RoomHate

  This was the life.

  My routine stayed the same every single day for a couple of weeks until my rude awakening hit.

  ***

  Returning from downtown Newport with my bag of crustaceans one night, I noticed that the front door to the house was wide open. Did I forget to lock it? Was it the wind?

  My heartbeat accelerated when I entered the kitchen to find a tall, leggy chick with short, cropped platinum blonde hair. She looked like a young Mia Farrow and was stocking the cabinets.

  I cleared my throat. “Hello?”

  She turned around before covering her chest. “Oh my God. You scared me.” Walking over to me smiling, she held out her hand. “I’m Jade.”

  With fine features, high cheekbones and that pixie cut, Jade could have been a model. I was the complete opposite from her physically with my long, dark hair and curvy figure.

  “I’m Amelia. Who are you?”

  “I’m Justin’s girlfriend.”

  My stomach sank. “Oh…I see. Where is he?”

  “He just went to the market and the liquor store.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “We just arrived about an hour ago.”

  “How long are you staying?”

  “Not sure really. We’re just gonna see where the summer takes us. Neither of us were expecting this development…you know, the house.”

  “Yeah…I know.” I looked down at the French-manicured toes peeking out of her heels. “Do you work?”

  “I’m an actress, actually…on Broadway. Well, off Broadway for now. I’m in between jobs, but I’ll probably be going back and forth to New York for auditions. What do you do?”

  “I’m a middle school teacher. So, I get the summers off.”

  “Oh, that’s really cool.”

  “Yeah. It’s fun. Where does Justin work?”

  “He works from home right now. He sells software. He can work from anywhere. He also performs. You know he’s a musician, right?”

  “Actually, I don’t know much about him anymore.”

  “What happened between you two anyway? If you don’t mind my asking…”

  “He’s never told you anything about me?”

  “Just that you grew up together and that you’re Mrs. H.’s granddaughter. Honestly, he never mentioned you at all until we got that letter from the attorney.”

  Even though that was expected, it made me sad. “That’s no surprise.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “It’s kind of a long story.”

  “Did you guys ever date?”

  “No. It was nothing like that. We were just good friends, but we drifted apart after I moved away.”

  “I see. This whole thing is a little weird, right? I mean, inheriting a house like this out of nowhere?”

  “Well, my grandmother was very generous, and she loved Justin very much. My mother is her only child, and Nana loved Justin like a son, so…”

  “Your grandmother left the house to you and not your mother?”

  “Mom and Nana had a bit of a falling out some years ago. Thankfully, they made amends before she died, but things were never really the same again.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Thanks.”

  Jade opened her arms to pull me into a casual hug. “Well, I really hope we can be friends. It will be nice to have a girl around to shop with, check out the island.”

  “Yeah. That’d be nice.”

  “I hope you’ll have dinner with us tonight?”

  I wasn’t ready to face him. I needed to make up a story and get out of here.

  “Actually, probably not tonight. I’d better be leaving—”

  “That’s what you’re good at, isn’t it?” a deep voice I hardly recognized interrupted me from behind.

  “What’s that?” I asked, swallowing nervously and refusing to turn around to look at him.

  “Leaving,” he said louder. “That’s what you’re good at.”

  My breathing was ragged, but it was when I turned around that I nearly lost it.

  Holy fuck.

  CHAPTER 3

  Justin was standing in front of me, and I swear it was like the boy I’d left behind had been swallowed up by a lean mass of muscle. He just looked so different from what I remembered nine years ago. The anger on his face was transparent and somehow made him even more incredibly hot. It just would have been better if it weren’t directed toward me.

  His skin was a beautiful shade of bronze that complemented the natural golden streaks in his dark blond hair. The smooth face I remembered was now rough and unshaven. A rope and barb wire tattoo wrapped around his bicep. He was wearing camouflage cargo shorts with a tight white ribbed tank that hugged his chiseled chest.

  An indeterminate amount of time passed as I just took him in. Even though I was too stunned to say anything, my heart was screaming. I knew deep down my reaction wasn’t just because of my physical attraction to him. It was because despite all of the changes, one thing had stayed exactly the same. His eyes. They reflected the same hurt that I remembered from the very last time I saw him.

  His name finally managed to roll off my tongue. “Justin…”

  “Amelia.” The deep, throaty sound of his voice vibrated through me.

  “I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to show up.”

  “Why wouldn’t I have?” he sneered.

  “Well, I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”

  “You’ve overestimated your significance to me. Of course, I was going to come. This is half my house.”

  His words stung. “I didn’t say it wasn’t. It’s just…I hadn’t heard anything from you.”

  “Interesting how that goes.”

  Clearly uncomfortable with our sparring, Jade cleared her throat. “I was just asking Amelia if she wanted to have dinner with us tonight. Maybe you guys can catch up.”

  “Apparently, she already has plans.”

  I turned to him. “Why do you say that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know…because you’re holding a bag that smells like dirty snatch?”

  “It’s fresh seafood.”

  “Doesn’t smell very fresh to me.”

  “God. We haven’t seen each other in nine years, and this is how you act?” I turned to Jade. “Is he always this rude?”

  Before she could answer, he cracked, “I guess you bring it out in me.”

  “You think Nana would be happy right now with your attitude? Something tells me she didn’t leave us this house so that we could fight with each other.”

  “She left us both this house because we each meant something to her. That doesn’t mean we have to mean anything to each other. Anyway, if you cared so much about what Mrs. H. thought, maybe you shouldn’t have run away.”

  “That’s a low blow.”

  “The truth hurts, I guess.”

  “I tried to contact you, Justin. I—”

  “I’m not talking about this now, Amelia,” he said, speaking through gritted teeth. “It’s old news.”

  It was unnerving to hear him call me by my actual name. Aside from the very first day we’d met, he’d always called me Patch or Patchy. Hearing my name come out of his mouth felt like a slap in the face for some reason, like he was trying to emphasize how much we’d grown apart.

  Justin went from hot to cold as he shut down, heading back outside to retrieve the groceries from his car but not before slamming the door behind him.

  I shuddered, looking over at Jade whose eyeballs were moving back and forth from side to side in confusion.

  “Well, that was a nice start,” I joked.

  “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen him act like that toward anyone to be honest. I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. Believe it or not, I probably deserve it.”

  The only thing worse than the rude reception he’d given me was his blatantly ignoring me during dinner and for the rest of that night. That hurt more than
anything he could have ever said to me.

  ***

  If I thought the evening was horrible, lack of sleep assured that the next morning was even worse.

  Apparently, Justin found a way to take out his anger—by taking it out on Jade. Let’s just say playing guitar wasn’t the only talent he’d fully developed over time. Jade’s moaning in the middle of the night as Justin pounded into her woke me up. The walls literally shook. It was impossible to go back to sleep after that. I tossed and turned, my thoughts alternating between rehashing Justin’s words to me from earlier to imagining what that scene in the other room actually looked like. Not that I really should have been thinking about the latter, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

  It was 7AM, and the house was quiet, so I assumed they were both catching up on sleep after their sexcapade. When I snuck downstairs to make some coffee, to my surprise, he was standing in the kitchen alone staring out of the spacious window overlooking the water. Coffee was percolating. His back was toward me, so he hadn’t seen me standing there yet.

  I used the opportunity to admire his stature and the flawless skin of his defined, shirtless back. Black gym pants hugged his beautifully round ass. I never realized how incredible his ass was. My physical attraction to him really irked me under the circumstances, but that didn’t stop me from checking him out. He had a rectangular-shaped tattoo in the middle of his back. Squinting, I unsuccessfully tried to figure out what it was. He startled me when he suddenly turned around and met me with an incendiary stare.

  “Do you always ogle people when you think they can’t see you?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “How did you know I was standing here?”

  “I could see your reflection in the window, genius.”

  Shit.

  “You didn’t even flinch. I didn’t think you noticed me.”

  “Clearly.”

  “Are you trying to make me hate you or something? Because you’re doing a pretty damn good job.”

  Justin didn’t answer my question. Instead, he just turned back around toward the window.

  “Why do you do that?” I asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Say things to piss me off then shut down?”

  He continued to speak to the window, “Would you rather I just continue to piss you off? I’m trying to get my anger in check with you, Amelia. You should be happy I know when to stop…unlike some people.”

  “Will you at least look at me when you’re talking to me?”

  He turned around and walked toward me slowly then leaned his face in. I could feel his words on my lips when he asked, “Is this better? You’d rather me in your face like this?”

  I could practically taste his breath. My entire body felt weak from the close contact, so I backed away.

  “I didn’t think so,” he snarled.

  I walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, pretending to look for something. It annoyed me that my peaceful mornings were a thing of the past.

  “You always get up this early?” I asked.

  “I’m a morning person.”

  “I can see that…so bright and cheery,” I said, sarcastically. “Some of us need sleep, though.”

  “I slept just fine last night.”

  “Oh, I know…after you traumatized me. You must have passed out after all that screwing. Could you two have been any louder last night?”

  “Well, excuse me. If I can’t fuck in my own house where do you expect me to do it?”

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t do it. Just be more respectful.”

  “Define respect.”

  “Doing it quietly.”

  “Sorry. I don’t fuck quietly.”

  As much as I hated that answer, I somehow felt that those words would be repeating in my head later tonight.

  “Forget it. Clearly, you don’t know the meaning of respect.”

  “Respect you? Why…because you’re not getting laid? Why don’t you hook up with some salty dude down at the dock? Maybe then you won’t care so much about other people’s business.”

  “Salty dude?”

  “Yeah. You know, the guys that live on the boats…the ones who sell you that nasty fish you were eating last night.”

  I just shook my head and rolled my eyes, refusing to dignify that comment with a response.

  He surprised me when he suddenly lifted the carafe. “Want some coffee?”

  “Now you’re being nice?”

  “No, I just figured you’re sticking around for some reason. It must be the coffee.”

  “This is my kitchen.”

  He winked. “Our kitchen.” Grabbing two mugs from the cabinet, he asked, “How do you take yours?”

  “Cream and sugar.”

  “I’ll take care of it while you go put on a bra.”

  I looked down at my boobs which were hanging freely beneath my white t-shirt. Not expecting to run into him this early, I hadn’t thought to put one on. Too embarrassed to acknowledge the fact that he’d noticed, I went back to my room and got dressed.

  When I returned, he was back at the window, drinking his coffee.

  “Is this better?” I asked, referring to my dress.

  He turned around and gave me a once over. “Define better. If better means I can’t see your tits anymore…yes, it’s better. If better, means you look better, that’s debatable.”

  “What’s wrong with this?”

  “It looks like you sewed it yourself.”

  “Actually, it’s from one of the shops on the island. It is handmade.”

  “Out of a potato sack?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Maybe?

  He snickered. “Your coffee’s on the counter, Raggedy Ann.”

  My inclination was to try to come up with a comeback, but then I realized that was probably what he wanted. I needed to kill him with kindness instead of showing my anger.

  “Thank you. That was nice of you to make it for me.”

  Asshole.

  I took a sip and immediately spit it out. “What did you put in this? It’s so strong!”

  Instead of answering me, he just started to crack up. His laughter resonated through the kitchen, and as much as I hated that it was at my expense, it was the first time he’d laughed. It took me back in time for a moment and served as the only real reminder that the smoking hot asshole in front of me used to be my best friend.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “It’s a bit strong. What is it?”

  “It’s coffee fusion, actually.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  Justin sauntered over to the cabinet and took out a can and a package. “It’s my own recipe. Cuban coffee mixed with this one.” He pointed to the black packaging that had a white skull and crossbones on it.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s coffee. I order it online. Nothing else is caffeinated enough for me.”

  “That’s why you wanted to serve it to me, wasn’t it? You knew I’d hate this…concoction.”

  Instead of answering, he simply let out that raspy laugh of his again, except this time, he was laughing way harder than before.

  Jade entered the kitchen, wearing a long black t-shirt that must have been the one he wasn’t wearing. “What’s so funny?”

  Justin’s mischievous eyes peeked from behind his mug. He snickered. “We were just having coffee.”

  Jade shook her head. “You didn’t drink his mud, did you? I don’t know how he likes that stuff.”

  I reminded myself of my plan to kill him with kindness. Taking another sip of the coffee, I nodded. “Actually, at first taste, it was pretty strong, but I actually think I really like it.”

  It was disgusting.

  “You’d better be careful. That shit is potent. Justin is immune to it, but the one and only time I drank it, it kept me up for like four days.”

  Justin chuckled. “Apparently, we kept Amelia up last night.”

  Jade tu
rned to me. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry.”

  Shrugging, I said, “It’s no big deal. I got used to it after a while.”

  “Was that when you decided you wished you could join in?” he cracked.

  Fuck him.

  I was not going to respond to that.

  The more I looked over at his smug expression, the more determined I became to finish the entire damn mug of coffee to spite him. “I’m really surprised at how much I’m actually liking this,” I lied.

  Jade chose to ignore Justin’s earlier comment. “What do you say after breakfast we head to town, Amelia? I’d love it if you could show me around the island.”

  “Alright. That would be nice.”

  She walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his waist. “You want to come with us, babe?”

  “No. I have shit to do,” Justin said before finishing off the last of his coffee and putting the cup in the sink.

  “Okay. Just the girls then.”

  ***

  The coffee had turned me into a spaz. As Jade and I walked around Newport that morning, she kept having to tell me to slow down. Apparently, in her heels, she couldn’t keep up with me.

  At one point later in the afternoon, we stopped to rest our legs. Jade and I sat on a wooden bench overlooking the dozens of docked sailboats as the sun shined over the water.

  “So, how did you and Justin meet?” I asked.

  “I was in the audience at this club called Hades in the city. Justin was performing there that night. He was eyeing me the whole time he was singing and after the show, he came to find me. When he said he was thinking of me while he was singing the last song, I nearly died. We’ve been inseparable since.”

  My face felt hot. I wasn’t willing to admit to myself that it was jealousy. The thought of them connecting so intimately while he was in the middle of performing made me uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe because it reminded me of the songs he used to write for me. You’d think nothing would bother me after having to endure their fucking last night.

  “What kind of music does he play now?”