Yeah, I Hate You Too, Sweetheart.

Chapter 2 - Justin

Justin

My fork slipped from my grasp and clattered against my dinner plate. The sound echoed throughout the dining room it was so quiet.

"You did what?"

My mom fingered the strand of pearls she wore around her neck. "I said…. I invited Jeanine Hayes and her daughter to stay with us for the summer."

"Hayes?" I repeated, feeling numb all over. "You’re talking about Jeanine Hayes’ daughter?"

"That's right," my little sister Emma trilled, smirking at me. “It should be lots of fun, huh?”

I narrowed my eyes at her and she stuck her tongue out at me through the gap in her front teeth.

"You don't know what you're in for, Emma," I told her seriously. "You've never met Laila."

God, I wanted to rip my hair out at the mention of Laila freaking Hayes. She was the daughter of my mother's best friend, Jeanine. They'd become acquaintances once we moved in to the house beside theirs, back when we lived in Seattle.

   I probably should have realized all was lost when the two women didn’t go anywhere without each other. They'd thought it was a great idea that her daughter and I should play together, since we were roughly the same age. Clearly, they still didn't understand that they were way off the mark with that one.

I distinctly remembered the day I’d met her.

I'd hated Laila Hayes the minute I set eyes on her for the first time, from her stupid curly pigtails right down to her light-up sneakers. I had half been expecting her to sprout devil horns and a tail at any moment. But since my mother was watching from the front porch, I said hi to Laila. She snatched my Popsicle and chucked it across the street. So I threw a glob of mud at her.

And that was when the rivalry between us began; we literally made it our life's ambition to make each other's life a living hell. Sure, Laila managed to give it her best shot at antagonizing me, but I always had the upper hand some way or another. It was probably because I was smarter. Not to mention better looking.

"What's wrong with Laila?" my dad interjected, steepling his fingers together.

"Are you kidding?" I said shrilly. "What isn't wrong with Laila?"

"Justin," Mom said wearily. "It's been what? Seven years since you've last seen her?"

"So! People like Laila Hayes never change."

"Now you're just being ridiculous," Dad said. "Kim told me the other day that Jeanine says Laila's really quite pretty, she's made the honor roll, and -”

I snorted. "Well, that's no surprise. She's a total control freak. She probably still wears geeky glasses and overalls."