MELROSE

CHAPTER 36

Day seven

I was irritating everyone.

I was in an extremely bad mood, snapping at anyone for the slightest mistake. Tyler and Fletch had wisely steered clear of me while Roman had wanted to know what was going on.

I woke up late this morning, to discover that Don had left. He didn't just leave, Marstupid had come over and they'd both gone horse riding. This wouldn't have bothered me much if the girl in question hadn't successfully gotten into his pants more than once before and she still wanted to. Plus, they've been gone for hours.

"Aura."

"What?" I snapped, not liking to be pulled out of my thoughts. I looked around for the source of the voice, my eyes widening in horror when Lucy stared at me with disappointed eyes.

My hand flew to my mouth. "Oh my god I'm so sorry. I didn't mean ..."

"Aura." She cut me off. "Clearly someone pissed in your cereal this morning. Go on, go calm yourself, take a swim. If you want to, you can tell me your problem later."

I crossed my arms. "But I don't wanna swim."

"Fine then." Her voice took on a sterner tone. "There is an alternative, which you're going to do. The dishes."

I stared at her, bewildered. "How is that going to calm me down?"

She winked. "I believe it is the magic of water."

I truly descended from this woman.

"Don't you think I would break the dishes in my angry state?"

She smirked. "Try it."

That's how I found myself in the kitchen, arranging plates to be washed on the sink as I didn't want to use the dishwasher. I turned round to shut the kitchen door, jumping slightly at the sight of Roman and his girlfriend casually leaning over the counter, sharing a pie.

I held a hand to my heart, hissing. "Don't scare me like that!"

Marisa spoke as she fed Roman. "You're going to lose your bet if you keep acting this way."

I was surprised. "How did you know about it?"

Roman snorted out the pie in his mouth, making her glare at him. He mumbled a sheepish sorry, turning to me. "Are you kidding? He says he loves you, you leave, he comes after you, you honestly expect us not to follow? We heard every single word."

I busied myself with the dishes. "He's not going to win."

"Who are we talking about and what is he losing?"

Don casually strolled into the kitchen, immediately stealing a bite of their pie. I took in his appearance, my fists clenching at my sides.

He had a goddamn red lipstick mark at the side of his face.

Roman and Marisa saw it too because they said they were leaving, hurriedly striding out the door. He shrugged at their retreating figures, digging into the pie they left. He froze mid chew, noticing the expression on my face. He swallowed, choosing his words carefully. "Is there a reason you're staring at me like that?"

I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to yell, curse, insult, and punch him hard. But I didn't because I would look like a jealous lunatic and I wasn't going to lose this bet.

I turned away from him, successfully not gritting my teeth. "How was your day with Margherita?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Wonderful. Her company is pleasurable as always. She's a really great friend to hang around with."