Page 28 of Close Quarters

“Pigpen,” I answered immediately before scowling. “Quit bullying me. I can’t help it.”

“If you paid a little more attention,” he said carefully.

“Can we talk about something other than my fuck ups, please? I get reminded of those enough as it is,” I said, knowing I was pouting but not caring. It was one thing when I was living with Dom and getting ribbed by him, but living with Reno had brought about a new level of antagonization for my mistakes.

“Alright,” he said in a softer voice. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, hissing when I slid the knife wrong and almost took the tip of my finger off. I adjusted my grip, chiding myself for not being careful as I tried again. “I just…don’t want to be picked at right now, alright?”

“Sure,” he said again and then lowered his voice. “Is that asshole giving you hell or something?”

I should have known something like this would happen the moment I opened my mouth. As much as Dom could be gruff and enjoyed giving me shit, he always had a powerful protective streak when it came to me. I didn’t take much offense, to be honest, he was probably more capable of taking care of himself than I was of myself, and it wasn’t like it was condescending. And as an only child, there was something nice about having someone like a big brother.

“Not…really,” I told him with a sigh, wincing when he continued to watch me. “Things haven’t been easy, but they haven’t been awful either.”

“Are you going to tell me why they put you, of all people, with him?” Dom asked, arching a brow at me.

“I wish people would stop saying it like that,” I whined quietly. “For two weeks, everyone keeps looking at me like I’m a dead man walking or we’re the weirdest thing they’ve ever seen. Like, c’mon guys, give me a fucking break here.”

Dom continued to look concerned as he focused on trying to round out the butt of his pig. “Seriously though, why you? Like, I’m not being a dick here, but…Reno isn’t exactly known for being the most patient of people on a good day with anyone. And like…I like you, E, but you can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”

“Didn’t you say that’s one of the reasons you like me?”

“No, you said that. I grunted.”

“Which is Dom for ‘yes’ if you listen.”

Dom shot me a smile so full of fondness that I felt something warm inside me and began to squirm. It wasn’t a look I got all that often from people. The first time he’d ever given that smile to me, I’d been convinced that if I wasn’t careful, I’d fall head over heels for him. Luckily, that was quashed pretty easily the more I dealt with him. The guy was good-looking and made me feel special, but against all logic from every other time, a good-looking guy made me feel that way, there had never been the threat of that happening. It was a mystery I had yet to solve.

“Alright, maybe I like your weird ass just a little,” he said with a chuckle. “But I also know what it’s like to deal with you constantly. He doesn’t strike me as the most patient and understanding guy.”

I glanced across the tent, checking on Reno. It was a habit I’d picked up early on after being placed in the same cabin as him. It was important to know just what level his lousy mood was at before I tried to talk to him. Honestly, as much as I knew I needed to be more aware of someone else before trying to talk to them, Reno just made it frustrating. I constantly felt like I had to walk on eggshells to ensure I didn’t get my head ripped off mid-conversation.

For anyone who hadn’t spent the past couple of weeks needing to learn to evaluate the annoying nuances of his perpetual scowl, he would have looked like his usual pissy self. Yet even with him sitting down and leaning forward, concealing the hunched shoulders and tense arms that gave away the foulest of his moods, I could see he was steadily getting more pissed.

There was no way he could hear Dom and me. We were too far away and talking too quietly. I also knew he could block out most things when he was reading, which had turned out to be a blessing for both of us, so it couldn’t be the noise. No one else was talking to him either. So why was the shadow on his brow getting darker, and why did it look like he was about to rip his book in half?

“He’s…not,” I said, trying to yank my attention back to the conversation. I wasn’t any closer to solving the mystery of Reno’s foul mood, and I didn’t want to draw Dom’s attention to it either. “But…I don’t know. I guess he’s finding it a bit?—”

“A bit?”

“Like…we’re not constantly on the edge of killing each other. So I mean, that’s gotta be some improvement or a good sign, right?”

“You told me Leon put you with him as punishment.”

“That…isn’t exactly what I said,” I told him quietly. “Although putting us together would probably be a pretty good punishment for both of us.”

“I mean…that’s the running theory with everyone right now.”

“Oh boy, I should have known the rumors would start getting passed around. Seriously, felons are the worst gossips.”

“I mean, you could make it stop easily.”

“Yeah, by giving them what they want, the details. Well, tough, I’m not in the mood to tell everyone. Plus, pretty sure Reno would use that as another reason to find me annoying or weird or whatever he thinks of me.”

“You know, for someone who says everything’s going alright, it doesn’t sound like everything is alright.”

“It’s just…difficult, is all,” I admitted with a shrug. “We’re two different people. And we don’t get along. But we’re being forced to live together. It was Leon’s idea.”

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