Chapter 40
B lake
My mom had said not to push, but I hated to see Ren like this. She was a force, and seeing her closed off made me feel useless. Myles was no better. He was keeping a straight face in front of her, but the moment he stepped outside the bedroom door, he was a mess.
She’d hardly said two words since Saturday.
She wasn’t eating, and it didn’t matter what we grabbed for her.
We would purposely sit at the small table in the room and talk about class and what work was assigned or something funny that happened, but she never came over or said a word.
The only time she got out of bed was to shower five times a day.
We could hear her crying, but as soon as she stepped out into the bedroom, she was composed like nothing ever happened.
This was the most interaction I’d seen from her in days.
I was working on a new song and going through the melody in my head as my fingers strummed the strings when she peeked into my side of the room.
I didn’t say anything, and I tried not to watch Ren as she came over to sit on my bed.
I stopped to pencil in some notes and then started at the beginning and hummed as I played.
“That’s really pretty,” she said, and I flashed her a smile.
“Thanks. It’s new.” She leaned her head back against the wall, and her eyes closed. I didn’t stop when I reached the end of what I’d written down. I just started over again. “Do you want to play a game?”
Her eyes opened a crack. “A game? What kind of game?”
“I’m going to play a song, and you see how quickly you can name it.” This was a long shot, but she sat up straighter and nodded. “Alright, let’s start easy.”
I played the intro to one of my favorite songs. “ Thunderstruck by ACDC,” she said, and I smiled.
“Okay, how about this one,” I said. I rocked as I got into the song and hummed.
“Hmm…is it Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls?”
“Yes,” I said excitedly as her mouth twitched up.
It felt like a victory. “Want another?” She nodded, her eyes brightening.
“You are getting these too quickly. On to a tougher one,” I said, trying to hide my smile as her face turned all intense and focused on my fingers.
I started the next song, and she tapped her chin and closed her eyes as she listened.
“I don’t know,” she said and looked defeated. I started the song over, and this time, I sang while I played. I loved how this song let me growl to the lyrics.
“Oh, oh…it’s…oh… Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch,” she said and smiled wide as I nodded but kept playing. Tossing the guitar strap over my head, I stood and got into the song. I let loose, which I rarely ever did, and sang like I was performing on stage rather than in my school bedroom.
“Bad Company until the day I die,” I sang.
If I had to, I would sing all day until I lost my voice as Ren stood up and danced around.
Getting creative, I flowed in and out of songs, mixing them and laughing as she sang along.
Ren couldn’t hold a tune to save her life.
It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, but more importantly, she was still in there, and relief washed over me.
I played one last rift and stopped. Ren smiled as she danced the couple steps to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Thank you,” she said, and my arm snaked around her waist as my lips hovered over hers. When she didn’t jump away, I touched mine to hers and waited for any sign that she wasn’t comfortable. My pulse pounding hard as she opened her mouth for me.
“What am I missin’ out on in here,” Myles said, teasing her as he came into the room. Ren smiled at him but didn’t step away.
“Hello, Snowflake,” he said, dropping his keys on my desk before stepping up behind her. “Do I get a kiss from these sweet lips? I’ll get down and beg if ya want?”
“Just kiss me,” Ren ordered, and the energy in the room shifted as they kissed. I was thankful that my guitar hid what watching them was doing to me.
Myles groaned, breaking the kiss. “God, I’ve missed these lips. It’s great to see ya smilin’, Snowflake.”
“I’m feeling a little like myself, and I was wondering if I could ask a favor?”
“Anythin’, you name it. It’s yours,” Myles said as I stepped away and set the guitar down, needing to put some breathing room between us before it became too obvious what my body wanted.
“Ice cream.”
Myles’s face lit up. “Easy, I’ll bring ya the entire store.”
“Actually, do you two think you can get me out of here? I need to see something outside of these walls, but I’m not sure I want to face anyone downstairs yet,” she said, shoving her arms into the hoodie she was draped in.
I was going to buy her an entire collection of my favorite sweaters for her to wear. I loved seeing her in them.
“I’ll text my mom,” I said. “She seems to have a way to get permission to get you off the property. Maybe she’ll white lie for us and say you have a checkup or something.”
“You think she’d do that for me?”
I lifted my shoulder and let it drop. “I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot.
Safer than the trunk.” Grabbing my phone, I stepped out into the hallway to give them some time alone.
Myles had been working every night on the new business that I had yet to see.
He said it was therapy to demolish walls for a few hours, but it meant that he wasn’t around as much as I was.
There was a good chance that tomorrow she would want to hide from the world again, so if we could make her feel a semblance of normal for a couple of hours…
I’d do whatever I needed to make that happen.
M yles
“It’s so fuckin’ good to see you smile,” I said, cupping Ren’s face. The light was back in her eyes, and the pink in her cheeks. Before she could say anything, I kissed her lips softly and sucked on her bottom lip like it was candy. “Ya know I’d do anythin’ to keep this look in yer eyes.”
“I know, and I love you for that and for not pushing me. I’m trying…I really don’t want to hide in here forever.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I took the chance. I picked her up, and her legs hooked around my waist.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she held me tighter, and I hated to admit it, but Nash had been right.
I was fucking terrified that she would blame me for not being there when she needed me.
Axel’s words were an endless nightmare, his laugh picking at my brain.
Nash said that holding what Axel did against me didn’t seem like something Princess would do.
It was entertaining to watch him jump through hoops as he denied how he felt, but I could see it in him.
Nash was falling for Ren. My only concern was what it would mean when he finally realized what he wanted.
Nash knew more about her than anyone he had dated, and that screamed loud and clear that the same bug had bitten him.
I wouldn’t say that to him, though. He’d laugh and then punch me in the face.
“There is no right timeline, so don’t be tryin’ to race out of the room because it’s what ya think is right. Healin’ is not a race ya can win, Snowflake. But I’m here for ya no matter what.” Her eyes searched my face before locking with mine. “Why are ya starin’ at me like that?”
“I’m trying to figure out how I got so lucky.”
My face fell. “Naw, it’s me that’s the lucky one.” I leaned in to kiss her, but the door opened, and Ren jumped and looked away.
“Terrible timin’ man,” I grumbled as Blake walked in. I stood and put Ren on her feet.
“Mom says she’ll make a few calls, but we can only go out if we all go. Like Theo, Liam, and Nash, maybe Ivy and Chantry, too. She was insistent on it.” My brow furrowed. That was weird, but if Ren noticed, she didn’t say and instead smiled and said she’d get ready to go.
Blake shrugged, answering my silent question.
I didn’t like it. What did Ella know that she wasn’t saying, and why was everyone so concerned?
There were so few reasons that made sense, but all of them painted a target on her back, and that worried me.
The girl was going to give me an ulcer, but I’d still love her and drink a bottle of antacid every day. That was how fucking happy she made me.