“No, I do not require your assistance,” Peter said wearily from out in the hallway, and I heard his bedroom door close a second later. “Jane, I suggest you just go back to the room and rest.” I glanced over at Milo, and from his expression, I could tell he was listening to them too.
“I don’t need any more rest. I’m bored,” Jane put on her baby talk voice that vacillated between slutty and whiny. Peter must’ve gone to his room to get something, and she followed him out.
“Try reading one of my books,” Peter said. “Or, if you cannot read, you can try one of Jack’s movies. Or perhaps you can pester one of the six other people living in this house to entertain you.”
“Come on, I bet you know plenty of ways to entertain me.” Jane was out in the hall, so I couldn’t see her, but I had enough experience with her to know that she was touching him in some way. Running her fingers down his arm or putting her hand on his chest.
“I can assure you that I am no good at entertaining anyone.” Peter sounded uncomfortable, and Milo smirked.
“Well, maybe I can entertain you.” Her voice went lower and sultrier.
“That’s why I got a book. I can entertain myself,” Peter said, his words clipped.
“Don’t you get sick of entertaining yourself?”
“Jane, just go back to your room,” Peter sighed. If she was touching him, he had just taken her hand away.
“Not unless you join me,” Jane said, oblivious to his rebuff.
“No, I most certainly will not,” Peter snapped. “This slutty little girl act may work for some people, but I can’t see how. You are so filthy and dirty that I wouldn’t bite you if I was starving to death. The only reason I am allowing you into my room is because of how much you mean to Alice, although, for the life of me I can’t see why. You are insipid and vain beyond what I had understood humans were capable of, and it would serve you well to steer clear of me.”
“Jeez,” Milo whispered.
Jane didn’t say anything, but I heard the door open, and she had started crying before she shut behind her. When Peter started walking away, I went into the hall to give him a piece of my mind. I should’ve gone out and defended her earlier.
“Peter!” I said quietly, so Jane wouldn’t overhear. Sighing, he turned to look at me. “Don’t you think that was a little harsh?”
“Not really, no,” Peter said, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze. I heard the shower in Jane’s bathroom, her attempt to cure her crying, so I walked over to yell at him. “I didn’t mean for you to overhear that.”
“I don’t know how that makes it okay.” I crossed my arms on my chest and glared up at him. “Jane is annoying, but she’s harmless. And she’s recovering. We’re supposed to be helping her and encouraging her, not bringing her down.”
“I didn’t want to bring her down.” He rubbed his eye. “But you didn’t see how she was around me. It was constant and more than annoying.”
“God forbid someone have a crush on you, Peter.” I rolled my eyes. “You were such a dick to me when I was into you, too. You can’t handle anyone gawking at you for like five seconds?”
“No, I can. I handle it all the time,” he said defensively. “Everyone I meet is like that, and I manage.”
“Oh, what a rough life!” I scoffed. “You know, Jane isn’t the only one that’s vain and egotistical.” It was Peter’s turn to roll his eyes at me. “So you’re saying your curse in life is that everyone finds you irresistible?”
“If I say yes, I sound like an ass, but it’s true.” He rubbed his temple and shook his head. “I am sorry if I am not doing well with tolerating her. She just won’t stop staring at me, and… you won’t even look at me.”
“You’re punishing Jane because you’re mad at me?” I raised my eyebrow at him. “That’s not even remotely fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, Alice!” Peter looked at me intensely, his eyes glowing green. “If life were fair, you wouldn’t be with Jack!”
“No! You don’t get to be mad at me for that!” I shook my head. “You had your chance! I wanted you first, and you wouldn’t have anything to do with me!”
“I never had a chance!” Peter shouted. “You always wanted him! I saw you in the hot tub with him!”
“What are you talking about?”
“The night we met, you came up to my room, and I didn’t want to meet you. I didn’t want to want you, but the instant I saw you…” He looked away from me. “Before I even saw you. I felt you as soon as you walked in the house, and it was overwhelming.
“I reacted poorly when we met, so Mae took you away, out to the hot tub with her and Jack. I watched you when you weren’t looking. You were sitting with him, laughing, and the way you looked at him… You’ve never looked at me that way.”
“How did I look at you?” I asked thickly.
“Like you had to, like I was a magnet you were pulled to. There was no choice,” he said. “And when you look at Jack, it’s because when he’s around, why would you want to look at anything else? You love him the way you could never love me.”