Page 20 of Touch of Hate

I shrug. “So that doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he felt trapped there. I don’t know. We won’t know his reasoning until we can ask him.”

My father rubs at his temples. He knew I always tried to see the good in others, so I wasn’t sure why he was so intent on convincing me otherwise.

“We found something else. A notebook.” My father sighs. “We don’t know what the hell it’s for. The contents aren’t really clear, but it’s another clue that he was doing something.”

My heart rate picks up. “What were the contents?”

“Codes,” my brother answers.

“Codes? What kind of codes?” I can’t wrap my head around that. Why would he need codes? What were they for?

“That’s where the trail ends.” Frustration fills the air. “The codes don’t make any sense or correlate to anything we can understand. All we know is that they were of importance to him since he wrote them down. Aside from that, they’re just a bunch of letters scribbled on paper, but that doesn’t mean he’s innocent. He was doing something, but we don’t know yet what that something was.”

Is it bad that a part of me is joyful that they haven’t found any hard-core evidence of wrongdoing? I’m not sure I’d believe anything even if I saw it. In my eyes, Ren isn’t whatever picture of him they are painting.

The clock behind my father’s head shows nine p.m. There is still plenty of time to spend hanging out with my family, but I am pooped. Pretending was harder than I thought.

“I think I’m going to go lie down,” I announce.

My brother raises his brow at me, but I ignore his stare.

Dad frowns at me. “Are you sure? I know this news isn’t something you wanted to hear, especially on your birthday. It is why we tried to keep it under wraps, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of your evening. It doesn’t have to ruin anything.”

“I’m not fragile, Dad. What you just told me didn’t ruin my night.” I break the tension. “I’m just tired and really think I should get to bed early. Plus, my stomach isn’t feeling all that well.”

He nods, reaching for the glass of whiskey he must’ve poured before I came in. I stand, my legs a bit wobbly. Quinton also stands and follows me out of the room. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he stops me from escaping. I shrug off his hand, making his frown deepen. I don’t like upsetting my brother, but I can’t possibly pretend we’re on the same side of things.

“I know you want to believe he’s still a good guy, but I need you to understand the seriousness of this.”

“I believe what I know, brother, and what I know is that Ren loved us. I won’t stop believing that until there is proof to show that it was all a lie.”

Quinton scoffs, his frown becoming pained, almost like I had slapped him.

“He tried to kill Aspen and me. He literally pushed me down a flight of stairs. Someone who loves you doesn’t do that, Scarlet.”

The anger inside me burns with the intensity of the sun. I love my brother, but this is a hill I will die on.

“And you have room to talk? I’ve heard about the things that happened between you and Aspen and how you treated her. I know you still think I’m a little girl, but I’m not. I’m getting older, and I hear more than you know. And sometimes, we hurt the people we love. I don’t think Ren would hurt you without feeling a need to do so.”

Shaking his head, he takes a step back, distrust filling his dark gaze. He thought I was against him. He didn’t know the truth.

“If you can’t see the truth when it’s right in front of you, I don’t know what else to do.”

“Nothing,” I whisper, my already fragile heart crumbling in my hands.

I whirl around and rush to my bedroom before the tears can fall. I would not embarrass myself by crying in front of anyone.

Off in the distance, I’m aware of someone calling my name, but I don’t care. As soon as I slip inside my room, I lock the door and sag against it and let the tears slip free.

I’m tired, so tired.

Hugging my knees to my chest, I wonder if he will make good on his promise to always give me a new first on my birthday or if it is nothing more than a dream that will never come true. Ren isn’t dumb enough to show up here, least of all for me. I let my mind take me to a better place, to the night he made that promise. The night he gave me my first kiss.

“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” I whisper, hoping he doesn’t hear me, though knowing he will. It’s a good thing it’s dark because I’d hate for him to be able to see the crimson coloring my cheek.

Cupping my cheek, he runs his thumb along my full bottom lip, a dark gleam of desire shining in his eyes.

“Good, you have no idea how satisfied it makes me to know that I’ll be your first in every single way.” He leans forward, his huge frame enveloping mine, and my heart jumps inside my chest. I can feel the heat of his body radiating against mine.

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