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“I can’t believe that arrogant–Argh!” Chloe bit out only to end with a groan, unable to think of a word fitting enough to describe the arrogant jackass as she grabbed another armful of dirty laundry from the hamper and shoved it into the washing machine.

And god, was he arrogant, Chloe thought in disgust as she shoved more clothes into the washing machine, slammed the cover shut, turned on the machine, and–

“What the hell is your problem?” Cole demanded as he angrily wiped rotten egg off his face.

Shaking her head in disgust, Chloe pushed past him and left because she honestly couldn’t deal with him right now. The hour she’d spent in the basement with him had been more than enough to last a lifetime, Chloe decided as she cut through the living room and spotted Katie relaxing on the couch, watching Harry Potter. Knowing that Cole wouldn’t really hurt her, Chloe headed up the stairs and went straight to her room, slamming the door shut behind her before she threw herself across her bed with a sigh.

When she heard the door open a few seconds later, she looked over her shoulder to tell her sister to get out only to bite back a groan when she spotted Cole walking into her room.

“We weren’t done talking,” he bit out as he closed her bedroom door behind him.

“We really were,” Chloe said, biting back a sigh as she reached over and dragged the chemistry book that she’d been reading when this nightmare started, closer.

“I was trying to be nice to you and let you down gently,” Cole snapped.

“And now that you have, you can leave,” she said in absolutely no mood to deal with this right now.

She just wanted him to leave her alone.

“Look, I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I just–”

“And you did a great job,” Chloe said, gesturing toward the door. “So now you can leave.”

There was a heavy sigh and then, “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult about this.”

“Then ask your friends,” Chloe said, shaking her head in disgust as she moved to turn the page only to end up glaring when the large jerk yanked her book away.

“What do my friends have to do with anything?” Cole demanded as he closed her book and tossed it on her desk.

“Besides the fact that you’re oblivious?” Chloe asked as she climbed off the bed, deciding that if he wasn’t going to leave, then she would.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cole asked, slamming his hand against the door to stop her from leaving.

“Move,” she said, closing her eyes as she slowly exhaled, praying for patience only to end up chuckling without humor when he said, “What have my friends ever done to you?” because he couldn’t be serious.

“What have your friends done to me?” Chloe asked, opening her eyes as she turned around to face him. “Are you serious right now?”

“Deadly,” Cole bit out as he glared down at her as he dropped his arm away.

Nodding slowly, she asked, “How about the fact that they’ve gone out of their way for the past two years to make my life a living hell?”

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about,” Cole bit out, looking pissed as she reached back and opened the door.

“No, you don’t, do you?” Chloe said as she gestured for him to get the hell out of her room. “And that’s the problem.”

Chapter 18

“Oh, thank god it’s over,” Mikey said, sighing in relief as she closed the book that had taken her three days to finish and shoved it aside so that she could roll over onto her stomach and–

Groan when a set of strong hands clamped down around her ankles and dragged her across the bed. “Why are you doing this to me?” Mikey demanded on a pathetic whimper as she tried to grab hold of her comforter and drag herself back up to the comfort of her pillows for a well-deserved nap, but the mean boy who’d woken her u

p at the crack of dawn this morning had other plans.

“Come on, you’re almost done,” Sebastian said, ignoring her disgruntled grunt as he pulled her to the edge of her bed, rolled her over, and after a long-suffering sigh that she really didn’t appreciate, dragged her to her feet.

Once there, he turned her around and gave her a gentle shove in the direction of her computer. “Get writing,” Sebastian said with a satisfied sigh as he dropped down on her bed and grabbed a book off the stack that he kept on her nightstand.

“I can write it in the morning,” Mikey pointed out, moving to return to the comfort of her bed when Sebastian’s next words had her reluctantly turning around and forcing herself to cross the short distance to her desk.