I didn’t know why, but my chest tightened a little when he said that. Stupid, I knew. We weren’t friends. My jaw shifted. “Then why have you been acting like one?”
The question of the hour, right? He was and continued to roll through my life like someone who actually cared too.
“Maybe I have my reasons.”
I smirked. “Meaning you need me for that project.” He was using me, and it was obvious. I laughed. “Okay, now that we got that settled.”
His hand cut across the way. This kept me from leaving. He eased his hands into his pockets. “Maybe I want to believe you.” His shoulders rose. “About the not ratting out D and shit. Maybe I want to believe that, and it’s fucking with my head.”
Again, he was being so candid, but it was the first time anyone had given me an indicator of that. Bow had said the same thing, but I had messed with her before. I’d given her no reason to trust me now.
This obviously wasn’t the same case with Ares, and when he chuckled, my lips parted.
“You know, it was a lot easier to hate you when I had no fucking reason.” His head shook. “When the only reason was because you were coming between me and my boy.”
“Wait. What?”
“I was jealous, little.” The very admission had him rolling his eyes. Probably at himself. He wet his lips. “You put this mind-fucking voodoo on him. Thatch? Wells? And let’s not even talk about Bow.”
I raised a hand. “You were jealous of me?”
His sight grappled the ceiling tiles once more. “Maybe a little bit of you getting close to my friend. You were getting up in my clique. Pissed me off.” He shrugged. “People like you. You get attention, and attention on you takes attention away from me.”
Oh, what a complete and arrogant fucker this guy was.
But he was smiling.
He actually smiled at me, and this whole conversation was crazy. I hugged my arms. “So what does all this mean?”
“It means the jury is still out on you.” His lips pinched together. “I stand by Dorian and will always stand by Dorian.”
“But?”
His jaw shifted. “But I personally feel like things are complicated with you. I do, and I’m acknowledging that.”
I didn’t know what to feel about that. And all of this was so screwed up. His boy was a complete idiot.
“Why is he like this?” I asked, an idiot myself for saying it. “I didn’t lie to him.”
Of course, there was no point in saying this. Ares knew my position. I could preach it from the rafters.
“Guys, everything okay?”
My brother’s voice came from the other room, and giving up, I headed that way.
Ares raised his hand again, stopping me. “You’re not the only one who’s complicated,” he said, then pointed to his face. “This happened for a reason, little. We don’t fight over shit like this. We don’t fight. We’re brothers, but this is the second time my buddy came at me since you came around.”
My mouth dried, and Ares’s chin lifted.
He adjusted his hood. “I guess I’m not the only one who feels you’re complicated.”
He lowered his arm after that and went into my brother’s room, and I stood there for a second. I stood there for too long.
Don’t.
I refused to let my mind go anywhere with what he said, and if Ares wasn’t trying to be a friend, he was doing a sucky job at it. He was definitely acing like one.
It seemed the complications didn’t lie with just Dorian and me.