Page 7 of Ruining Him

That was… oddly specific.

“Are you a sociopath? Psychopath? Which is it?”

“Which one do you want me to be?”

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter under my breath.

This is going nowhere, and she’s exhausting to talk to for so long.

The chair creaks as I stand, and I give her onelast look before turning my back, ready to get the hell out of here and away from her.

“Hey, Aston?” she says from behind me.

I clench my jaw and squeeze my eyes shut. I amnotin the mood for her shit today.

“What?” I grit through clenched teeth, not bothering to turn back to look at her.

“What you said got me thinking…” She trails off, and my damn curiosity gets the better of me, making me turn to look at her.

“Maybeyouare the one who hates the world. Maybeyou’rethe one who has a Daddy who doesn’t love them, andyouhate yourself so much because of it that you wear a mask around other people. Am I right?”

I don’t answer. I just stare at her.

“Because you do wear a mask, Cole. I can see right through it, and I’m willing to bet that I’m the only one who can. That’s why you have a bug up your ass about me. Because you knew from the moment we locked eyes that I could see right through you. You knew I could see right through the cracks in your composure, and it’s killing you. Of course, it doesn’t help that you also want to fuck me.”

FIVE

LANA

Iknew this would be where he would come. After my little speech in the library, he didn’t say another word to me, opting to storm from the room in a ball of rage instead.

Poor guy had to listen to some truths, so it’s understandable.

He jogs up the steps that lead to the church and disappears behind the large door, leaving me out here, alone in the cold.

Of course, he doesn’t actually know that he’s left me alone out here, since he has no idea that I trailed after him when he walked out of the library and followed him home while he changed before we came here. Unlike him, I actuallyamgood at the whole stalking thing.

I head to the back of the church, not wanting to make myself stand out more than I already do by just waltzing through the front doors. The last time I was here, I was the only damn female in the place, and by the looks the men gave me, I’m pretty sure someone like me being there was out of the ordinary.

Not that they were against it. Surprisingly, they wereactually kind of… welcoming. And a few of the guys even tried to talk me out of fighting. Not in a ‘we don’t think you’re capable’ way but in more of a ‘we just don’t want to see you get hurt’ kind of way.

It was weird.

And kind of sweet.

I slip in through the back door, sticking to the corners of the room for now while I try to spot Cole. Last time, he was in the black room while I was fighting, and I have a feeling that that’s his usual room rather than the other two more… amateur rooms.

I find him hovering around the ring, waiting for the current fight to be over with so he can take his turn, and my adrenaline starts pumping at the opportunity to watch him fight.

You can learn a lot from a person just from seeing them fight.

You can determine their strengths and familiarize yourself with their weaknesses.

And that’s exactly what I plan to do tonight.

I’ve always found that the best way to fight fire is with fire, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do with him.

It’ll help pass the time, at least.