Page 30 of Destructive Truths

“Fuck him and the horse he rode in on,” I mutter a little too loudly.

Rohan closes the distance between us, bringing his mouth to my ear. “I don’t ride horses, love. Only pussy.”

I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to get a rise out of me. “Fuck off, Rohan.”

“That’s not what you were screaming on Friday, or Saturday morning, for that matter. What was it you cried out? ‘Fuck me, mo Rí.’” His voice raises an octave, mocking me. “I’m pretty sure you even said please.”

Blood boiling with anger, my nostrils flare as I bite down on my gritted teeth. He’s burrowing under my skin and clawing at my resolve. With my mask firmly in place, I twist in my seat and spear him with an unflinching look. “You meant nothing to me.” Frustration and disdain wrap around my insult. “Just a guy with the right equipment to scratch an itch.”

“Keep telling yourself that, love.” A hushed tone wedges between each word. “But we both know the truth.”

“Do we?” I angle my head and raise a brow. “From where I’m sitting, all you ever do is lie.” The infinitesimal twitch of his lip tells me I hit my mark, but the end-of-class bell interrupts before he can fire back.

Within seconds, I grab my books and head for the door. My legs propel me forward as I rush to make a quick and painless exit, but right before I cross the threshold, my name slithers off his tongue. “Saoirse.”

My lids squeeze shut, preparing for the shots he’s about to fire. With a strengthening inhale, I open my eyes and toss a glance over my shoulder, fighting the tears. Thankfully, I hold myself together, ignoring how my heart fights for space in my chest as the air freezes in my lungs.

Arm slung over Hannah’s shoulder, Rohan draws her into his chest and plants a chaste kiss on her forehead. “If you’re looking for someone to scratch that itch, I hear Donnacha is desperate for my sloppy seconds. Besides, if you squint really hard, he looks just like me, don’t you think?”

All the blood rushes to my ears, muffling the sound of my heart hitting the floor. His words wound deeper than any weapon could. How I keep the tears from streaming down my face, I’ll never know.

Suddenly, Aodhán is at my side, sweeping me away before I break. With a crane of his neck, he peers over his shoulder and shakes his head. “That was low, man. Even for you.”

* * *

Thank Christ, that day is over.

Unfortunately, the little showdown with Rohan stayed with me throughout all my classes, stealing every ounce of my concentration. No matter how hard I tried to put him and his hateful words to the back of my mind, I couldn’t. They lingered, following me from class to class, until the last bell rang, signalling the end of the day.

Since I’d been feeling sorry for myself, I’d avoided Beibhinn and Liam all day, opting to spend my lunch alone, then faking an upset stomach before our shared art class so I could hide out at the back of the library. It’s terrible enough Aodhán bore witness to my minor—okay, slightly major—meltdown after class. The last thing I needed was more pitiful looks from Bev and Liam.

Pushing my pity aside, I unzip my school bag and offload the books I don’t need into my locker and replace them with the ones I’ll need for homework.

“Hey!” Bev slides in next to me. “Missed you in art.”

Casting a glance at Beibhinn, I shrug my shoulder before focusing on my locker. “Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t feeling well.”

Bev rocks back and forth on her heel, her eyes lowering to her feet, then springing back to my face. “Aodhán told me what happened.”

I huff out a breath as her eyes fill with concern.

I slam my locker shut, then zip up my bag before slinging it over my shoulder. “Please, don’t look at me like that. I just want to move on and forget Rohan King ever existed.” Easier said than done—especially when I turn on my heel and see him caging Hannah against his locker.

Then, as though he could feel my death glare, he tosses a look over his shoulder, and flashes me his wicked smile.

My footsteps falter, and a splinter of hurt wedges in my chest cavity, hitching my breath. Fuck him for affecting me so much.

Beibhinn leans closer and whispers, “He’s doing everything he can to get under your skin. There’s only one way to beat the game-master, S.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and keep my voice low so only she can hear me. “How?”

A slow and devious smile hitches at the corner of her lips as her eyes travel down the hallway.

Following her line of sight, my gaze lands on her brother as he parts the crowd.

“You want me to use Liam to piss Rohan off?”

Tossing her arm over my shoulder, she guides me towards Liam. “Use him, no. Give into whatever that weird sexual tension is between you, one hundred percent.”

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