Page 78 of Heartless Monster

He tries to take her hand, but I swat it away. “Then I’m telling you now, mind your own damn business.”

I step up to him, nose to nose. “Make me, bench boy.”

Elodie gets between us, her arms spread as she pushes us both back. “Both of you, stop it!”

Dropping my scowl, my features soften as I look down at Elodie. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

She shoots a look at Gage, then back to me. “Yeah, of course.”

Without hesitation, I take her hand and pull her away from that dipshit.

“Before you say anything,” Elodie begins. “He wasn’t hitting on me. He just thanked me for going to the movies with him.”

The fact that she thinks he wasn’t hitting on her speaks volumes about her character. He was one hundred percent baiting her and kissing her ass.

But that’s not what this is about.

“Fuck Gage. This isn’t about him.” I lace my fingers with hers briefly, and I can’t help but notice how they fold together perfectly.

We stop in front of the gym doors, away from the rows of lockers.

Elodie leans against the wall, pulling her hand free. Her arms cross over her chest while her bag hangs from her shoulder. “That’s good to know. But what do you need to talk about?”

“I…um.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, searching for the right words while avoiding eye contact. Shit like this isn’t easy for me. “I wanted to say thanks for talking to your mom and giving your statement.”

When I look at Elodie, I see her biting back a smile. She puts her hand behind her ear and leans closer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. Can you repeat that?”

I poke her side and grin. “Just say you’re welcome and get to class.”

Sincerity washes over her face as she says, “You’re welcome.”

She goes to walk around me, but I throw my arm out, pulling her back toward me. “Not so fast.”

Her shoulders slump and she grumbles, “I should’ve known.”

I peer down at her. “Why’d you step away when I put my hand on your waist in front of Gage?”

“Please don't start on this Gage drama again.” She sighs, like I’m the one being dramatic here.

“I just wanna know. Was it because of him, or because of me?” Her face twists in confusion.

“You’re my stepbrother, Rome.” She looks up and down the hall, dropping her voice to a whisper. “People will talk.”

“Fuck them,” I spit out. “Do you think I care?”

“Maybe you don’t. But I do.” Her fingers pick at the hem of her shirt. “It’s my first month in Willow Creek and I feel like everyone already hates me. The last thing I need is to hear whispers about how I’m fooling around with my stepbrother.”

I cock a brow. “Fooling around? Is that what we’re doing?”

It’s cute how she blushes and tucks her head between her shoulders like a turtle. “I don’t know what we’re doing.”

“I assumed you were just falling in line and enjoying the ride,” I joke. Elodie never falls in line.

“Right,” she says with a pained expression. “That’s all this is. I’m just obeying my master.”

It’s obvious I took her by surprise, and probably embarrassed her a little bit in the process. That wasn’t my intention. If what’s happening between us means more to Elodie than what meets the eye, then I’d like to know. I might feel less crazy for how much it suddenly means to me.

I narrow my eyes. “Is that really all this is to you?”

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