real betrayal of her tears. With her palms, she wiped her damp cheeks.
“Why can’t I stay with you?” Payton demanded, genuine hurt in her voice. Payton really needed to stop all of this. It was one thing to be playful, but this was not that. “Then the antisocial bitch can stay here with her bitchy friend.”
“Girl,” Aubrey Miller said in a flat tone. “Do not drag me into this fight. You will not enjoy my reaction.”
“Oh, shut up,” Payton snapped. “No one asked you.”
“Tell you what,” the guy standing way too fucking close to KC said. “Why don’t we just press charges and take care of the problem entirely. Pretty sure the school isn’t going to let an assault just slide past.”
Oh, that had clusterfuck written all over it.
“She started it,” Payton shrilled as she pulled away completely. I wasn’t the only one wincing at the sound. “She thinks she’s so damn precious. But I saw how she was looking at herstepbrothers. Makes me think she’s a—”
“Payton,” I said, my temper slipping. She blinked up at me, all woeful and teary-eyed. “Stop.”
