Page 102 of Hate You Up Close

“I think it’s the worst decision they ever made,” I scoff. “You have no idea how many times we got mixed up as kids or called the wrong name. It was exhausting.”

“Well, I think it’s cute,” she retorts. “Do you have any other siblings besides Everett?”

“Nope,” I shake my head. “It’s just me and Everett. The hellion and the golden boy.”

Her eyes narrow as she stares at me with an amused face. She lets out a small chuckle that has her eyes wrinkling in the corners. God, I love her laugh.

“What?” I ask, arching a brow.

“It’s just funny,” she shakes her head. “That you refer to Everett as thegolden boybecause that’s what I callyouin my head all the time.”

“Me?” I scoff, completely shocked. “I’m the furthest thing from golden, Roxanne,” I add, joining in on the laughter.

“That’s not true,” she retorts. “You have golden hair and golden eyes. If you weren’t such a grump all the time, I might even say that you light up the room with your gilded rays from time to time.”

You have golden hair and golden eyes.

No one has ever said anything like that to me before. I thought I had dirty-blonde hair and hazel eyes, but Roxanne says that they're golden.

I swallow down the lump in my throat, my skin heating at the knowledge that Roxanne contemplates my features.

I think she notices my skin turning red and clammy because she playfully nudges my shoulder with hers.

“Don’t flatter yourself,golden boy,” she quips. “It’s just a simple observation, just like I have black hair and green eyes.”

No, you have hair like the midnight sea and eyes like emerald pools. The most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.

That’s what I would say if I were trying to impress her…make her mine forever. Because it’s true. Roxanne is the most exquisite human I’ve ever laid eyes on.

But instead of saying what’s on my mind, I’m trying to think of a witty response. She beats me to the chase by changing the subject.

“Are you close with your brother?” she asks, resting her chin on her hand.

“Do you think I’m close to my brother?” I sneer. “He’s marrying the woman I shared a bed with for three years.”

She winces at that. Like she can’t stand the thought of me sleeping with another woman. And a fucked up part of me loves that she might be jealous.

“So that’s it?” she prods. “I thought you said that you were happy for them. You two were never close before Skylar?”

This conversation is headed down a slippery slope that I refuse to discuss. So, I keep my answer as vague as possible.

“Not since high school,” I shake my head. “And even then, I wouldn't consider usclose.”

“Why?” she asks. “Did something happen?”

Everything happened. At sixteen years old, my life changed forever. And I ruined Everett’s in return.

“Jesus Christ,” I toss her a look while running my fingers through my hair. “Is this twenty questions or something?”

“Why do you get so defensive?” she pushes through furrowed brows. “I’m just asking you a simple question, and you’re avoiding it as always. As an only child, I was always jealous of my friends who had siblings growing up. I wanted one, a brother or a sister. I wanted that close connection that only siblings would understand. So yeah, I’m curious as to why you act like you’re an only child when you’re not.”

My jaw clenches as flashes of red and blue lights play through my mind like a tidal wave. A dead body lies on the pavement. The body of a sixteen-year-old girl. I’m sitting in my brother’s truck watching the terrible scene unfold. A truck that my brother trusted me to drive. A truck that I used to kill someone.

My heart pounds against my chest as my palms grow sweaty. I wipe my hands against my slacks and try my best to control my breathing.

“I’m going to answer your question, and then I want you to let it go,” I croak. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers, nodding her head.