Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

It’s okay. It’ll be okay.
Next time, I’ll do her hair right. Then my mom will love me again. I was
sure of it.
I blinked back the burn in my eyes at the memory.
My phone buzzed against my thigh as we pulled up to the hotel. My
stomach cramped when a candid photo of me arriving in Athenberg popped

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up. Some dipshit at the airport must’ve taken it.
Max: Saw this on a gossip blog. Looking good, J.
Max: But we both know you’ve always looked good on camera
I hated these “casual” texts more than I hated Max’s overtly threatening
ones. They were a constant reminder of his presence in my life. Every time I
relaxed an inch, another one popped up, setting me on edge again.
Of course, that was his intention. Max wanted to torture me with the
uncertainty, and he was fucking succeeding.
I wiped my clammy palms against the sides of my thighs as I exited the
car and entered the hotel. Alex, Josh, Ava, Stella, and I rode the elevator up
to our floor in silence, and my friends had already disappeared into their
rooms when Josh’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“I want to talk to you for a second.”
I stiffened, my stomach cramping again for an entirely different reason.
The last thing I needed was to get yelled at by Josh, of all people.
Still, I stepped into his suite without protest, and the door shut behind us
with a soft click.
We were taking a huge risk, considering our close call with Ava earlier
that day, but that was the least of my worries right now.
Josh didn’t say a word, but he didn’t need to. His silent judgment pricked
at me, familiar and stinging.
I could guess what he was thinking.
That it was my fault. That I was a bad influence. That I’d dragged Ava
into trouble yet again.
It was always my fault.
“Just say it.” I stared at the dark flat-screen TV hanging on the wall,
taking in my messy hair and tired face. This night turned out to be a total
nightmare. My only consolation was that Bridget left before shit went
downhill so she didn’t have the added stress before her wedding.
My chin wobbled when Josh closed in enough for his body heat to
envelop me.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly. He cupped the back of my neck and
rubbed small circles with his thumb.
Pressure ballooned in my chest at his touch. “Yep.”
“Jules, look at me.”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head, afraid doing so would
destroy the flimsy dam holding my tears back.

---

“Jules.” Josh stepped in front of me and grasped my chin between his
thumb and forefinger. He tilted it up, forcing me to meet his eyes. Visible
concern eroded his granite mask. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m tired and I want to sleep, so just yell at me like you always
do and get it over with.”
Surprise coasted through his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
I rubbed my arms, wishing I’d worn something more substantial than my
green silk minidress. “Tonight. Ava got arrested because of me, I’m a bad
influence, etc. I’m familiar with the script by now. You’ve never thought I
was good enough.”
A muscle ticked along the line of his strong jaw. “I never said that.”
“But you were thinking it.”
Josh dropped his hand and rubbed it over his face. “I’ll admit, when I
received Ava’s call, I was pissed that you guys had gotten into trouble again,
but more than that, I was worried. Not only about her…” His voice dropped.
“But also about you.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you care?”
Silence hummed in the space between us, so taut it threatened to snap at
any second.
Josh’s Adam’s apple bobbed with the force of his swallow, but he didn’t
reply.
My heart twisted. Right. That was what I thought.
“You don’t have to pretend to care just because we’re having sex.”
Fake concern was a thousand times worse than no concern at all, because
fake concern gave way to false hope, and false hope destroyed souls. It was
one of the biggest lessons I’d learned in my early years. All the times I
thought someone cared about me when they only wanted something from me,
and when they got it, they tossed me aside without a second thought. Until, of
course, they needed something again.
“I heard what you said,” I added through the lump in my throat. “To
Ava.”
A frown creased Josh’s brow. “What are you talking about?”
“Freshman year. Our dorm.” Part of me was embarrassed, bringing up
something from so long ago, but the moment had clung to me like ivy, its
poison slowly eating away at me over the years. “I heard you tell her to stop

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being friends with me.”