Page 45 of Lies Like Love

Good. The last thing I need is his judgment. With any luck, he won’t come home until morning.

“You guys are roommates?”

I nod, tossing my jacket onto the couch and walking over to the open kitchen. The apartment is fairly big for LA, but unimpressive. The walls are paper thin, and the windows don’t seal properly, so it’s always too hot or too cold. The floors are shaggy carpet, and the walls hold a moldy smell that never really goes away. On one side of the apartment is a spare bathroom, and on the other is the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.

It’s not a dump compared to some places I’ve crashed at, but it’s not as nice as I can afford either. And it’s nowhere near as nice as Fel is used to, not that she says anything.

She watches me move around the apartment. Liquid softness in her eyes reminds me I should have sent her home. Tonight is one more reason to add to the long list of why I shouldn’t be dragging her further into my world.

If she’s smart, tonight will scare her back to her grandparents’ mansion in the hills.

So why does that thought twist a knife?

I’m the lesser of two evils.

I think?

Either that or I’m just selfish.

I grab a bottle of whiskey off the counter and a glass from the cabinet, pouring enough to take the edge off and instantly downing it.

“Want some?”

Fel is standing in the middle of the living room staring at me. Her face is blank, so I’m pretty sure she’s in shock, but her shoulders roll back as she tries to hide it. And for the first time tonight, I realize how delicate she looks in her pink sundress that hits her mid-thigh. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail, and her simple makeup is smudged from crying.

I grip the glass harder as my gaze follows the smears down her perfect cheeks because I shouldn’t have let him live.

“Please.” Fel walks over, her eyes dropping to the whiskey on the counter.

I pour a much smaller shot for her. She’s tiny, and from what I can tell, she doesn’t drink often. So I’m surprised when she takes the glass and shoots it in one swig, even if her entire face winces when she does.

“That’s strong.” She grits her teeth, and the struggle on her face makes my heart constrict.

She hands the glass back to me, and it’s smeared with blood from our fingers. A mess we’re always making around each other.

Fel’s leaning against the counter, but her eyes are detached as she focuses on a far wall.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head.

I close the gap between us and tip her chin up to face me. “Tell me anyway.”

“It’s just…” She wets her lips, and her eyes are brimming with tears. “Tonight could have been—”

“It wouldn’t have.” I cut her off, refusing to think it.

“Jude, I got lucky you showed up when you did, okay?” She grabs my wrist, and the fact that she’s touching me sends my brain into a black hole. “If you hadn’t, and his friend had shown up—”

“Wait.” I drop my hand. “What do you mean,friend?”

“I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “Maybe there was no friend, it was all really fuzzy.”

“Fel. Try to remember.” I plant my hand on the counter beside her.

She chews the inside of her cheek, her eyebrows scrunching. “I think I remember him saying,he won’t mind if I have a little fun first. I guess I just assumed there was someone else.”

She pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.

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