He blinked and that was it—the smallest tell. If I hadn’t been looking for it, I wouldn’t have noticed.
“Kennedy was really struggling in her class. I mean, I love Kennedy, but she won’t do anything she doesn’t want to, and the class became one of those things. And she was complaining all the time, just bitching about the readings and like, why did everything have to be about race. And I was fucking around, but I was like—you should file a complaint.”
“What were you trying to do?”
“I just—I was pissed. Addison had gotten obsessed. Kennedy was all he talked about.”
“So what? You thought she’d get in trouble? Or kicked out?”
“I don’t know, I just said it. I thought it would blow up in her face and that would be it. And I was mad about that night at the party.”
“What party?”
“When Addison and I crashed that thing on campus, the holiday thing. And I was talking to you and she was like lecturing me.”
And then suddenly I understood when Safie had confronted him at the Walton Walk.
“You mean you were trying to get back at Safie, too?”
He shrugged. “It was just a joke.”
“A joke?” I deserved what had become of my life, but Safie? I jumped up, filled with an instant rage. “That is so fucked, Tyler. So fucked. You’ve put Safie’s career on the line.”
“She’ll be fine.”
From the moment we’d met, he’d brought nothing but ruin. I hated him. I hated everything about him.
“You fucking brat.”
Tyler looked up and just leaned into the couch, an almost-smirk on his face.
“Are you going to hit me?”
“What? No.”
“But you want to, don’t you?”
“Tyler, stop. Go home.”
He got up and stepped toward me, closing the space between us.
“You can.”
“I can what?”
“Hit me. I want you to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do. I want you to hurt me. Look what I’ve done.” He stared up at me, face gone blank. That face had been my undoing.
And then he raised a finger and jabbed me at my collarbone, quick and sharp.
“Shit.” I jerked back. “That hurt.”
“Good.”
He lifted his hand again but I swatted it from me. He stumbled and caught his footing, never taking his eyes from mine.
