Twisted Hate

10

The brief camaraderie Jules and I experienced at the clinicfizzled less than twenty-four hours later, when I arrived atthe airport's private jet terminal to find her looking brighteyed, bushy-tailed, and all too smug about beating me to theairport."You're late." Jules sipped her coffee. No doubt it was acaramel mocha with extra crunch and oat milk because shewas lactose intolerant and hated the taste of almond milk.So predictable."We haven't boarded yet, which means I'm not late." Idropped into the seat opposite hers and frowned at heroutfit. Yoga pants and boots, topped with a fuzzy purplejacket and giant sunglasses she'd propped on top of herhead. "Where the hell did you get your jacket? Barneys RUs?""I wouldn't expect someone who showed up to the airportin sweatpants to understand fashion." Jules's eyes flickedtoward the sweatpants in question, and my irritation meltedinto smug satisfaction when she lingered a second too longon a certain area."Take a picture. It lasts longer," I drawled.Her eyes snapped up to mine. "Thanks for the offer, butI'm just thinking about how easy it would be to cut yourprized possession off." She smiled. "Sleep tight thisweekend, Joshy. You never know what goes bump in thenight."I didn't bother responding to her ridiculous threat, butmy eyebrows popped up when she picked up the small whitepaper bag next to her and tossed it at me without warning.I caught it easily, my reflexes honed from years of sports.I opened the bag, and my eyebrows rose higher when Isaw the blueberry muffin sitting at the bottom."In return for the cupcake." Maybe the lighting wasplaying tricks on me, but I thought I spotted the faintestpink tint on Jules's cheeks. "I don't like owing people.""It was a cupcake, JR, not a loan." I shook the bag. "Didyou poison this?" I asked, mirroring her question fromyesterday. "Ava will be upset if her beloved brother dropsdead during her birthday trip, which means Alex will beupset, which means you'll be dead."Her sigh contained the weariness of a thousand ages."Josh, eat the damn muffin."I debated for all of two seconds before I shrugged.What the hell. There were worse ways to go than death byblueberry."Thank you," I said grudgingly.I ripped off a piece of the pastry and popped it in mymouth while my eyes roved the terminal. "Where's thehappy couple?""Probably whispering sweet nothings to each other overbreakfast." Jules tilted her head toward the fancy-lookingrestaurant further down the terminal.I snorted at the thought of Alex whispering sweetanythings to anyone, even my sister. "You didn't jointhem?""Didn't feel like third wheeling.""That's never stopped you before."Instead of responding, she eyed me over the rim of hercup, a small notch forming between her brows. "Is it weirdfor you?" she asked. "Going on a trip with Alex."I paused, my jaw tensing for a second before I resumedchewing. "It is what it is. Ava asked, so I'm here. The end," Isaid after I finished eating.A taut silence stretched between us, ripe with unspokenwords.Jules lowered her drink before raising it to her mouthagain, like she wanted to shield herself from what she wasabout to say next. "You're a good brother."No snark, only sincerity, but the words hit me somewheresouth of my gut."Your sister's in the hospital...""Almost drowned...""I'm sorry son, but your mom...she overdosed...""He lied to us." Tears streaked Ava's cheeks. "He lied to both ofus.""Join us for the holidays." I clapped a hand on Alex's shoulder."Spending Christmas alone is just wrong.""I'd feel better if I had someone I trusted looking after her, yaknow?""You're the only person I trust, period, outside of my family.And you know how worried I am about Ava..."Disjointed memories crowded my brain.Was I a good brother?I hadn't been there when Ava almost died, twice. I'd beentoo blind to see the truth about our father all those years. I'dlooked up to the man, did everything I could to make himproud. And I'd all but pushed Ava into Alex's arms because,once again, I'd trusted someone who ended up betraying me.In the end, Alex and Ava's relationship worked out, but Iwould never forget the months when she walked around likea shell of herself. Quiet, withdrawn, and devoid of the sparkthat made her her. Every day, I woke up fearing I would findher the way I'd found our mom—with too many pills in herstomach and not enough will to live.All because I was too goddamned stupid and placed mytrust in people I shouldn't have.I knew it technically wasn't my fault that Michael tried tokill Ava, or that my mom committed suicide, or that Ava fellin love with Alex. But that was the thing about guilt. It didn'tgive a damn about facts or reason. It sprouted from thetiniest seeds of doubt, slipped through the cracks of yourpsyche, and by the time you realized what the ugly darknessoozing through your veins was, it'd already burrowed itselfso deep you couldn't dig it out without losing a part ofyourself."Josh." Jules's voice sounded muffled and far away."Josh!"It was louder and clearer this time, enough so it yankedme out of my thoughts and back into the sun-drenchedterminal.I blinked, my heart slamming against my ribcage withsuch force it rattled my bones. "Yeah."The notch between her brows deepened, and somethingakin to concern passed through her eyes. "I've been callingyour name for the past five minutes. Are you...okay?""Yeah," I repeated. I raked a hand through my hair andforced myself to take deep breaths until my heartbeat slowedto a normal rate. "Just thinking about some things."It was the lamest reply I could've given, but Jules didn'tcall me out on it. Instead, she stared at me for a minutelonger before she flicked her eyes over my shoulder and said,"Alex and Ava are here."I twisted my head in time to see the couple in questioncome into view."Hey!" Ava broke away from Alex and hugged me."You're on time.""Why does everyone think I'm not punctual? I am," Igrumbled.I swear, you're late to one party and suddenly everyonethinks you make a habit out of it."Sure." My sister patted me on the arm before sheaddressed the group at large. "You guys ready to board?""Yep." Jules stood and tossed her empty drink into anearby trash can. "Let's do this."She and Ava fell into step ahead of me and left me withAlex, who I greeted with a stiff nod. "Alex.""Josh." His face was blank, per usual, but the tense set ofhis shoulders suggested I wasn't the only one who hadqualms about this weekend.I could only hope we all made it out intact.By the time we landed in Vermont an hour and a half later,I'd drowned my anxieties about the weekend with twomimosas, hold the orange juice, courtesy of the private jetservice.A black Range Rover waited for us outside the airport,which was only a thirty-minute ride to the resort, and Avaspent most of the drive detailing the resort's luxuryamenities: a world-class spa, two gourmet restaurants, thefamed triple black diamond, and a bunch of other things Ituned out.All I cared about was the ski trail. My first triple blackdiamond. It was going to be epic.I was itching to drop off my luggage and hit the slopes,but unfortunately, we hit our first snag before we evenchecked in."What do you mean, the lodge is occupied?" Iciclesdripped from each word as Alex glared at the poor front deskassistant. Henry, according to his name tag."I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Volkov, but it appears there was amix-up in the system, and we double-booked this weekend."Henry gulped. "The other guests arrived last night andchecked in.""I see." Alex's voice dropped another ten degrees. "Sowhere, exactly, are we supposed to stay, considering Ialready shelled out a considerable sum of money for thePresidential Lodge?"Henry gulped again and tapped furiously on his computer.Ava tugged on Alex's hand and whispered something inhis ear that caused his shoulders to relax, though he kept hisglare pinned to Henry.I leaned against the counter, not dumb enough to openmy mouth while Alex was on the warpath. Even Jules wassilent, though that might be because she was too busy eyefucking some guy across the lobby.I gave the guy a quick once-over. Blond hair, unnaturallywhite smile, the same pale blue shirt and khakis as the restof the resort staff. I'd bet my last dollar he was a skiinstructor. He just had that annoying, eager look."Put your tongue back in your mouth, JR. You'redrooling.""I don't drool." Jules smiled at Ski Bro, who smiled back.Irritation curled in my stomach. It was the resort's grandopening weekend, and he was loitering in the lobby, flirtingwith guests. Didn't he have a job to do?"There's one VIP lodge left," Henry said. "The EagleLodge isn't as big as the Presidential Lodge, but it has thebest view and the same amenities. Of course, we're happy torefund you for the difference in pricing as well as include acomplimentary meal and spa gift card to make up for theinconvenience."If Ava weren't here, I was sure Alex would've ripped theguy a new one, but all he said was,"How much smaller is theEagle Lodge?""It has two bedrooms instead of four. But the couch in theliving room can be converted into a bed," Henry hastened toadd when Alex's brows lowered."It's fine." Ava placed a hand on Alex's forearm. "It's justfor the weekend."Alex's nostrils flared before he acquiesced with a shortnod. "The Eagle Lodge is fine.""Great." Henry's relief was palpable. "Here are the keycards..."I shifted my attention back to Jules while he gaveinstructions on how to get to the lodge."You done having sex in the lobby?"Jules was still silently flirting with Ski Bro, but she toreher eyes away from him at my comment. "If you think I'mhaving sex right now, it's no wonder women leave your roomunsatisfied."Touché.A small smile played on my lips. If adventure sports weremy physical release, sparring with Jules was my mental one.Nothing else gave me quite the same rush."Women leave my room feeling all sorts of things, but Iguarantee unsatisfied isn't one of them.""That's what men always think," she scoffed. "I regret toinform you they're probably faking it.""I can tell the difference between a fake orgasm and a realone, JR.""So you're saying women have faked orgasms with you."Her voice was all sugar and arsenic."My first few times." I wasn't embarrassed by the fact.Everyone started at zero. "But practice makes perfect. Maybeyou'll find out for yourself one day, if you're lucky."Jules gagged as we followed Alex and Ava out of the lobbyto our lodge. "Don't make me throw up. We just got here,and I despise vomit."A laugh rumbled in my throat. She was so fucking easy torile up.But when we arrived at the lodge, my laugh died in theface of hiccup number two: the pullout couch was not, infact, a pullout. It was just a damn couch, which meant therewere only two rooms for the four of us, and every possiblepairing sounded worse than the last."I can room with Jules." Ava slanted an apologetic glancein Alex's direction. "You and Josh can share.""No." I would rather swim naked in the icy riverbordering the resort than room with Alex."What's the alternative?" she argued. "I don't want tospend all day debating room assignments."There were only two other options. I could room with Avaor Jules. If I roomed with Ava, Alex and Jules would have tobe roommates, and that was fucking weird."I'll share with JR." I jerked my head in Jules's direction."You and Alex take the master. The guest bedroom has twobeds, so we'll make it work."It wasn't ideal, but it was the least terrible choice.Jules echoed my sentiment with as much enthusiasm as amouse entering a snake's cage."You sure?" Ava was fully aware of the animositybetween us, and she was probably picturing us murderingeach other in our sleep.It wasn't out of the realm of possibility."Yep. Let's just get this over with so we can hit theslopes." We wouldn't be in our rooms much, anyway. I couldjust turn in for the night and pretend Jules wasn't there.Unfortunately, the universe and its fucked up sense ofhumor had different plans.When we opened the door to the guest bedroom, we weregreeted with hiccup number three, AKA the worst thing I'dever seen in my entire life."No fucking way," Jules said at the same time I growled,"You've got to be shitting me."Because sitting smack dab in the middle of an otherwisebeautiful room, piled high with fluffy pillows and a luxuriousnavy comforter, was a four-poster bed.Bed. Singular. As in, there was only one.And I had to share it with Jules Ambrose.Kill me now.