Chapter Three
1128 Words
The News
RUE
I run the hand dryer over my hair, but it's useless. The thing barely blows warm air. My reflection in the bathroom mirror is a mess—flushed cheeks, wet strands sticking to my neck, and eyes still burning from the sight of Ren Yamanaka sitting in his fancy car like he owns the world.
I stomp downstairs. Dry clothes. Damp hair. Bad mood.
Adam is on the couch, scrolling through his phone like nothing happened.
"What did you want to tell me that couldn't wait until I showered?" I ask, yanking the hand dryer cord toward an outlet.
He looks up. "I'm going to med school."
I freeze for half a second, then smile. "That's good news. When?"
"Sunday, actually."
I stop trying to plug in the dryer. Turn to face him fully. "Sunday as in... the day after tomorrow?"
He nods. "Yeah."
"Congratulations." I mean it. I do. But something in his voice makes my stomach tighten.
He sets his phone down. "I've been thinking about how you'll be alone. And since our family is still in Europe, and I'm your only family here..." He pauses. "You'd be lonely."
"I'll be fine." I cross my arms. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."
"I know you are." He stands up. Comes closer. "But just in case, I asked Ren for a favor. And he agreed to watch over you."
The hand dryer slips from my fingers. Clatters to the floor.
What the f**k?
"No." The word comes out sharp. "No. I'm not a baby. I'm a grown adult. I can take care of myself. I don't need a babysitter."
Adam holds up both hands. "I don't doubt that. It's just a precaution."
"A precaution?" My voice climbs. "You asked Ren? The guy who was mean to me my whole childhood? The guy who just called me bean sprout an hour ago?"
"He's changed."
"Like hell he has."
"Rue—"
"Don't 'Rue' me." I look around for something—anything—to throw. My hand finds a vase on the side table. I don't think. I just grab it and hurl it across the room.
"Are you kidding me?" I scream.
The vase sails past Adam's shoulder. Toward the front door.
The door opens.
The vase misses Ren's head by inches. Shatters against the wall behind him.
Jesus.
He doesn't flinch. Doesn't blink. Just stands there in the doorway, dry now, looking at me with those cold eyes.
Adam's eyes dart between us. His voice is calm. Too calm.
"It's not babysitting," he says. "It's common watching.”
REN
She glares at Adam first. Then her eyes swing to me. Burning. Like she wants to set me on fire with just a look.
I lean against the doorframe. Cross my arms. "Don't stop on my account. Please. Continue proving Adam's point."
Her face twists. "Shut up and go f**k yourself."
Then she storms upstairs. Stomps so hard I think the walls might crack.
Adam watches her go. Then he looks at me. "You have your work cut out for you."
"No shit."
He rubs the back of his neck. "I trust you. That's why I asked. I know Rue can be a handful, but she'll adjust. And I can't trust anyone else with her because..." He pauses. "Well. You're the only one who won't—"
"f**k her?"
Adam nods. "Yeah."
I keep my face blank. "I'm not interested in her."
"I know." He almost smiles. "You hate her. So on that regard, you can protect her for me."
I push off the doorframe. Shove my hands in my pockets. "That's the only reason I'm here."
"I leave Sunday," he says.
"Of course."
We stop talking. Just stand there. The silence fills the room like water. It's always like this with us. Two quiet people. Makes people wonder how we ever hold a conversation.
I look at the broken vase pieces on the floor. "How was your f**k date?"
Adam snorts. "Ehh."
Then he laughs. A short, tired sound.
I don't laugh. I'm thinking about upstairs. About what she's doing right now.
Probably destroying something else.
So much for grown adult.
RUE
I pace my room, phone pressed to my ear. The cord tangles around my fingers. I don't care.
"—and then he tells me to get out. Like I'm some kind of dog. 'Get out.' That's it. No 'nice to see you.' No 'sorry about the rain.' Just get out." I kick a pillow across the floor. "And now Adam wants him to be my 'watcher.' Like I'm a toddler who needs a babysitter."
Maisie's voice crackles through the speaker. "Okay, okay. It can't be that bad. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise."
"Nothing about Ren Yamanaka is a blessing." I stop pacing. Stare at my wall. "If anything, it's a curse."
Amanda laughs. Quiet. The way she always does. "You say that now. Give it a week."
"A week? I won't last a day."
Maisie tries again. I can hear her shifting, probably settling into her couch. "Look at the bright side. This shows Adam isn't a complete ass. Even though he's leaving you with a complete ass." She pauses. "That's beside the point. It shows he really cares about you."
I sigh. Drop onto my bed. "I'm not apologizing for breaking his vase. Or for almost killing Ren with it. They both deserve it."
"Fair," Amanda says.
"More than fair," Maisie adds.
Amanda speaks again, her voice thoughtful. "But no matter what Ren does, he can't watch you 24/7. He probably lives far away. You'll see him maybe twice a week at most. It won't be that bad."
I push off the bed. Walk to the window. Time to close the curtains and pretend the world doesn't exist.
My hand touches the fabric.
Then I see him.
Walking across the street. Toward the building next door. The one with the new penthouse I noticed last week.
He disappears inside.
What the f**k?
I didn't realize I said it out loud until Maisie asks, "What?"
Amanda too: "What happened?"
I don't answer. I just stand there. Staring at the building. At the windows. At the lights turning on in the top floor.
The penthouse opposite mine.
"No," I whisper. "No. No. No."
"Rue, you're scaring me," Maisie says. "What's going on?"
I grip the phone tighter. My voice comes out flat. Dead.
"Amanda is a f*****g witch."
"Huh?" Amanda sounds confused.
"She jinxed me." I watch the shadows move behind his window. "He lives just opposite me."
Maisie starts laughing. Loud. Uncontrollable. The kind of laugh that makes me want to throw my phone across the room.
I want to scream. I want to cry.
Fuck no.
- Writer
