She watched me as if she saw something I couldn’t, then turned and walked toward the beach.

I stared a moment after her.

I suddenly couldn’t think. Itchy.

I went to yank her out of West’s hold, but she shoved him off first. Now I was behind Story, only an inch between us, her head just below mine. I felt like her protector. I liked it too much. I itched to hit West for no other reason than the anger coming off her.

“You are all the same,” Snitch’s voice shook. What did this fucker do to make her voice shake? I tightened my fist, the barely scabbed knuckle breaking open.

West caught my eyes, glaring.

Well fucking bring it on. This asshole was the worst kind. The snake-in-the-grass kind. The assholes I hung out with? Total fuckers. But they wore their poison as stripes on their skin for everyone to see. You didn’t kiss those frogs without knowing you were going to die.

Westley du Lac? He hid his poison beneath kind smiles and volunteer duty, while being worse than the rest of us. It was always a mystery how the du Lac family could make someone as sweet and pure as Charlotte, and then a dude like West.

“I’m not worth anything to you unless someone else looks at me first,” Snitch continued. “You’re all speculating on fool’s gold. Gray might be cruel, but you’re poison.”

She spun, then stopped abruptly, almost slamming into me. In the split second she was shocked to see me, I saw all of her. The pain, the tears about to fall. My anger rose and rose.

I was ready to break his nose just for those unshed tears; then he smiled, vicious. Smug. The fuck did he have to be smug about? I fisted and unfisted my hand as West gave me the look like, Let’s fucking do it.

Story quickly swiped her tears away and walked by me.

Fuck.

I went after her.

“Let’s try this again. How do you know West du Lac?” I called to her back.

“Let’s try this again. Why do you care?” she snapped. “Why?”

Our furious footsteps went plunk plunk plunk on the dock. Above us the sky was black, too many blinding lights.

“I don’t need you fucking up my relationship again by fucking her brother.”

“Are you jealous?”

I laughed.

No. Yes. Fuck.

“Jealous of West? He jacks off to the sound of his own voice.”

I swear I heard her laugh, but it was impossible to be certain with the music from the yacht and beach clashing together.

“What was that?” I asked, chasing after her. “Don’t give me bullshit about being friends.”

She was silent, ignoring me.

That pissed me off.

“Did you love him?” I goaded at her back. “Was I just witnessing a lovers’ quarrel?”

She stopped. “Yes.”