Chapter 40: Chapter Nineteen-2

“What!” I shout. My life is turning into a nightmare. Why is Lee so reckless? He has a company to run and other things to do besides bother me. I know I started all this crap by being a whiny, jealous teenaged girl but I’m human—I make mistakes. “It isn’t right for a girl to be living alone while her mother is in the hospital. And it certainly isn’t right for a predator-type male”— Lee glares at Mark—“to be living right next to her.” “I’m not a predator!” Mark retorts, his eyes burning with anger. “Mark’s a better friend than you’ll ever be!” I yell. “And you can’t stay! You have work to do! You have a company to run and people to pay. Start taking responsibility, Lee! Just go home.” My eyes soften. “Please. Just go.” “God, you sound like my mother,” Lee mutters under his breath, his facial features completely blank. His mother must be a touchy subject. There I go, getting on nerves again. Lee gains his composition back and stares back at me. “And I am not leaving. That is final. I’m not stupid either. I know how to run a goddamn company. I’ve been doing it for a while, if you haven’t noticed. I’ll just work online and get my workers. Besides, I can go to work when I want.” Lee’s real personality is coming out. Unlike his fake plastered smile over all the latest magazines, he was a real douche on the inside that didn’t care what people said. He acts like a sarcastic, narcissist king when he’s actually himself. And I guess that’s what I like—liked about him. I shake my head from thoughts about Lee. He might’ve been an okay guy but he played my feelings just because he was lonely. He played with me because I was a weak girl. Not anymore. I’m going to change. I’m going to be stronger now. I lift my head and stare dead into Lee’s eyes. “Where are you going to stay?” Lee shrugs. “I guess I’ll stay with you. I mean we’ve lived together before.” I look over at Mark as his eyes widen. “Shut up, Lee! We didn’t live together, you asshole! Stop lying to Mark.” My eyes go back to Mark. “He just sheltered me because—um—of an incident. It’s not what you think.” “But…aren’t you guys together? Well were together?” Mark asks. “I thought you guys were together but broke up. And now Lee’s moved on and has a new fiancé?” Oh yeah, Mark doesn’t know that the only reason I said Lee was my boyfriend was because I needed him for Karen. Now that it was resolved, I don’t need Lee anymore.  And he doesn’t need me. He made it pretty clear with his secret fiancé. I should tell Mark the truth. He seemed like a good guy. He could possibly even help me move on from that tiny, disgusting crush I had on Lee. “Um, actually—” “That’s exactly what happened,” Lee interrupts. I snap my head towards him. This bitch, I think. I glare at him as I pull Lee down the driveway alone. “Hold on Mark,” I tell him as I pull Lee to privacy. When we’re far enough, I roughly tug his arm. “What the hell are you doing? I think I should tell Mark the truth about us.” Lee’s eyes narrow. “Why would you want to do that, Miss Ivory?” I stand on my tip-toes and glare. “Because…he’s. My. Friend.” “Really now?” Lee says. “What? Do you have a thing for him?” “So what if I do!” I yell. “It’s my choice to tell him anyway. It doesn’t effect you in any way!” I cross my arms, waiting for a response. “Wait a minute. The only reason you want to stay is because you have an undying hate for Mark for some weird reason and you just want to be here to piss him off! Isn’t that right?” Lee takes a deep breath and looks away. He licks his lips before turning back to me. “Listen, Ivory, I’m sorry about what happened. Let me explain about Penny.” “You don’t have to explain to me about Penny,” I manage through my teeth. “I’m just a school girl that took advantage of you for herself and it seems you did the same. We’re both sinners. It’s not like we actually cared for one another, right?” I stare until he nods. My heart chips a little. “Great. Now you can leave me alone.” I turn on my heel and go back to Mark. “So what’s going on?” Mark asks as Lee walks back to my side. “I’m still moving in,” Lee answers for me. I smack my forehead with my hand. Did he not just understand what I just said? I told him to leave me alone but no, it seems I’m not speaking English today. “I’ll be moving in with Ivory.” “Excuse me?” I exclaim. “Why are you moving with me?” “Because I think it’ll be safer for you to have me around and also I could be more of a help,” Lee says. A help? Since when was he ever a help? Last time he stayed over during the blizzard, he refused to help me clean up. “Then I’m moving in too!” Mark says, crossing his arms. “I don’t think Ivory should be alone with a man in her own home. Especially one she obviously does not want inside her home. I’ll get my things right now.”