“Well that’s just plain rude. Something pretty shitty must’ve happened in your life to give you such a bad attitude.” She hit the nail right on the head. It sure did I want to say, but I don’t. My brow furrows. Why does her saying that piss me off even more?
I hate that in less than a minute she has already seen through my facade. What is she, some kind of crazy clairvoyant or something? My eyes lock with hers again, and the sympathetic look I see on her face makes me dislike her even more.
“Nope. I’m just a bastard, and stop fucking looking at me like that. You’re creeping me the hell out.”
“Like what?” she huffs, placing her hands on her hips.
“Like you feel sorry for me. I don’t want or need your sympathy. The sooner you learn that the better off we’ll all be, Princess. Do yourself a favour kid, stay the fuck away from me.” She gasps at my words and a satisfied smile crosses my face.
Mission accomplished.
“Later, Larry,” I say to the dog, giving him one last scratch behind the ears before walking away.
“His name’s Lassie, arsehole,” she snaps to my retreating back.
“Not to me it isn’t,” I chuckle as I walk towards the house. “You won’t catch me calling him that pansy-arse name.” Maybe living here isn’t going to be as bad as I thought.
“Come on boy,” I hear her say, exhaling an exasperated breath.
As I walk up the porch stairs to my new hell, I hear her front door slam shut. Surprisingly, this makes the smile instantly drop from my face. I actually feel shitty for the way I just treated her. I don’t often feel remorseful for my actions.
Why am I such a bastard? That’s right, I was born one.
CHAPTER TWO
Indiana
Slamming the front door, I stomp down the hallway towards the back of the house. “Out you go, boy,” I say to Lassie once I slide open the glass door. I feel so let down. I can’t believe I was actually looking forward to meeting that douche. Nobody has ever been so rude to me. Ever.
He’s nothing like I expected. Well, I don’t really know what I was expecting. Certainly not what I got. He’s a prick, plain and simple. A rude, egotistical arse. And as much as I hate to admit it, a sinfully hot one. Why does he have to be so good looking?
He’s so tall, and so built. Every stinking inch of him. His dark hair and haunting chocolate eyes just add to his attractiveness. His cute little dimple on his left cheek. His perfectly straight white teeth add to his illuminating smile. Well they do when he smiles. I hate to admit that he’s gorgeous even when he frowns. To top all that off, he has this perfectly chiselled face, which I’d seriously like to slap right now, by the way.
That part definitely took me off guard. Sure I’ve met a lot of hot guys before. Nothing that could compare to him though. He towers over my tiny five-foot-one inch frame. His dark hair and eyes suit his equally dark persona. It’s a shame he doesn’t have the personality to accompany his looks. If he did, he’d be perfect.
Unexpectedly, I felt an instant attraction to him. That was until he opened his damn mouth. God I’m so mad right now. How could I let him get under my skin like that? Jackass. I almost feel sorry for him. I did say almost. Crazy I know. I swear I saw something in him. I can’t explain what. It was almost like his bastardry was an act, a front. I could be wrong. Surely no one could be naturally so rude and mean. His mother seems so sweet.
I’m glad my dad isn’t home at the moment. I’d hate to have to explain my sudden bad mood to him. He’d be furious if he knew how Carter just spoke to me.
I make my way towards my bedroom. I need my iPod. Music may be the only thing that can calm me down. At the very least, it can help occupy my mind so I don’t have to think about my new neighbour from hell. I thought Mr. Shepard held that title, but his new stepson has just taken the prize.
After placing my earplugs in my ears I turn the volume up to full. I also grab my iPad off my desk and move to my favourite spot in my room—the window seat my dad built for me. This is my happy place. I sit here for hours some days. Even though my bedroom window is at the side of the house, it’s towards the back, so I get a glimpse of the lake that backs onto our property.
Logging onto my Facebook account, I send a private message to my bestie, Meg. If anyone can cheer me up, it’s her.
Me: You around?
Meg: Of course. You know I live on here. LOL. What’s up pretty girl?
Me: I just met my new neighbour.
Meg: What? Mr. Don’t-let-your-dog-poop-on-my-lawn-again moved out?
Me: LOL. No. His new wife and stepson moved in.
Meg: WHAT! Someone married the fucktard? OMFG!