Hate

Chapter 3

"So Xavier huh?" Nate teased as soon as Cold sat down. On the surface, he was only making light of the situation he had witnessed a few hours ago. But deep down, he just wanted to know why she even gave Xavier the time of day.

"Ou! Xavier!" Ryan chimed in, suggestively moving his eyebrows.

Cold on the other hand chose to ignore their comments. She knew Nate wasn't very fond of Xavier. 

"You know Jaycell has a thing for him, right? I don't think you should be flirting with him," Ryan commented turning his focus to his food.

"I wasn't flirting!" Cold exclaimed. Why would they think she, of all people, would flirt with someone like him? Or anyone for that matter? She never dabbled in the realm of romance so why would she start now?

"Then what were you doing?" Nate questioned, leaning in with a raised eyebrow.

Nate couldn't help pushing the topic. Cold was his best friend and Xavier was, in his humble opinion, an awful person. He just didn't want her to get hurt. That's all! It's not like he was slightly jealous that another male caught her attention. 

Cold hesitated to say anything. She knew if she told the truth, she would never hear the end of it. If she lied, well, she wouldn't even know what the lie would be! 

"It's nothing big, trust me. I bumped into him and he just started a conversation," She responded with a shrug. 

"Whatever you say, love," Ryan responded twirling Cold's hair around his finger. He had always seemed to be quite fascinated with her kinks. He loved how bouncy and fine they were. He even sometimes referred to her hair like it was his. 

Ryan often teased that in the future, he would like to have a girlfriend with hair like hers. They had a very flirtatious relationship, but everyone knew it was harmless. That's why Nate never felt threatened by Ryan.  

However, due to his pre-existing problems with Xavier, he was aware that Xavier somehow could swoop Cold off her feet and right out of his life, and at times he felt guilty. 

Guilty because he did not want anyone else to have her, while he stayed in a toxic relationship with the girl he loved. Or better yet, the girl he thought he deserved. 

He should want her to find someone to distract her from her pain. He should want to see the joy in her eyes when she spoke to someone who wasn't him. 

But he didn't. He didn't want her to be happy with another person, because he wanted to be happy with her. That selfishness destroyed his life once, yet he couldn't bring himself to break the habit.

While Ryan, Nate, and Cold enjoyed a lively banter at lunch, Brie was having a little fun somewhere else. Behind the door of room 256, Brie and Xavier were getting a little...comfortable. 

"Xavier," Brie giggled as Xavier kissed her neck. Xavier's body was still out of his control. Deep in his subconscious, he pleaded with the ocean to cease and grant him freedom. But she ignored his cries. 

With the ocean using him as a puppet, he gently creased Brie and pulled her impossibly closer. He could feel all the curves of her body. As he pressed his body against hers, a moan escaped her lips. She ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying the sweet pleasures he gave to her. 

Brie loved Nate. She did. She loved that he would do anything for her, she loved that he loved her. But there was one person who has and always will stand in the way of her happily ever after with Nate, and that was Cold.

After a year into her relationship with Nate, she realized that no matter who came into his life, Cold was always going to be his number one and she hated it. She hated that he would drop everything for Cold, as he did for her. She hated that he chose to spend countless hours with Cold, hours that he should have been spending with her!