Page 13 of The Truths We Burn

But even perfect has cracks, and he’s full of them.

“Rook.” Rose grabs my forearm, doing what she does best and trying to keep the peace.

I laugh her off. “No, Rosie, it’s fine,” I start, putting my hands on their table, looking down at Easton. “I’m just having a friendly conversation with my good pal Sinclair here. Isn’t that right?”

My eyes burn into his, daring him to make eye contact with me. I hope he does so he’ll see what everyone else does—the pits of hell. How I’ll roast him alive if he insults me or my family again.

Except he does what pussies do and looks everywhere but my gaze.

“I said—” He clears his throat, smiling through this uncomfortable position. “Have a good time.” He shrugs it off as something lighthearted.

He and I both know what he said.

Bold for saying it in the first place.

Smart for not repeating it to my face.

“That’s what I thought, champ.” I slap his back, hard, knocking him forward a bit. When silence remains, I decide to give Rose what she wants and leave.

“What a joke,” a softer, more graceful voice buzzes in my ears, “Bringing the insane clown posse in public, really, Rose? Could you be any more embarrassing?

Pressure falls on the match in my mouth as I tighten my jaw.

“I wonder what that says about you and your crew of Abercrombie and bitch.”

We make direct eye contact, and her blue-flame-colored irises battle with my own. Not for a second does she flinch, her gaze never leaving mine.

Sage Donahue.

What a fun time it would be spinning you around my finger.

She laughs pointedly. “Ha, that’s good. Especially for a guy I thought read at a fifth-grade level.” Her pale blue nails swirl in her tall glass, filled to the brim with a pink-colored milkshake. “The fact she insists on defending you four, I wonder, is she naive or do you just like ruining her life?”

Rose and Sage are twins biologically, with similar hair color and freckles. But Sage’s are more sporadic, wildly thrown around her face, and Rose’s seem more compact to her nose. In the way Rose tries to blend in, Sage does everything to stand out.

It’s rare that I go toe-to-toe with Ponderosa Springs’ Sweetheart. The girl with a notorious silver tongue. Of course, we have known of each other; how could we not? Small town, plus my best friend is dating her sister.

But we never went out of our way to cross paths.

“It could be that she isn’t afraid of living her life outside ofher bubble-wrapped world. Maybe she enjoys not having to pretend. The dark side allows for you to do things you’d never think of doing in the light.”

My gaze follows her scarlet-painted lips, the way she wraps them around her straw, staining the white material. She takes a few sips before pulling back to reply, “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

I smirk. “No.” I shrug, sarcasm covering my tone. “Every set of twins has a sheep. Nothing to be ashamed of. I’m glad you can own it, Sage.”

“Sheep?”

“Yeah, you know, the one who submits to everyone’s expectations. The meek. Feeble.” I take my time with each word, tilting my head a bit to see how she’ll react to them.“Powerless. Watered-down twin.”

Sage Donahue is able to cut everything and everyone down with one sentence from those red lips. They all bow to her, follow her—nobody ever questions her.

Easton Sinclair may believe he’s running the show, but she’s always been pulling the strings.

Anger sizzles in her eyes, and my smile only grows.

She is burning with rage at my response, fighting to keep her cool, unbothered exterior intact, but that snow-white skin is starting to melt underneath the pressure of my words.

The urge sweeps through me, something that normally only happens when I set a physical fire, but this time, power pours over me, knowing I’ve set flames into the pit of her stomach.