Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Rory

I sing as loud as I can knowing no one will be able to hear me. I love it. I love everything about this place. The old wood, the big wide windows, the curving staircase, the secret little nooks and rooms that lay hidden until found all make me happier than I think I have ever been. Today I am painting the kitchen.

“Hello?”

Who…? That can’t be who I think it is. Surely, I am hallucinating because of last night’s brush with my past.

“Rory?”

Damn! “In the kitchen.”

I brace myself for the gut punch that always comes when I see him. When he steps into the room I want to shout at him. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn't be trying to drag me back into crushing so hard on him that it’s kept me from being with any other man like my foolish heart believes it is waiting on a soulmate. Waiting on him.

“Bennet, hi. Do you want something to drink?”

He comes right up to the ladder I am standing on and my hands start to tremble around the paintbrush I’m holding. Too freaking close for my comfort. I lay the brush in the paint tray and turn so I can step down.

“How long have you been up on that thing?”

“How long?” That’s not really what I thought he would say. He seems kind of pissed today so maybe he didn’t have a good night. Poor baby, said in my best sarcastic voice.

“Did you even hear me pull up?” He finally backs up giving me much-needed space. He walks over to my phone and turns the music off.

I am so lost. The kitchen is at the back of the house, of course I didn’t hear him pull up.

“And what would happen if I was someone who wanted to hurt you? You wouldn’t have even known I was here because your music is too damned loud.”

“What is wrong with you? I don’t have neighbors to complain about how loud my music is and you aren’t someone who means to hurt me. What are you even talking about? You aren’t making any sense.”

“I’m not making any sense! I’m not making sense! Really! You could’ve been fucking killed and you wouldn’t even know what hit you because you are being stupid leaving your door open so just anyone can come into your house and rape and kill you.”

What the fuck?!

“And don’t even get me started about the fucking ladder. It’s like you want to kill yourself.”

“Bennet!” I say it loud enough to have him halting in his angry pacing. He turns to look at me. “Get out!”

“What?” He looks like I might have just slapped him.

“Get out. I don’t need you to criticize everything I do, Bennet. I’m not a little girl who you can boss around. I don’t need you to take care of me, damn it.” I push on his chest, but he doesn’t move at all. God, his chest is so fucking thick. “It was great to see you last night, but I don’t need you to treat me like a little girl.”

I finally get him to move, and we start walking with me pushing him backwards until we reach the front door, “You aren’t taking care of yourself, Rory. You need someone to watch out for you. Leaving yourself open for bad things to happen is incredibly stupid.”

“Then I guess I’m just stupid. Tell Jayden hi.” And I shut the door in his face as soon as he steps over the threshold. I watch to make sure he leaves and then slump against the nearest wall.

I can’t believe…maybe things aren’t the same as they always were. I don’t remember Bennet being such an asshole. He was always protective over me and Te but not anything like this. Is it because he doesn’t want me back? Maybe he thinks I should have stayed gone.

I reach for the phone and dial Te. I called her last night once I got home and told her about running into her brother. I also told her about him being there with Jayden. She told me not to worry about him.

“He’s just being a turd. Don’t pay any attention to him.”

She didn’t say I was wrong about him being with Jayden, so I figured it was pretty much true. They may not be married but they are together. God, I hate her. I try not to, I really do, but she was such a bitch to me all through high school. I could never really understand why she had anything to be bitchy about. She had the hottest boy in town. Why be a raging douche on top of it?

And clearly, Bennet saw me -and still sees me- as nothing more than a sister. Why be jealous if that was what it was all about? That’s like being jealous over Te. It doesn’t make any sense. But what do I know?

“Hey! What’s up my bitch…es? I guess that doesn't really work for us, does it?”

And just like that, I’m laughing.

“Guess who stopped by to wish me luck with the house?”

“Oh shit, okay. Don’t tell me. Was it Paul Anderson?”

“No.”

“Because he always had a crush on you.”

“It wasn’t Paul. It was your freaking ass of a brother.”

“What?”

“Yep, he came over to tell me how stupid I was for…well, pretty much everything.”

“Oh woah, that’s not cool. That’s not cool at all.”

“I think…he didn’t want me to come back, Te.”

“What?! That’s just stupid. Why would you even think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It could be the fact every time he sees me, he tells me how stupid I am and what a colossal mistake I have made moving here. Seems like he’s mad about something.”