Free Web NovelChapter 173: Chapter 173 - Fuck You
She stayed in the bathroom longer than she needed to.
The hot water helped. It washed away the smell of smoke and sweat from the party and loosened the tight knot that had been sitting between her shoulders all evening.
By the time she stepped out, Malcolm had already gone in.
Iyisha dried her hair with a towel, changed into a clean shirt, and climbed onto the bed.
Whatever.
She didn’t care.
She stretched out on her side and pulled the blanket halfway over herself.
The shower kept running in the small bathroom beside the room.
Steam drifted slowly out from under the door.
She stared at the wall and tried very hard not to think about the party.
Not about Lucía.
Not about Malcolm laughing with her.
The water shut off.
A moment later the bathroom door opened.
Iyisha glanced up automatically—
—and immediately looked away again.
Malcolm stepped out wearing nothing but a pair of gray jogging pants.
Her eyes snapped shut.
Damn it.
She heard him move around the room quietly before the mattress dipped beside her.
The scent of soap drifted over with him, warm and clean.
Iyisha frowned slightly.
There was only one blanket.
And honestly, she didn’t feel like sharing it with him tonight.
She could feel the heat of his body through the mattress, close enough that it made the space between them feel smaller than it actually was.
"How are you?" Malcolm asked.
Wow.
Iyisha let out a short breath.
"You care?" she asked, venom slipping into her voice before she could stop it.
The sharpness surprised even her.
She turned slightly, ready to apologize.
But the words stopped before they reached her mouth.
"I’m okay," she said instead.
She pulled the blanket a little higher around herself.
"Let’s just sleep."
There was a small pause.
"Do you want me to check your scratch?" Malcolm asked.
For a moment she almost said yes.
Then Lucía’s laughing face flashed through her mind.
Iyisha’s jaw tightened.
"I bet Lucía would want that," she said.
She almost curled in on herself afterward, but stopped.
No.
She forced herself to stay still, staring at the wall like none of this mattered.
Like she wasn’t acting exactly like a jealous girlfriend.
"Lucía would," Malcolm said.
Iyisha’s face went hot instantly.
She turned to look at him.
"Wow," she said, disbelief flashing across her face. "Right to my face, huh?"
She pushed the blanket aside and stood up.
Malcolm frowned slightly.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to the party," she said. "Because one more second in here and I’m going to smash your face."
They both froze.
Iyisha blinked.
Malcolm stared at her.
The words hung in the air between them.
Oh god.
She immediately regretted saying it.
Malcolm opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"No," he said finally. "No. You rest. I’ll go out."
Iyisha threw her hands in the air.
"Wow."
So he still wanted to go back.
Of course he did.
She dropped back onto her side of the bed and curled up, yanking the blanket over her shoulder.
Maybe he was going back to Lucía.
Why wouldn’t he?
Lucía was gorgeous.
Anyone with eyes could see that.
A tear slipped quietly from the corner of Iyisha’s eye before she quickly pulled the blanket higher.
She heard Malcolm sigh behind her.
The bed creaked slightly as his weight lifted.
A moment later a chair scraped softly against the floor.
He sat down.
Iyisha stared at the wall in front of her.
She hated everything about tonight.
She hated how things had turned out.
She hated how jealous she felt.
She hated that Malcolm acted like it wasn’t her place to be jealous.
And most of all she hated that she couldn’t seem to control any of her emotions right now.
Her chest still hurt.
Minutes passed, but the feeling didn’t fade. If anything, the anger inside her only grew sharper.
She stared at the wall, jaw tight, trying to breathe through it.
Then she heard Malcolm move.
The chair scraped softly against the floor.
Footsteps.
Toward the door.
Iyisha shot upright.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Malcolm stopped and turned.
He looked genuinely taken aback.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"I’m just going out to clear my head."
Iyisha stared at him, her chest rising and falling quickly.
"Fuck it," she snapped. "Go."
Her voice shook with anger.
"Go and fuck that Lucía for all I care."
She swung her legs off the bed and reached for her boots.
Malcolm frowned.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
She shoved her foot into one of the boots.
Before she could stand, Malcolm grabbed her wrist.
"Stop."
Iyisha glared at him.
"Let go."
"If you’re going to go screw around," she said bitterly, "then I’ll go find someone too."
His jaw tightened.
The muscle ticked sharply.
"What?" she demanded.
"Am I not allowed to fuck around too? Isn’t that what you want?"
She yanked her hand free and reached for the zipper of her boot.
Malcolm sighed.
"Come on."
Before she could react, he crouched down in front of her.
Then he grabbed her boot.
Iyisha blinked in surprise as he pulled it firmly onto her foot and zipped it up himself.
The motion was calm. Controlled.
Like he had decided something.
"It’s your choice," he said quietly, finishing the zipper.
For some reason that only made her angrier.
"You’re saying that because you want to fuck that Lucía, right?" Iyisha shot back.
Her voice rose before she could stop it.
"I bet you loved it when she called you papi."
The words spilled out in a rush, sharp and messy.
Malcolm looked up at her.
For a moment he didn’t say anything.
Then he looked down again.
"I’ll go outside," he said quietly, "if you choose to go home with someone."
The words landed like a stone.
Iyisha froze.
Her heart dropped.
She stared at him, suddenly feeling tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep.
He doesn’t care.
He doesn’t fucking care.
Even if she went out and slept with someone else, it wouldn’t matter to him.
Her chest tightened painfully.
She pulled her foot away from him and yanked the boot off again.
"Just..." she started.
The words died in her throat.
She turned away instead, curling back onto the bed.
The blanket came up over her shoulder as she forced herself to breathe normally.
Her teeth clenched.
Her nose itched with the pressure of tears she refused to let fall.
Behind her, Malcolm sighed.
A moment later she heard him stand.
The door opened quietly.
And then he was gone.
Her chest finally gave in.
The tears came before she could stop them.
One slipped down the bridge of her nose and into the pillow. Another followed, warm and silent against the fabric.
She pressed her face deeper into the blanket, biting down hard so the sound wouldn’t escape her throat.
Her body shook once.
Then again.
Outside the room the house was quiet. The distant music from the square drifted faintly through the walls, the celebration still going on like nothing had happened.
Iyisha wiped angrily at her face.
It didn’t help.
More tears followed anyway.
Her fingers curled tightly into the blanket as the hurt twisted in her chest.
"Fuck you, Malcolm," she whispered into the pillow.
And the tears kept falling.
