Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
Hey guys. Ugh, just so you know editing sucks and takes foreve-r-r-r.
                          
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UPDATED/EDITED: This chapter has been fixed, but it took me forever and there still might be something wrong. So please, if you see a mistake of any kind don't be afraid to point it out so I can fix it.
                          
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-&-
                          
Chapter 8
                          
       "Come on Rose! I have to be at the college in an hour, and you're using up all the hot water!" 
                          
       I jumped as my sister's muffled voice shouted behind the locked bathroom door. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice the hot water turn cold against my quickly pruning skin. I cringed and washed the rest of the soap off my body before turning the shower off- but it was no use. All the hot water was gone.
                          
       Last night had been so- so surreal, and I couldn't convince my mind if it actually happened or not. Rex had been almost sweet and kind for most of the conversation, and that was so unlike him. There was no way that last night could have been real. 
                          
       I dried off as fast as I could, threw on my clothes, and brushed my teeth before throwing open the bathroom to greet the fuming Luce. "I'm so sorry!" I gave that furious face of hers a sheepish smile, the dark ringlets of her hair pulled into that messy bun she loved so much.
                          
       She glared at me as I gently slid past her, but like always, that angry scowl slowly softened. "It's fine. Just pay attention next time, okay?" I nodded eagerly and gave her the biggest smile I could muster before she stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
                          
       It was no big secret that my sister wasn't really well liked. She wasn't in high school, and she wasn't in college- but that also had to do with the fact that she was a royal 'b-word' to anyone you asked. Luce was beautiful, more beautiful than I could have ever wished to be, but her anger issues were usually the only thing she let people see. 
                          
       She was a jerk to everyone- dad, Tate, the majority of the populous at her school, but not me. Whenever Luce was mad at me, her face always softened and she let me off easy. I liked to think that it was because I was special to her, but I knew it was only because I reminded her of mom.
                          
       "Rosie, are you ready?" Tate's voice called from the bottom of the stairs, and my somber mood instantly brightened. Thinking about the mom I never knew wasn't necessarily pleasant. 
                          
       "Yeah! I'll be right down!"
                          
       Tate was such a sweet and caring person to everyone he knew or met. In fact, that hostile attitude he held towards Rex was the first sign of malice I ever saw in the guy. I didn't know why Luce was always a jerk to him, and I sure as heck didn't know why he put up with it. 
                          
       Then again, Rex really did not like his half-brother, and I had no idea why. Last night, if it was real, was the second time he told me to keep my distance from Tate, but why? What happened between them that made Rex, of all people, worry about my safety? 
                          
       The doorbell rang as I bounced down the stairs, and its long, consistent chime pulled me out of my subconscious. I wouldn't figure their little tiff out anytime soon. It would take days of prying at Tate. Might as well not worry about it right now. "I got it, go get your bag." Tate shot me a warm smile and ruffled my hair before he walked past me to reach the door.
                          
       I had just slung my bag over my shoulders and adjusted my hoodie when Tate's angry snap reached my ears. "What the hell are you doing here?" My heart jumped at that simple statement, and it wasn't because Tate was mad. I've only heard him use that tone on one person before, and that one person made my head spin in more ways than a few.