Page 50 of The Masks We Wear

She knows I’m being curt, and even though she’s done enough to last the rest of my life, it’s clearly not enough. “Aw, don’t tell me you’re jealous of me and your little friend, Spencer.”

I grit my teeth, turning just enough to look at her. “The only thing I’m jealous of is all the people who haven’t met you.”

Lily grins, biting the corner of her lip as if to keep from laughing.

“Maybe if I throw a stick, he’ll leave faster,” Amora chirps, arching an eyebrow.

I ignore her friend completely. “Do you ever get tired of being such a bitch, Lily?”

She doesn’t miss a beat. “Call me what you want, but you can’t say I’mforgettable.”

Her words curl around my spine, snapping the last piece of me that gave a fuck, sending splinters through my heart. The liquor now rolling through my veins only intensifies the pain as it burrows into the muscle. Each beat pulling the splinter further inside until I’m sure I’ll never get it out.

“Ifuckinghate you.” My voice doesn’t even sound like mine. It’s raspy, deep...broken.

“Do I look like I give one fuck, Spencer?” she snaps.

Amora giggles, twirling a strand around her finger. “Nope, not one.”

Lily leans against the island, a hand clenched around her necklace. “Exactly. Therefore your comment is irrelevant. Now, unless you’re here to clean someone else’s shoe, you can go. Leave the hot guy though.”

My mouth pops open, but a light tug on my elbow draws my attention. When I look down, I find Remy’s glossy eyes. Her brows are furrowed, and her face is pinched as if she’s in pain. “Let’s go.”

Suddenly there is no one else, the background faded into a blur of mute colors, and voiceless music. All that’s left is Remy.

She doesn’t say anything else, leading me out the door and into the cold. I follow behind her obediently, not even realizing when we’re walking through my front door and up to my room. It’s as if she’s switched on my autopilot somehow, and I’m merely going through the motions.

The bed sinks under her weight when she sits, waiting in silence as I turn on the bedside lamp, snapping back to reality.

The curtains are the first thing I notice. They’re open, and the glow from Lily’s room feels like a light to a bug. Before I close them, a shadow passes in front. No, two shadows.

Everything I held in finally crashes over the edge, pouring down my body, leaving it trembling. She kissed him on purpose. She knew he wouldn’t fucking know who she was and she knew it would piss me off.

Fuck her.

My eyes squeeze closed against the burn.

I want to forget her.

Just for one fucking second.

I want to remember what it was like to not be so consumed by her.

To be able to breathe.

“Spence?”

The name pierces through my ears. But it’s not Remy I hear. It’s Liliana. The light, carefree Liliana. My heart thumps into my ribs violently, an ache radiating across the bone.

“Spencer?”

A hand touches my shoulder, forcing my eyes open.

Those eyes. They’re so similar.

I move before I think, grabbing the sides of Remy’s face and pressing my lips to hers. They’re like soft pillows and taste like cotton candy. Everything about her is sweet, innocent. Even her hands lightly wrapped around my wrist are timid but welcoming. I deepen our kiss, groaning when I feel her hands squeeze me tighter.

My mouth moves of its own accord, kissing along her jaw, down her neck. Remy whimpers, her hands finding my chest, and pushing slightly. “Spencer…”

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