Page 35 of Corrupt Idol

“Mom would be hurt if she heard you say that,” he said mildly.

“You’re the biggest narcissist I’ve ever met!”

“If I have nothing to do with your body count, then what’s your explanation for the man parade your friends talked about?”

She leaned toward him so far, her seat belt locked. “I wanted, so I took. That should sound familiar to you!”

He didn’t even look at her as he continued in that placid tone that made her want to hit him.

“Seems no one measured up. None of them lasted longer than a few months.”

“I have high standards!”

“Doesn’t sound like it. I heard one of the guys you dated a few months ago worked at a video game store.”

“Justin was sweet!”

“It’sDustin, actually,” he said coolly. “Seems he wasn’t sweet enough for you to remember his name.”

“His nameisJustin!” It was, right?

He shrugged. “You should know.”

“Yes, Idoknow. What I do and who I do it with is none of your fucking business!”

He shook his head. “We’ve been over this before.”

Everything you do is my business.

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“Debatable. It sounds like your friends have been carrying you for a while now.”

She felt as if she had been kicked in the gut. “You don’t know anything about my life.”

“You dropped out of school, can’t keep a job, and bang anyone who catches your eye. Am I missing anything?”

He had turned into Mr. Hyde again. Now that they were alone, he had morphed back into the monster she brought out in him with little effort. His succinct and brutal summary of her life made her flush with a cold that smothered all emotion.

“You haven’t changed. You’re still dating losers because you don’t want it to go anywhere and you want to be in control. The few times you ran into good guys, you gave them to your friends or walked away. You took what you wanted before you got bored and moved onto the next schmuck.”

“Stop,” she said faintly.

“Empty fucks.” The tendons in his arm flexed as he gripped the steering wheel. “I know exactly how that feels. I took every woman who offered. No one came close to you.”

He was no longer slouched in his seat. He was sitting up straight, body radiating with tension. He was driving a little faster than he’d been a minute ago. The unaffected veneer he had maintained throughout the day was beginning to shred.

“You used those men to forget about me. It didn’t work, did it?” he challenged.

“Shut up!”

“Last night, you gave yourself to me.”

“I wasdrunk! You took advantage of that.”

“When your guard is down, you show your true feelings.”

“True feelings?” she echoed in a strangled voice. “My true feeling is that I hate you!Loatheyou. If I never saw you again, I—”

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