Page 42 of I Hate You More

He looked rough after his fight with Chase. His lower lip was split, and he was shuffling slowly as he approached us, his shoulders slumped and his eyes on the floor. I shared a confused look with Tessa, who simply shrugged, equally unsure as to why he wanted to talk to me.

Aside from asking him to dance on Saturday night, Declan and I had barely spoken recently. He’d changed a lot in the last few years, and I found it hard to believe I used to have a crush on him. The way he looked at girls gave me the creeps, and the only reason I’d even bothered to wave him over on Saturday night was because I saw him watching me. Chase was right there, and I knew I needed to follow Tessa’s advice and dance with other guys, and Declan had been the only option I could see.

I closed my locker and clutched my books to my chest as I waited for him to reach us. His eyes darted up to look at me, and he glanced nervously from side to side before pausing in front of us.

“You don’t look so good,” I said to him in greeting.

He nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’ve had better days.”

“What’s up?”

His eyes flickered, and he looked around the corridor again, as if he was afraid someone might be watching. “I wanted to say sorry.” His words came out in a rush.

“You do…” My voice was filled with confusion as I responded. I had no idea what he was apologizing for.

“Yeah,” he continued. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. But honestly, I thought you’d find it funny. I mean, I had this perfect picture, and then I came up with the idea for the poster, and I couldn’t not do it, you know?”

I slowly shook my head and looked at Tessa. Her eyes were wide as she glared at Declan, and my blood ran cold as I realized what he was saying. “Youput those posters up?”

Declan shrank under my stare and tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he nodded.

I had the sudden urge to give him more than a split lip. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

He lifted his hands as he stepped back from me. “Look, it was just a joke, and now, I’ve said I’m sorry. We’re cool, all right?”

“We are certainly not cool, and this wasn’t a joke to me. I’ve had to change my phone number.”

“Not to mention everyone at school has been giving her a hard time,” Tessa added. Her eyes were filled with disgust, and I was never more grateful to have my best friend standing at my side.

“That’s not my problem,” he replied

Tessa jumped forward like she was going to throw a punch at him, but I grabbed her arm, yanking her to a stop. Declan might be a total ass, but I wasn’t going to let Tessa get in trouble for me.

“He’s not worth it,” I murmured to her. I was trying to remain calm, but it was really difficult to keep my cool when Declan didn’t seem to hold any genuine remorse for what he’d done. He might have apologized, but there wasn’t an ounce of sorrow in his smug gaze. I couldn’t believe I had once wanted Declan to be my first kiss; that I had even contemplated dancing with him on Saturday night.

Something struck me that was even more shocking though. I couldn’t believe Chase was telling the truth. He wasn’t the one who put the posters up. I was wrong about him, but I guess he was right about me. Maybe I did jump to conclusions when it came to him.

I dragged in a breath as I met Declan’s gaze again. “I didn’t deserve what you did to me,” I said before turning to walk away. I didn’t want to share the same air as him for a moment longer, and I didn’t want to waste another second of my time listening to his false apology.

I hadn’t gone one step when Declan uttered his reply. “I guess next time you’ll think twice about being a tease.”

My eyes snapped back to his, and my hand seemed to move of its own accord as I slapped him across his face. He stumbled sideways, and his arrogant expression turned to pure shock as he lifted a hand to touch his cheek. I could already see a red handprint forming on his skin, and my palm burned from the contact. I didn’t regret it for a second though.

“Don’t ever talk to me again,” I growled.

“And I hope that lip of yours gets infected and drops off,” Tessa added.

He scowled at the two of us but thankfully thought better than to respond. He turned and slunk away, and I was all too happy to watch him leave.

“What a jerk,” Tessa said as she spun toward me. “I mean, who does that?”

“Someone pretty heartless,” I replied. “I can’t believe how much he’s changed. He always used to be so sweet.”

“Well, he’s definitely not sweet anymore. Do you think this is why Chase punched him?”

I quickly shook my head. “It couldn’t be.”

My friend didn’t look as certain as me though. “I don’t know. It seems a pretty big coincidence that they got into a fight right after those posters went up. And now Declan suddenly comes to apologize to you.”

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