Page 382 of Tis the Season to be Bullied

I think back to the question I asked earlier. I guess that was a low blow, asking after his mom like that. But even my mother doesn’t know what happened to Wayne’s wife, the first Mrs. Dearth. I just know she’s dead...and if neither Wayne nor Jude want to talk about it, it must mean something tragic happened.

Which obviously just makes me more curious.

“Truth or dare,” I call out.

Jude stops swimming, ducks under the water, and comes up with a toss of his head. “Truth.”

He makes it too easy.

I cock my head, paddling with my arms and legs to keep myself afloat. As much as I’d want to ask him about his mom again, I know he won’t answer me. The alcohol we downed is starting to take effect, and my mouth slides into a smug smile as I study my stepbrother.

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

There’s a moment, just a fraction of a second, where a shadow crosses his face. But it’s gone so fast, I’m not sure if I imagined it.

“I cheated on a test in junior high.”

I roll my eyes and start swimming for the side of the pool. “If you didn’t want to play, you should have just said so.”

He snags my ankle. I twist around and try to tug myself free, but he’s too strong. “Let go!”

“Where are you going?”

“I have better things to do than being lied to.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Now let go.”

Jude drags me closer. When I’m in arms-reach, he lets go of my leg and grabs my wrist instead. “The worst thing?” he murmurs.

I study him for a second, shrug. “Yeah.”

“Why would I willingly give you dirt on me?” He cocks his head. “You could just use it against me.”

“See, this is why I was leaving. You don’t even know me, but you immediately assume that I’m out to get you. Paranoid much?”

He watches me for a long moment. “I videotaped a couple having sex.”

I expected another lie, maybe him trying to figure out my motives. But this...?

I stop swimming in surprise, and flounder as my chin and mouth bob under the surface. Jude slides his hand up my arm, supporting me, holding my weight in the water. Moving closer. His gaze is intent, completely fixated on me. It feels too intense, but I can’t seem to look away.

“That’s...”

“They asked me to,” he says.

There’s a tiny flutter inside me. I really hope it’s relief...but I’m pretty sure it’s disappointment.

For a moment...just a second...I’d thought my dream was coming true. That Jude was telling me exactly what I wanted to hear.

That he was a freak...just like me.

Chapter 7

Jude

This is the closest I’ve ever been to Harper. I can’t lie—the view is phenomenal. I’ve never noticed the sapphire flecks in her blue eyes, or how the dark ring around her irises makes her thick lashes pop. There’s a beauty spot on one cheekbone, close to the edge of her eye, and I’m overcome with the urge to kiss it.

Why did I just tell her that? With a little legwork, she could probably find out who I videotaped, maybe even find some evidence, and rat me out to my father—whose puritan views on sex are ridiculously hypocritical.

But then I see the fascinated glitter in her eyes, her pink lips still parted and gleaming wet from her dunk in the water.

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