It's Pucking Complicated

Famous Last Words

ISADORA

He's in my room.

How the hell did he get in here?

"How'd you get in here?" I ask groggily while sitting up. My body ache has worsened and I can't stop the groan that leaves my lips.

Knox is as still as a statue, staring at me with a look that would cut me in two if I weren't Isadora Maria Halvick—but I am, so I don't let it get to me.

"Twelve means twelve on the dot, Halvick," he grits out. "If you're not going to keep our appointments, then there's no point in setting them."

I pull a face and stand up. I can't even see straight. I'm so damn tired. "Appointment. You're not a doctor, Mohrelian. I slept on the floor all night and my body's broken beyond belief. Give me a break here."

"Yeah?" he asks, stepping toward me. I turn my back to him and open my closet. "And whose fault is that? I tried being a gentleman by offering you my bed, but you acted like I have diseases or something."

"And you don't?" I ask with a snort.

He goes quiet again and I bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling. Yes, I told him I'd be ready. This is on me and I take full responsibility for that, even though I won't tell him these exact words. But hey, I didn't do it on purpose.

"Ten minutes, Halvick. I mean it."

"Look, just give me ten minutes, okay? I'll shower, get dressed, and I won't even do my hair or my makeup. This isn't the rink and you're not my coach. You should count yourself lucky that I know what I'll wear."

I grab my towel and my toiletry bag, then shuffle out of the room. Halfway down the hallway, I change my mind and head back inside. He hasn't moved from his spot near my closet, and he gives me an impatient look with his jaw all squared, which really amuses me. It shouldn't, but it does.

"You can wait in here, but don't sit on my bed with your outside clothes," I warn before heading back out.

I wash up as quickly as I can in our communal bathroom, then pause when I remember that I didn't bring my outfit with me, so I'll have to go into my room in just my towel.

Dammit.

Who even let him in? It was probably some girl he came across downstairs.

And that can only mean one thing.

Everyone will probably find out soon about us.

There's no turning back.

Knox is still in the room when I return. I find him leaning against the closet with a sour expression. He looks different today, probably because his hair is styled differently and he's not in just sweatpants. He's dressed in a short navy blue button-down and dark washed jeans with white sneakers. There's a Rolex on his wrist.

I fold my arms and stare right back at him. "Being all upset about it won't change the fact that we're late. I need to get dressed."

He pushes himself off the closet and heads outside. I roll my eyes, dry myself as quickly as possible, then moisturize before throwing on my dress. It's navy blue, too, to match his outfit. That could help leave a lasting impression on people. I have to throw a sweater over it because of the bruise on my arm, though.

Thanks a lot, Justin.

I won't have time to curl my hair like I wanted to, so I slap some curl control cream on, scrunch with gel as quickly as I can, then apply my makeup. Hopefully, my hair will look better once it dries.

Rodonia barges into the room as I'm doing my lips. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is agape. Oops, I forgot all about her. Well, I guess it's too late to change anything.

"Why's Knox Mohrelian outside our door?"

"Uh...because he's here to pick me up?"

Her expression darkens. "What?"

I apply lip gloss, then grab my purse. It'll have to be the same one I used last night because I don't have time to change it. This time, I don't forget my card. Rodonia follows me around the room and asks, "You're seriously not going to explain what he's doing here?"

"Maybe later. I just don't have time right now. I'm sorry."

I exit the room and close the door. Could I have given her a better explanation? Sure. But she didn't even care enough to call me in the morning and make sure I was okay, so I'm bummed about that, too.

Knox is leaning against the wall, looking moody as hell. As soon as he sees me, he pushes himself off it and we head downstairs together. In the elevator, I narrow my eyes at him. "Just lighten up, boyfriend. Do you really want people to see you this pissed?"

"You get on my nerves, you know that?"

"You get on mine, too," I retort, following him across the ground floor. "I overslept. Big deal. It's not like we're going to miss the barbecue because of twenty minutes!"

He whirls around to look at me once we reach his car. "Don't you get it? It's not about the twenty goddamn minutes. It's about commitment, and so far, you don't seem reliable at all. Is all of this a joke to you? Something to pass the time? Because it's not one to me. I'm doing this to demoralize a competitor who's after what's mine, and I wanna crush him. I'm not playing around."

I fold my arms. "I'm not playing around either, okay? I'm not doing this for fun. I don't consider any of this fun at all. I have many reasons to make Justin pay for all the crap he's put me through since we were little. I overslept. That's all there is to it. Jeez! And you say I'm unreasonable!"

Without another word, he gets in the car. I do the same, wondering if maybe it isn't too late to go back to not knowing each other.

I don't see how Knox and I will ever get along, and three months is a long time to be going back and forth like this because of pointless things.

He starts the car. I fold my arms and stare out the window the whole time. I have to remind myself not to overreact like I did last night, but I couldn't control my reaction then.

I hate it when people look at me like I'm stupid.

Justin along with our father's entire side of the family always looked at me that way. I'd say one thing and they'd exchange looks and snicker behind their hands. I was just a child and they were adults.

Asshole adults.

I realized I overreacted, of course. Knox looked so confused and for a good reason. But when he asked me what upset me, how could I explain something so personal to him?

With him, it's best to keep him at arm's length. I think it's bad enough that he knows Justin pushes me around. We just have to get through these three months, do what we have to do to mess with Justin, then go back to our ordinary lives.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

This is what I told myself at exactly 12:32 PM.

Famous last words, as it turns out, because by 18:00, Knox has his hand on my waist and his mouth in mine in front of everyone.

And the absolutely unhinged part of all this?

It was my idea.