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I was getting sick of his terrible moods. “Vaughn, I don’t know how many times I can tell you this, but I’m not sleeping with your friends. Fisher is putting on a good show, that’s all. You’re in the same house as us. Don’t you think you’d notice if we were having sex?”
He shot me a look. “I’m not an idiot. I saw that kiss tonight. He grabbed you like he fucking owned you.”
My face heated but I shifted to face him more fully. “What is your problem? Even if I was sleeping with Fisher, it wouldn’t be any of your business! I cleaned up after you for weeks, like we agreed on. I tutor you twice a week, like we agreed on. You act like I signed a freaking contract to be the next virgin Mary, though. You’re not my dad, Vaughn! You’re not my stepbrother anymore, either. You don’t get to control me.”
“If I was your dad, I wouldn’t give a shit who you fucked.”
The words were heavy and they cut deep, just the way he wanted. I snapped my mouth shut and turned to look out the window. He’d been cruel to me as a kid but he’d never said anything that hurt quite like that.
“Jesus, Ella. I’m just trying to keep the house from exploding. No matter what Fisher says, he’s not a relationship kind of guy. What’s going to happen when he leaves you crying in your bathroom? Am I supposed to kick his ass for you? When I told you to stay away from him?”
“Shut up, Vaughn.” I wrapped my arms around myself and pressed my forehead into the warm glass. “Just shut up.”
He swore. “I didn’t mean to say that, Ella. I’m just-”
“You’re just an asshole. You always have been. That was messed up, even for you, though. But, it’s fine. We’re not friends. I don’t need you to be nice to me. I just want you to leave me alone. I’m not sleeping with anyone. I don’t know how many more ways I can say it.”
“I’m the asshole who let you move into his house, Ella.”
I turned to him and waited until he looked back at me to speak. “Do you want me to leave? I could probably find something else now. Just say the words and I’ll go.”
He pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off. “Dammit, Ella, I’m not trying to kick you out.”
“Are you trying to run me out? Because you’re doing a pretty good job of it. I don’t deserve you snapping at me all the time for something I’m not doing. I definitely didn’t deserve that crack about my absentee father.” I shoved open the door and got out. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore tonight.”
I slammed the door and marched towards the house, just to hear his truck start up again and him speeding out of the driveway. I glared after his truck and wanted to throw a handful of rocks at it. Jerk.
After letting myself into the house, I went upstairs and took a shower so I could change into my pajamas and go straight to bed. I wanted to call Mom and bitch about Vaughn but she was on a date and I didn’t want to bother her. Instead, I punched my pillows a few times to fluff them and then I slumped into them and glared at my ceiling. I held Connie to my chest and tried to calm down. What a way to end a great night. Vaughn should’ve been majoring in how to be a major buzz kill.
I heard the alarm ding to signal the front door opening downstairs and heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs a few seconds later. I sat up and braced myself for it to be Vaughn, coming to hurt my feelings some more. I was so ready for it to be him that when someone knocked, I just blurted out my real feelings. “Get fucked, Vaughn!”
The door creaked open and Fisher stuck his head in. “Not Vaughn. It sounds like that’s a good thing, though.”
After the kiss at the game, my body was still wired so seeing Fisher was a jolt to my system. “Hey. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out partying? You played a good game, after all.”
He walked closer and stopped at the foot of my bed. “I wanted to check on you. I saw Vaughn after the game and he wasn’t in the best of moods. I had a feeling he might take it out on you.”
I clutched Connie tighter. “Well, he made a crack about my dad not caring about me, so that was nice.”
“What the fuck?” Fisher came around the bed and sat down next to me. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean, yes. I’m okay. It was a low blow, even for him. My dad left me and my mom right after I was born. Vaughn knows that. I shouldn’t let him bother me, but I can only let so much crap go before it starts to hurt.”
He frowned. “Vaughn knows better than that shit. I can talk to him. He can’t treat you like that.”
“No, don’t. He’s already convinced that we’re sleeping together and lying to him about it.” I pushed my hair behind my ears. “I don’t know why he cares.”
“I have my suspicions.” He reached out and tapped Connie. “Want me to cheer you up?”
I laughed and shook my head. “You don’t have to do that, Fisher. You should go out and celebrate.”
“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do, Ella. Tonight, I’d like to cheer you up. Meet me in my room in ten minutes. You can bring your friend if you want.” He stood up and backed away. “Action or comedy?”
“Action.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Hey, I’m doing this for me, too. I remember what it’s like to hear you crying and this is me trying to practice some self-preservation. I almost pulled the trigger on those diamond knuckles last time.”
As soon as he was out of my room, I did what I shouldn’t have. I rushed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, dabbed a bit of perfume behind my ears, and rubbed lotion into my legs since I was wearing shorts. I primped. The voice in the back of my head was throwing up warnings right and left but I ignored them all and headed to Fisher’s room.
