Page 4 of Loving the Tormentor

Bennett's best friends were killed by NSC, and Kayla never granted him revenge.

The repair shop Chase works at? It's his cousin, Ashley's. Both of her brothers were killed by NSC the day they came to steal from her shop.

People never forget the times they were hurt personally. In this town, they don't forgive either. They get even instead.

I take Bennett’s and Cash's orders and huff as I rip it off my pad and stick it kitchen side.

"Where's Chase?" Lena asks as I squeeze past her behind the counter and grab two full plates.

"Ashley's," I snap, a little too harshly.

"Is that bad?"

"It's just..." I feel my mouth twist. "It's just that I know he's up to something, and I'm being left out of it. And I fucking hate Bennett."

She snorts. "Everyone hates Bennett. Even Kayla King used to hate Bennett. And he was very useful to her. She's not one to hate people who bring her money."

I nod, looking down at the plates for table three.

"Laurie," I call back into the kitchen. "One saidfoureggs. Missing one egg."

I put the plate on the metal counter that leads to the kitchen and leave the other there too to stay warm.

"I mean, she's his cousin," I blurt out to Lena. "He can't be fucking his cousin, right?"

She coughs, choking on the water she was drinking.

"Nyx, of course not."

I look down at the envelope still in my apron. If I wasn't from here, I never would’ve met Chase. And it would’ve saved me a lifetime of ache and wondering if he's fucking someone else.

The issue is, I love the asshole.

"Cousin," Lena repeats.

Finally clocking how crazy I'm being, I shake my head. "Of course. I'm being weird."

"You're not being weird. You're in a relationship with someone who's not trustworthy and never made you feel safe."

"He makes me feel safe," I retort as I lean against the counter. Over time, it's become a habit to jump to his defense, no matter the number of people who have waved the red flags in my face.

Lena cocks an eyebrow at me as she fills up a glass with orange juice. "He makes you feel safe, physically, in a dangerous town. But he's never made a safe space out of your relationship. There's a difference. Sometimes I think you need a trip down memory lane, you know, to remember how you and Chase met."

I guess she's not wrong, but I don't like to think about it. My dad had borrowed a lot of money from a dangerous mafia man Chase used to work for, probably still secretly works for, and Chase had come to our place to collect. Except Dad wasn't there. It was just sixteen-year-old me standing in the kitchen in my pajamas when he kicked the door down at seven a.m. He likes to recall the story by saying he took pity on me, and that's why he didn't hurt me that day. That's why he said there was no one home to his boss and why he's still, to this day, paying that money my dad owes out of his own pocket.

Some people, including my best friend, have a different view of what happened.

"He protected me that day," I tell her, like I've told her a hundred times.

She rolls her eyes. "You were scared to die, and he spared your life because he thought you were hot and had other plans for you. Your relationship started purely on survival instincts."

"Lena," I groan. "You're exaggerating the whole thing. He took pity, he started paying for the debt, he saved me.That'sprotecting me."

"Our high school years, you were scared when he'd show up in the parking lot after class. That's not screaming protection to me. You only started feeling comfortable when you realized he wouldn't hurt you. But that was after many dates you went on out of fear. He didn't save you; hegroomedyou."

The bell indicating someone’s entering makes my friend reach for her pad, while I contemplate what she just said. She's never even had a boyfriend, yet always sounds so knowledgeable. Still, it doesn't mean I like hearing her opinion about my relationship. I'm just used to it being one of the few topics we don't agree on.

I straighten up, taking half a step to grab the corrected order from the counter, when Lena grabs my arm.