Page 62 of Cruel Games

Hilary grinned back, her lashes fluttering in that flirtatious way girls at the bar used when they planned to go home with a guy. “Oh, she works opposite shifts from me, so I didn’t see her much. But she really is insufferable.” Her eyes scanned the living room’s disorganized chaos, and she shrugged, kicking her feet up on the coffee table next to a plate of half-eaten pastries. “So what if it’s a little messy? It’s not like she was here to live in it. I clean up when I’m off work. She’s got no right to complain if I loosened up while she was gone.”

Dingo set the baggage next to the door and nodded sagely, taking a seat next to Hilary. “Tell me about it. She’s got us jumping when she snaps her fingers. Thinks we’re her personal slaves, treats us like dogs.”

“Oh, you poor things!” She reached a hand out and covered one of Dingo’s with her palm, thumb rubbing along the side of his wrist. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to work for her. I hope you don’t let her work you to death.”

“Oh, she’s a slave driver,” he murmured, pretending it was some sort of colossal secret he’d get skinned for if someone overheard him telling it. “But the worst part of it is, she’s violent. So mean—she even tied Jackal up when he didn’t listen to her, once.”

Hilary looked like she didn’t know whether he was being serious or toying with her, but she smiled hesitantly nonetheless, scooting a little closer, her skirt hiking up her tanned thighs. “That’s horrible. I always knew there was a reason she didn’t have a boyfriend. She doesn’t have any friends, either—it’s no wonder, with that attitude.”

“She could scare the paint off a surfboard just from lookingat it too long,” he agreed, leaning back with a sigh. “It’s really a shame we’re stuck with her.”

I leaned forward, wishing she’d go back to the part about Ivy not having friends or a boyfriend. The sudden urge to know more about her had taken over me, and irrationally, I wanted to know how bad her life was, how empty the world around her had become.

“I bet she lost that job she just got at the bar, too. Usually, when she goes AWOL, she stops showing up for work, too.”

AWOL?

Dingo glanced in my direction, spotting the look of confusion. “Means she went off-grid, buddy.”

I nodded, sinking back into the background like another piece of the furniture. Hilary’s attention turned to me, and I suddenly felt like one of those insects they pinned to a board in high school and put under a spotlight and microscope.

“Your friend isn’t much for words, is he?”

Dingo’s laugh was almost offensive. “Nah, he’s not. Always been that way.”

“Well, Ivy and him should get along great. She’s an unsociable bitch, and she’s used to not having anyone to talk to.”

Did Ivy not have a single soul to communicate with? Not a solitary person in her life by choice instead of necessity?

“Family?” I said suddenly, wondering if there was someone out there who missed her, who felt her absence in some way, no matter how miniscule.

Hilary shrugged. “None that I know of. She mentioned a mom she doesn’t talk to anymore, but I’ve never heard her talk to anyone on the phone, and she and I aren’t exactly going home with each other for holiday dinners.” Her little huff of annoyance felt a bit harsh as she nearly put herself in Dingo’s lap, a nervous giggle leaving her lips when he didn’t push her away. “I couldn’t imagine living with a bitch like her, though. If I wereher family, I’d probably drop her off at the orphanage and run in the other direction.”

My insides contorted in rage. How dare she be so callous toward another human, no matter how much she didn’t get along with her?

“You hate her,” I observed, watching Dingo’s hands creep toward his pockets as Hilary grew emboldened, trailing her fingers down his arm playfully.

“Hate, dislike, whatever. As long as she pays her portion of the rent, I couldn’t give two fucks what she does with her life.”

The utter dismissal of another human—it was horrible. Even I couldn’t imagine turning my shoulder on someone so easily, and I’d grown up with animals who’d just as soon rip each other’s throats out over a meal as help one another.

“Why do you care, if she’s treating you all so horribly?”

“It’s time to go, Dingo, if you’re done letting Hilary sit on your lap like the harlot she pretends she’s not,” Ivy spat, marching from her room with Jackal’s missing bat thrown over her shoulder.

“Fuck you, bitch,” Hilary spat as Ivy leaned down and gripped Dingo by the collar, yanking him off the couch in a smooth jerk of her wrist. His sudden movement deposited Hilary on the floor, and she stared up at her roommate like she wished that the pits of hell would open up and swallow her whole.

Ivy laughed as Dingo stumbled before regaining his balance, his eyes as wide as saucers when he looked in her direction. Hilary just looked stunned, her jaw hanging open like the goal was to catch flies with it.

“I wouldn’t fuck you if you paid me,” Ivy sneered, turning her back on her roommate. “I’ll be back for the rest of my shit when I feel like it. Maybe learn to use a garbage can while I’m gone. I’ll make sure I turn in my portion of rent for the month, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You’re not here to move out?” she whined, her hopefuldemeanor changing in a heartbeat. “Well, fuck, suppose I couldn’t be that lucky, could I?” Those eyes of hers hardened, though, and in the next second, the sound of a pitiful meow echoed from the cracked window at the far side of the room.

All eyes traveled to the cat, who was obviously in search of food or attention.

It was Hilary who spoke first, clearing her throat as she rose from the floor, dusting herself off. “If you think I’m feeding him while you’re gone, you’re on drugs. Take your psycho cat with you wherever you’re going.”

Ivy’s face fell, showing a human emotion for the first time that wasn’t wrapped up in her rage and fury.Sadness. Disappointment. Regret.

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