Page 10 of Fueled Hate

“Andrew, you too,” Sadie says sternly to Kyle’s idiot sidekick. He follows suit and walks away, then she turns to me and says, “Fuck off,” before darting away to retrieve water glasses.

“He’s her boyfriend?” Bryce breaks out into a full-on belly laugh as he holds his side. “I take it back. Maybe there is some exciting shit going on around here. This might prove to be more entertaining than I first guessed. Tell me the plan.”

I relay the high points to Bryce, glancing back at the table as I watch Sadie approach with two glasses of water in her hands. Setting them down, her arms fold across her chest. Kyle keeps his glare on me, ignoring whatever she’s saying because he’s not the least bit concerned with her, only me. That’s the smartest decision he’s made yet.

6

Sadie

“Will you stop it?” I say, slapping my palms on the table. “Either order or leave because I don’t have time for whatever bullshit the two of you have going on.”

Kyle slowly pries his eyes off of Dylan and looks to me. “You know exactly what the bullshit is about.” His cold voice doesn’t take me by surprise. This is the Kyle who isn’t getting his way. The oversized man-child is throwing a fit because someone dare not do exactly what he instructed.

“I can’t do this with you right now. I’m at work. Unlike you, I need a job. So either order or get out.”

“You don’t need a job. You choose this.” There’s annoyance, arrogance, and frustration in his tone, but that’s about it. He doesn’t care why I don’t want to live with him, he only cares that I made a decision without his approval that went against what he wanted.

“And that’s one of the many reasons why.” Kyle unwittingly provides me with so many reasons, and he makes sure to remind me of them constantly. And lately, the negative stuff has overshadowed any of the reasons why I’ve stayed with him. In a big way. So big, it’s getting hard to remember the good stuff. Yet, I still can’t end it. Why? Whatever, I’m not dealing with this BS tonight. The day has been long and trying enough without the pissing contest these two are intent on having.

“No, it’s another excuse to push me away so allow me to save you the effort,” he says coldly as he stands, walking to the exit with Andrew following after him.

Him leaving should bother me but it’s a welcome relief. Is that it? Am I waiting for him to dump me to save me the trouble? It’s a ridiculous notion but staying with him to avoid the hassle of a breakup is too.

Snatching the cups of water off the table, I head to the drink station hidden by a small partition. Dumping the liquid down the drain, I set the glasses down as my fingers grip the cold metal rim of the sink.

“You okay back there?”

I jump, startled to see Jett with a sympathetic look on his face. “Oh, yeah. I’m good. Just needed a minute.” Stepping out, I immediately halt in place when I spot Dylan watching us.

“Anyone else you want out of here?” Jett asks, looking to where my attention is focused.

“Nope.” Because that’ll make a bigger scene than what had already occurred. Plus, I’d be admitting just how much Dylan is getting to me, not that he doesn’t already know from the look on his smug face. The guy sitting next to him looks amused, of all things, and keeps a big grin pointed in my direction before he waves. Maybe he’s high or drunk or both, because we are not friends—especially with the company he keeps. Company I’m sure is bound to continue turning up, so I need to find a way to ignore it. Doubt that’ll happen, but I make my best attempt as I get back to my tables, focusing on my customers. It does help distract me, except for the few moments I look over and see brown eyes focused in my direction. Finally, about an hour after Kyle made his abrupt exit, Dylan hits the road too, and I’m able to focus my full attention on getting through the shift. Mostly.

The hours drag on, which makes perfect sense—a fitting end to the kind of day I was having. After clocking out, I make my way to my car, slide into the driver’s seat, and start up my Mustang. Hurrying out of the lot, I can’t wait to get home. I’m exhausted. The first day of the semester wore me out enough, then the shift just topped it off. And from the looks of the ZR1 parked near my spot in the apartment complex’s lot, the night isn’t over.

Making my way to the apartment, I stop when I spot Kyle sitting on my doorstep, his back leaning against the door. He’d probably tried to wait inside, but Willow is usually less than thrilled with him being over when I’m there, so she sure as shit wouldn’t let him in when I’m not.

He stands and stretches as I reluctantly move closer to the door he’s blocking. The door I just want to go through so I can shower and get in bed before I have to do it all over again tomorrow. I’m already dreading it.

“Hey, babe,” he says, leaning forward to give me a peck on the cheek. I stand tense at his touch. Does he not realize how many times I’ve dodged this gesture today? “What’s wrong?”

“Are you serious?” Like he hadn’t left Big Tobe’s in a huff a few hours ago. The look of confusion he gives me says I won’t get anywhere with this conversation. “I’m tired. I want to go to bed.”

“Okay. I’m exhausted too. I’ll just crash here.”

“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“And why not?”

“Because I need some time to figure things out.”

“What things?” he asks flatly. Then, not waiting for a response, he continues, “I knew it. He’s already got you fooled.”

“This isn’t about anyone else but us.”

“Are you sure about that?” Kyle asks.

“Yes. And the way you’re acting right now proves that something is off.”