Hate me

Aspen

Three hours later, I have the kitten—who’s evidently a female—swaddled in a blanket in my arms as I feed her formula from a dropper. 

While sitting on the floor of Knox’s bedroom. 

Smoking his cigarette, he glares at me from across the room. 

“It will only be for a few days,” I assure him. “As soon as Whiskers is healthy, she’ll go back to being an outdoor cat.” 

But I’ll make sure to stock up on cat food and sneak her some every day after school so she doesn’t go hungry. 

He glowers. “Whiskers?” 

I stroke Whisker’s fur. “I figured she should have a name during her stay.” I smile as her tiny whiskers tickle my fingers. “Whiskers is cute. Just like she is.” 

He grunts. 

After Whiskers is done eating, she curls up into the blanket on the floor.  

“She’s only three weeks old, so she’ll need to eat every three to four hours.” 

He glances at his watch. “Guess your ass will be back down here at two a.m. then.” 

I should have expected nothing less from him. Knox doesn’t have a nice bone in his body…not even when it comes to poor, i

Although, he did give me a ride to the vet and albeit, reluctantly— agreed to let Whisker’s stay down here for a few days. 

“For what it’s worth, I appreciate you doing this.” 

Another grunt. 

After I’m sure Whiskers is comfortable and fast sleep, I decide to broach the topic of Candi. 

“I don’t know if you heard, but there was a body found at Devil’s Bluff.” 

He tenses, reaching for another cigarette as he leans against the headboard of his bed. “I heard.” 

Blowing out a breath, I walk over to him. “The victim was a girl from my job.” 

He says nothing, so I continue, “I tried asking your dad if he could help with the investigation—”

“You asked my father for help?”

I nod. “Yeah…but it didn’t go well. He pretty much said she was a whore and got what she deserved.” 

Knox snorts. “No surprise there.” 

Biting my lip, I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “I was kind of hoping that maybe you’d talk to him for me. You’re his son, so perhaps you can convince—”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he snarls. “If he won’t listen to you, what the fuck makes you think he’d listen to me?” 

I guess he has a point. “I don’t know.” Looking down, I wring my hands. “She was murdered, Knox…then left out in the woods to rot like a piece of garbage. And the people who can help figure out who did it don’t seem to give a shit just because she took off her clothes for a living.” My arms curl around my frame. “I know what it feels like to know that no one in the world gives a fuck about you. And the more I think about it, I’m realizing that it could have easily been me who was murdered instead of her.” I shrug. “I guess I’d just like to know someone would still fight for me if it was.” 

Knox doesn’t say a word as he takes a long drag of his cigarette. 

I feel so stupid for confiding in him. I should have known better.  “Forget it. I don’t expect someone like you to understand.” 

“Aspen,” he barks when I head for the staircase. 

“What?” 

When I turn to look at him, I see he’s already charging toward me. 

I take a step back, but he takes a step forward, cornering me into the wall. 

His dark gaze lingers on my mouth as he trails a finger down my cheek. I flinch because the gesture is so gentle and I’m not used to that from him. 

“What are you doing?” I question. 

“You told me I could have whatever I wanted earlier.” 

My pulse quickens when he fists my hair, drawing me closer. 

His breath brushes my lips. It’s a teasing whisper of a caress that has my nipples pebbling under my t-shirt. 

My eyes flutter closed and I part my lips…waiting for him to kiss me. 

But he doesn’t. 

And for reasons I can’t explain…I almost need him to. 

“That right there.” His voice is gruff. Taunting. “That’s exactly what I wanted.” 

I shove at his chest. “You’re an asshole.” 

He laughs as I march toward the stairs, but then it comes to an abrupt halt and his tone goes serious. 

“Stray?” 

“What?” 

“Leave my father alone. The less you piss him off, the better. For everyone.”