Page 82 of The Catalyst

Before leaving,Martin took me to his room which was seated in one of the furthest rooms in the house. I stood there awkwardly as he pushed open the door.

Sitting on the bed, Casey is perched like she was just waiting for him to come back.

Oh. Right. I forgot that they were dating.

Wow.

This feels awkward.

Martin left his girlfriend alone in his room to come deal with me and my drama. This is sure to give the bitch another reason to hate me. Not only was I dating her ex, but now I’m taking up her current boyfriend’s time.

Good thing I won’t ever have to see Casey again. Grove Hill is about to be behind me.

“What areyoudoing here?” she sneers at me, a look of disgust across her face.

“Be nice,” Martin warns in the same tone Teigan used to use when she would say “you don’t need to punch the bitch. She’s not worth it”, but I don’t think he meant it in the same way she would.

Casey’s gaze shifts from me to Martin and then back to me. “Why are you in my boyfriend’s house? I thought you were better than all of this, slumming it all over Mason Road.”

If I was as much of a bitch as she is, I might be tempted to rub in her face that Mr. Gray wants me to marry her “boyfriend”, but I’m better than that. She can throw daggers at me all she wants and my lips will remain sealed until he decides to tell her, if he ever does.

“Stop it right now,” he practically growls at her before moving to her side. “I’ve told you a hundred times. I’m not your boyfriend. Stop telling people that I am.”

Oh. Wow.

That makes no sense at all. He was carrying her around that warehouse like she was his property and even Michael said it was serious.

“Now, I need you to go home.” His voice softens enough to not be full of tension and her eyes narrow.

“Seriously? You’re kicking me out. Why? Forher?”

I don’t know where her hypersensitivity is coming from, but that’s clearly not what’s going on. I don’t know Martin that well and from my limited observation, he clearly doesn’t want to leave her here and chance something bad happening to her.

This house is dangerous and Martin is her only protection here.

“You know the rules. You can’t be here if I’m not. You need to go home tonight. I’ll walk you out,” he offers, his voice full of understanding.

I swear, he must be a saint to put up with her bullshit.

“No need,” she hisses as she grabs her bag and her shoes off the floor. “I guess she can suck your dick from now on.” She walks right over to me as she grabs the doorknob and scowls at me. If looks could kill… “I guess Nigel and Oliver got tired of tossing you around. Such a pity. Too bad you’re not The Bastard’s Whore anymore.”

I flinch from her words as Martin practically bellows her name, telling her to leave me alone.

She’ll never know how deeply those words cut. It’s not the bit about Nigel that got to me. No, it’s that Oliver got tired of me to the point of telling everyone I was easy.

Easy.

Maybe I was, but there’s a difference between being easy and someone seeing you asonlythat. The pain from that burns deep in my chest. It was a deep betrayal of my heart, but then he told Nigel about me and Martin. That was a betrayal to every ounce of trust I had in him.

I would have more faith in him if I walked in on him screwing someone else.

“Sorry,” Martin mutters as he drags a hand down his face.

“I probably should’ve warned you that she clearly hates my guts.” I rub my arms, trying to keep my shit together. It’s bad enough that he already saw me semi-break. A full-on mental breakdown would be too embarrassing.

“That wasn’t your fault. Don’t shoulder the blame for her shitty attitude. It’s no excuse, but she has a really bad home life and always wants to hang out here to escape it. Her dad is a piece of shit and her stepmom isn’t any better.”

I shrug. “I get that.” I don’t understand how bad her home life would have to be for her to treat everyone like shit, but I have enough experience to say that it’s not an excuse for being a shithead. “My mom was really horrible before she went to rehab,” I confess.

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