Page 12 of The Fight
She crosses her arms over her chest, not realizing when she does, her tits practically spill out of the thin tank top she’s wearing. Her mouth turns into a hard line, and she rolls her eyes, not even trying to hide her annoyance.
The feeling is mutual, Dollface.
I rise up and turn, ready to walk off and hide away in my room, but my dad’s deep baritone cuts through the foyer and echoes up the stairs. “Shay, come say hello.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I see him starting up the stone steps out front with Sylvia and Blair in tow. Something in his look tells me I need to just shut up and deal with it. As much as I would like to say fuck that, I do what I’ve been groomed to do. After all, this ismyhouse anyway, and I want to let Blair know she isn’t welcome.
I move across the landing, then take the steps two at a time. Once I reach the bottom, my Chucks squeak across the marble floor. Sylvia is the first to speak, but her voice is a little too cheerful. Like she’s trying to smooth over the tension in the room. “Shay, it’s so good to see you again!”
I don’t even get a chance to reply before she pulls me in for an awkward hug. My body towers over her small frame, but she still wraps her tiny arms around my waist.
I give her a stiff “that’ll do” pat on her shoulder, then pull myself away. “Yeah. Sure.”
“I am going to show Sylvia around the house. How about you do the same for Blair?” my dad says, stepping forward and pulling Sylvia into his side like he’s trying to help the recoil I had to her.
“I don’t need a tour.” Blair looks at my dad and raises her hand. “Can you just show me to my room?” It’s the first words she’s spoken, and already, they’re laced with bitterness.
My dad nods. “Of course. Shay will show you.”
He dips his head to me, then starts stepping with Sylvia following closely beside him, giving Blair no option but to interact with me in some fucking way.
When they disappear to the right toward the living room and theater room, Blair finally puts her sights back on me. “Just point me in the general direction.”
I scoff. “Fat chance. Find it yourself.”
Less than five minutes with this chick and I’m reminded again how much I don’t like this arrangement. I’m not going to make any of this easy for her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BLAIR
It didn’t take me long to find my room after Shay was clearly no help. The heels hanging from the delicate, silver handle was all the indication I needed. Sleeping, though? That’s a different story. I holed up in my bare room for as long as I could, but as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, I came outside by the pool.
Navigating the house was easier when I felt I didn’t have to worry about running into anyone. The second floor has a few rooms. Mine, Shay’s, and some sort of office. The lower level, though, that’s where all the nicer shit is. Kitchen with all stainless steel appliances, two living rooms, a theater room, and a game room. Pretty sure Henry’s room is there too, but I didn’t go looking for it.
Everything is meticulously clean and shiny too, and any other time, I might enjoy it. Considering the circumstances, though? Not a chance. I’d rather be anywhere but here.
The first night is always the hardest in a new place too, but tonight, it feels extra suffocating. I’ve never been great at sleeping in new places either. Too many unfamiliar sounds, too many strange shadows on the walls. And now, too many painful reminders that Dad is gone.
Casting the thoughts away, I focus on the silvery glow the moon is casting over the still water of the pool. It’s quiet out here, with only the faint whooshing of waves in the distance and the steady chirp of crickets. Pulling the cigarette pack Hannah gave me from my pocket, I open it and shake out the half-smoked joint and lighter.
Sparking the jay, I keep it in my mouth, inhaling slowly, and lift my camera from my lap. Looking at the world through my lens feels more familiar than what my real life has become at this point. I can choose what to focus on and what to block out. I start snapping, letting the shutter click fill the silence around me.
The reflection of the moon on the water, the way the shadows of the trees stretch across the ground—it’s all so calm. Almost enough to make me forget where I am.
Almost.
I take another slow drag of the joint, the smoke curling up into the dark sky. The weed helps calm my nerves just a little. Closing my eyes, I let out a deep breath and try to shake the unease that’s settled in my chest since seeing Shay. Everything has changed so fast. My mom and Henry announcing their engagement, us moving in.
I shake my head and raise my camera again, throwing the roached jay to the ground, and get ready to snap another picture, but voices traveling from inside the house have me halting. They’re low and muffled by the thick walls, but I recognize them immediately—Shay and his dad.
“You need to remember our agreement,” Henry says, his voice dripping with frustration.
“The agreement was between you and I, not them,” Shay snaps back. “You dropped this on me out of nowhere, and now you want me to play babysitter too?”
I move from my spot on the lounge chair and pad closer to the glass windows stretching across the back of the house. Sincethey’re floor-to-ceiling length, it gives me an almost perfect view of where Shay and Henry stand in the hall.
I never noticed before, but Shay is nearly as tall as his dad. They have similar features too, but where Henry’s hair is all pepper with a few salty strands, Shay’s is more of a deep chestnut color. Shay is bigger too—more muscles, more ridges—and I’m sure that’s thanks to the fights he participates in. His sharp jaw ticks as he stands face-to-face with Henry, and I can’t help but wonder if he feels like he’s looking into a mirror of himself in the future.
