Page 9 of This Is War: All's Fair Duet
“The ass saidGuess who?like we’re supposed to know. He’s got your phone.” My jaw won’t stop twitching.Fuck.I’m not playing guessing games with this asshole. I quickly shoot him the only two questions I’m interested in him answering for us.
Who the fuck are you?
And what the fuck did you do to my friend?
I hold my breath the entire time those damn dots jump on the screen while I wait to hear what this fucker is going to say next. When it finally comes through, I swear steam begins to blow out of my ears.
Calm the fuck down, dickweed.
I didn’t do a fucking thing to her.
I exhale sharply, because there’s only one person who calls me dickweed. “It’s fucking Jaxon,” I growl.
Rya’s head snaps up, a look of relief on her face that is a direct contradiction to the scowl on mine. “Jaxon has my phone? That makes sense, maybe. I dunno.” She scratchesher head. “I don’t remember when we finished the challenge, but… if I was gone before you left, he was probably with me, right?”
My phone buzzes with another notification.
Not that she didn’t want me to do, anyway.
Mother. Fucker.So much for him not doing anything to her. Another text comes in hot on the heels of the last. A fucking smiley face emoji. The asshole is straight up goading me now. It’s enough to seal his fate. I’m gonna kill him.
“Logan, what’s wrong?” Rya’s upset expression will fuel me for what I have to do.
I take both of her hands in mine. “You’re sure you don’t remember anything after using the bathroom?”
She goes stock-still, her once pale skin flushing from her neck all the way to her cheeks. “Um. We were just…”
My eyes slam shut, and I shake my head. Each subsequent breath I take knowing Jaxon had his hands on her only riles me even more. Then I think about how that motherfucker just told me to calm down, and my rage heightens. Finally, I peer up at her. My head pounds and my stomach flips. “He’s my stepbrother, Rya.”
“What?” The confused stare she shoots at me tells me she won’t like this next bit either.
I bite down on my lip. “He’s never been anything but an asshole to me since my mother married his dad. He fuckin’ hates me. Wants nothing to do with me. And—” I can’t bear to tell her about the awful feeling creeping over me. If Jaxon has his way, he’ll wreck everything… including my relationship with Rya.
She blinks. “How did I not know this? Why didn’t this come up last night?” Her head turns to the side a bit. “Or earlier this year, even? Why did you keep this from me?”
The look of hurt on her face nearly knocks me over, and I grit my teeth. “When you moved to town senior year, Jaxon had just headed off to Evermore. I didn’t see the point in rehashing all the ways he loathes me. He wasn’t around for you to get to know. And I wanted you to knowme.” Scrubbing both hands through my hair, I eye her. “I’m sorry. I was trying to warn you about him at the party when it looked like you might hook up.”
She shakes her head, disbelieving. “But… he was so nice to me. He?—”
I throw up my hands. “Yeah, he was great right up until he left you while you were drunk to figure out how to get home alone. He either let some other dude do fuck knows what to you”—I heave out a disgruntled breath—“or he fuckin’ did it himself.”
Eyeing me cautiously, Rya murmurs, “He wouldn’t have.”
At the insistent tone of her words, my brows shoot up. “Oh, because you know him so well after spending a few hours drinking with him and doing who knows what else?”
She blinks several times, and I can see the way she’s fighting the tremble of her lip. I grit my teeth, my eyes crashing shut. I don’t think I’ve ever raised my voice to her. Never said so much as a harsh word. Not like that. She wets her lips. “That’s really not your business, Logan.”
Hazel plucks the earbuds from her ears. “Rya? Logan? What’s going on?”
I don’t bother acknowledging her question, instead focusing on the fire flashing in my friend’s eyes. With a sigh, I shake my head. “Look, I’ll go talk to him. And I’ll rescue your phone.” I launch to my feet, and Rya stands at the same time, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I don’t understand why you haven’t told me about Jaxon before.” Rya’s lips purse, and I can sense the feistiness in her coming out.
Inwardly furious with Jaxon at this wedge he’s jammed between Rya and me, I cup her face with my hand, coming in close. I draw in several breaths as I stare into her gorgeous green eyes. “Just stay here. Get some rest. I think I know where to find him.”
Shakily, she nods, then bites her lip. I can tell she’s really confused by my behavior, not to mention her ownconflicting thoughts and feelings about the person Jaxon has presented himself to be.
I sigh heavily. If they had met before Jaxon left for college, I have no doubt in my mind that he’d have wanted her. She’s fucking beautiful, inside and out.
