Page 79 of I Hate You More

I’d never had much to do with Ally’s best friend, but her face was expressive, and it was easy to read her emotions. She didn’t seem afraid of speaking her mind either and was a bit like Ally in that respect.

“So, you said you’d tell me what was going on with Ally?” I prompted.

Tessa’s eyes darted toward a picture of her and Ally that stood on her bedside table. “She’s probably going to kill me for talking with you,” she murmured before focusing her attention back on me. “But she’s miserable right now, and I’m counting on you to make her happy again.”

My heart jolted like it had been shocked by a bolt of electricity and was slowly starting to flicker back to life. “You think I can make her happy?”

Tessa nodded. “But in order for that to happen, I’m going to have to tell you something that you might not quite understand.”

“Right…”

“And I want you to promise me you won’t get angry and give up on Ally once you find out.”

“What could possibly be that bad?”

“Promise me, Chase, or you can leave without your answers.”

“Okay, I promise.”

Tessa tilted her head as she watched me before finally giving me a nod of approval. “Good.” She walked over to her bed and pulled a huge pink poster out from behind it. I couldn’t see what was on it because it was rolled up, but she hugged the poster close to her chest as she looked back at me.

“As you know, you and Ally didn’t exactly get along for a while there.”

I chuckled. “Yes, I’m somewhat aware of that.”

“And she wasn’t too happy when she found out you were coming to live with her…”

Ally wasn’t the only one unhappy with the situation, so I nodded. “And your point is?”

Tessa bit down on her lip before she finally started to unroll the poster and laid it flat on the bed. “The point is that we came up with a solution to that problem.”

I took in a deep breath before I walked over to join her. I had no idea what I expected to find, but my whole body was tense as I waited to see the worst. Ally had come up with a plan of some sort, and from the way Tessa was talking, it sounded as though I wasn’t going to like it.

It wasn’t until I was at Tessa’s side that I finally cast my eyes down on the poster laid on her bed. At first, all I could see was glitter. The whole thing was dusted in the stuff, and it looked like some kid’s art project rather than any kind of plan. But then my eyes were drawn toward the title across the top of the page.

“Operation Pest Control,” I read aloud, causing my heart to stutter a beat. My hands grew clammy, and confusion swirled through my mind. “Tessa, what is this?” I asked, unable to drag my eyes away. I didn’t wait for her explanation as I continued to study the poster, and my stomach began to churn as I kept reading.

“Step one: Attraction,” I murmured. The title was written in large bold letters, and there were hastily scrawled notes surrounding it. Words and phrases like flirting and smiling and looking appealing. It didn’t make any sense until I saw no fighting had also been written down, and I began to put it all together. My heart started beating harder and a hot flush began to work its way up my neck. I thought I’d come here to get information that was going to help me with Ally, but this only seemed to be confusing me more.

“Tessa, what is this plan?” I growled as I began to read the comments around step two and step three. They were all geared toward forming a relationship, but I couldn’t understand how it was related to Ally being unhappy that I was living with her.

“You were never meant to see this…”

“No shit,” I replied. “So, why are you showing it to me now? What exactly did you and Ally cook up?”

I wasn’t sure I needed her explanation though as my focus landed on the fourth and final step: Getting Caught. Pain lanced through me at the sight. Whatever this plan hoped to accomplish, it was clear that Ally wanted to use a relationship against me. Did she want to make me fall for her and then break my heart once I had? If so, she’d done a pretty good job.

“Tessa, you need to start explaining…” I glanced in her direction, and she quickly started speaking when she saw the anguish in my eyes.

“It was a plan I came up with,” she said. “We were trying to get you kicked out of Ally’s house.”

The blood drained from my skin, and the pain daggering my stomach magnified. “I’m the pest?” I said, her words confirming my suspicions.

She nodded, and her eyes filled with sorrow.

I thought it would make me angry, but instead, I felt broken. I had actually thought that things were real between Ally and I, that we’d moved beyond our past hatred and begun to form something special.

I shook my head as I glanced at the poster once more. Sure, she’d done a lot of the things listed here, but then she’d told me she didn’t want me. Breaking my heart wasn’t a step on this plan, and I wondered where it went wrong.

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