Page 13 of One Twisted Lie

Or maybe I do have a fucking problem with it.

“What?” I bark, nearly throwing my phone out of my hand as my face flames. “No fucking way!”

I know he doesn’t have any idea why I’m reacting that way but, honestly, it’s probably not too far off from what he was expecting. He’s encouraged the feuding between us, shit, it’s been a thing between our two families since before I was born. The Everetts are the enemy, and he wants me to get close to persona non grata number one?

“I know he’s not your favorite person—”

“That’s an understatement.”

“I need you to befriend him,”he says gently. He’s never really been the commanding type, but his voice right now is as close as he’s ever gotten.“Consider it part of your future job.”

“Why?” I ask because this is a request I never thought I’d hear from him. It’s so far beyond what I’ve come to know and expect from him.

“I can’t tell you at the moment, no matter how much I want to.”There’s a pause like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t.“You’re just going to have to trust me. For the good of the family.”

“For the good of the family,” I respond without even thinking.

My dad has never steered me wrong. If he needs me to do this, it must be important. If it has to do with the business, I won’t misplace his trust. I’ve been groomed to take over for him ever since I can remember. Summers weren’t spent playing outside but sitting in boardrooms. I didn’t take the regular electives when I was homeschooled but took business management and statistics. Granted, it’s sketchy as all hell that he won’t tell me what’s up, but I won’t doubt him.

Things are just so fucking weird between Carter and me. We’re…whatever it is we are, and I’m both eager and nervous to bring it up. “What if he wants nothing to do with me?”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way. And on the pedestal, these words shall appear…”

I take a deep breath. Percy Bysshe Shelley. I have this poem memorized by heart. It’s the poem that inspired them to name me Ozymandias. It’s the poem that we’ve lived by at my house. It’s what I’ve been trained to be.

“My name is Ozymandias,” I reiterate, pulling up the words of the poem. “King of Kings; look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair.”

“And what are you?”he asks, already knowing the answer because it’s the answer that he’s come to expect and that I’ve come to embody. It’s who I am, it’s who I’m meant to be, and it’s who I will always be.

“The apex predator.”

“Good,”he says, pleased.“Now, go catch your prey.”

I nod as he hangs up, but the nerves are still there.

He has no idea that when it comes to Carter Everett, it might be the other way around.

Chapter 8

Ozymandias

Okay, I can do this. I can do this. I just have to convince my mortal enemy who sometimes messes around with me to become my friend. Forget the fact that we’ve hated each other our entire lives and that we still hate each other. Disregard that weird buthotthreesome we had a couple weeks ago.

I can do this. It’ll be easy.

Right?

It’s day one of my plan to befriend Carter. He’s currently sitting in the library alone, nose buried in his computer. This is as good a time as any. I walk toward him, hands in my pockets and nerves on overdrive. I stand in front of him for a minute or two, awkwardly hovering until he notices me.

When I don’t say anything, he sighs and cocks his head to the side. “Can I help you?”

“Um, what are you up to?” I ask lamely.

He doesn’t look up from his computer. “Work.”

“Care to be more specific?”

“Programming. Coding. Computer stuff.”

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