Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Raised voices echo from downstairs.
Ah, shit.
The sound reminds me that the world hasn’t paused to give me time to catch up. It doesn’t care that I’m still trying to piece myself together. At least Ace looks a little less broken now, which makes me breathe somewhat easier.
Ace is alive.
He’s here.
My heart trips over itself, unable to decide if it wants to break or swell.
Later. I’ll think about all of this later. Right now, the voices downstairs are too loud, and my head is pounding.
“They wanted to talk things out.” I swallow, the fear of losing him already curling around my ribs. “Will you… would you come downstairs too? Please? I don’t want to leave you already again.”
His eyes are still guarded, but he nods. “Sure.”
Relief seeps through me as I push the lingering tears on my cheek away with the sleeves of Sylus’s hoodie. I tuck my hands inside the cuffs, needing the fabric to hold onto while I stand. The room tilts, and I have to steady myself against the wall for a moment.
As I follow Ace down the stairs, my steps feel weighted, slow, almost like my brain is cataloging the moment as something of importance and slowing it down for careful filing.
I’m mindful not to touch him, keeping a step or two behind him. His shoulders are curled inward like he’s bracing for impact, and why wouldn’t he be? He was in prison because of me, because of our dumb dare. He got hurt, over and over again, because of me.
All because of me.
He should hate me. He has every reason to.
Tears threaten to spill again, but I breathe through it, pushing the pain down and locking it away. Now isn’t the time to fall apart.
As we reach the bottom step, the hallway opens up to the view of the kitchen. Sylus is leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. When he hears us, he lifts his head, his eyes locking onto mine, a hint of relief flickering in them when he sees Ace with me.
I start to move forward, but fur brushes against my legs. I glance down, startled, and find a tabby cat gazing up at me with green eyes. I can only stare as I try to make sense of it.
“Good Lookin’?” I crouch down, scooping her up more out of instinct than intention, and she nuzzles into my neck right away.
The movement pulls at something in my arm, sharp enough to make me wince, but I ignore it.
“Where the hell have you been?” I glance up at Sylus, my smile wobbling with disbelief. “You brought my cat?”
This boy would do fucking everything for me, and I love him for it.
Wait, love?
Sylus raises an eyebrow, confused. “Your cat?”
“Yes!” I laugh, stroking her fur. “The one I told you about? The stray that comes up to my apartment? How the fuck did you find her? She was gone for so long.” I turn back to Good Lookin’, whispering, “I was so worried about you, you little rascal.”
“Wait.” Ace murmurs from beside me. “That’s my cat. Jinx”
“No. I know my girl. She has a dark speck in her green eyes, and here, there is a splash of white on her chest and a tiny scar near her ear.” I turn her in my arms so she’s laying in them like a baby and show him the scar on her lower belly.
“I took her to get spayed. This is my cat. Or at least the stray that belongs to me. I don’t know where Sylus found her, but—”
“Holy shit.” Ace’s eyes go wide as he stares at Good Lookin’, then Sylus, and back at me. “I remember that. Oscar said she disappeared for a week and came back fixed.”
I stare at Ace, then down at the cat in my arms, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Are you telling me… we’ve had the same cat this whole time?”
“Of course, she’s your cat, Sparkle.” Sylus laughs, leaning back against the counter. “She’s a smart pussy.”
Ace shoots him a cold stare. “Could you not call my cat a pussy?”
“Oh, but that he calls me one is fine?” I huff, thankful for the break from the heavy feelings as I stroke Good Lookin’—Jinx—whatever her name is. “And here I thought you were out there starving,” I murmur to her, and she responds with a loud, contented purr.
Traitor.
“Well, you can fucking leave! Nobody wants you here anyway!” Levi’s outburst from the living room is so unexpected it makes me flinch. My gaze snaps toward the sound, and dread curls low in my stomach.
I already know who he’s yelling at.
Without thinking, I hand the cat over to Sylus. “Hold her.”
He frowns at me and hands her to Ace, but I’m already marching to the living room.
Pain and exhaustion are smothering me, pressing down with the weight of everything I haven’t let myself feel yet.
It all swirls together, louder and sharper than it should be, and I can’t tell if it’s frustration, guilt, or sheer exhaustion clawing at me. Maybe all three.
But I can’t afford to fall apart. Not now.
Not when Nicholas risked so much only to get yelled at.
The scene that greets me in the living room makes my blood boil.
Levi, Ezra, and Koen are standing shoulder to shoulder, glaring at Nicholas like he just declared war.
Nicholas stands on the other side with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, but there’s vulnerability in his eyes.
Oh, hell no.
I stride forward, planting myself directly in front of Levi, shielding Nicholas from his wrath. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I’m glad to see him standing and apparently feeling good enough to cause drama, but I’m not letting him go after Nicholas when he risked so much for us.
Levi’s glare snaps to me. “Stay out of this, Little Bird.”
“No.” I cross my arms. “You don’t get to shout at him like that. Not after what he’s done for us. For you.”
“Little Thief—” Koen starts, but I cut him off.
“I’m talking to Levi,” I say sharply, keeping my eyes locked on him. “What’s your fucking problem?”
“My problem?” Levi’s voice rises again, his eyes blazing.
“My problem is that you not only fucked shit up, no, you also brought him here!” He jabs a finger toward Nicholas, who remains silent.
“And he’s acting like the pampered prince he is, muttering shit that he has to be somewhere.
” Levi looks up at Nicholas over my head.
“Then fucking go! You don’t belong here anyway. ”
Is he fucking kidding me?
“Enough.” I square my shoulders, ignoring the sharp pull in my arm and the way my legs feel unsteady beneath me.
But Levi actually steps back, startled. I get the distinct impression that nobody ever talks back to him when he’s like this.
“Yes, I fucked up,” I admit. “And yes, you have every right to be pissed at me for that. But you have no fucking right to be pissed at him for being here. If it weren’t for Nicholas, both of us would be dead right now.
Not just because of my stupidity but also because of yours. ”
“I was only in there because you weren’t capable of doing what we needed you to do.” Levi’s anger feels sharper than it should, each word landing like a blow on skin that’s already bruised.
“Dove,” Koen warns, but I pay him no mind.
“Yeah? Maybe I’m not capable!” I fire back. “But you weren’t either! What the hell were you even thinking, going in there alone without telling anybody? That was a fucking suicide mission!”
“We need that evidence,” Levi growls out. “She has to pay for what she did to Oscar.”
“I know!” I shout right back. “I know, okay? I’m not arguing with that.
But Nicholas has nothing to do with this.
I went in after you, and I would have never gotten you out without his help.
Do you even know what he did? He carried your unconscious ass out of there.
Carried you, Levi. Did nobody bother to tell you that? ”
Levi’s eyes widen, his anger flickering with uncertainty. He glances up at Nicholas over my head, and I turn to see he’s still standing behind me, his expression clearly unimpressed.
“He did?” Levi questions when his eyes find mine again.
Nicholas scoffs behind me.
“Yes, he did,” I snap, stepping closer to Levi. “He saved your ass and mine. And this bullshit attitude you’ve got? It’s not only ungrateful, it’s disgusting. Stop it. Right. Fucking. Now.”
Levi glares at me, his jaw clenched so tight I can practically hear his teeth grinding. But then something shifts. His shoulders slump, his gaze drops to the floor, and he mutters something under his breath so quietly I can’t catch it.
It’s not an apology, but he stopped yelling, so I take it.
“Good. Now, let’s all calm the fuck down before we say or do anything stupid. Again.” Exhaling sharply, I try to steady the anger still coursing through me when I turn to Nicholas. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He nods once curtly, his lips pressed into a thin line.
But he’s not fine. I can see it in the tightness of his shoulders, the way his hands stay buried deep in his pockets. He avoids my gaze.
“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
From any of us.
Nicholas finally looks at me with hurt or exhaustion, or maybe a mix of both. “It’s fine.”
My fingers brush against his arm, a silent apology. He doesn’t flinch or pull away, but he doesn’t respond either. And somehow, that hurts more than rejection would have. “You said you needed to be somewhere?”
“It’s over now anyway,” he replies, with a shrug that’s not as nonchalant as he probably wants it to be.
Then it hits me.
It’s Wednesday.
“Oh no. The parkour training? Nico, I’m so sorry.”
He shrugs again, the motion even more stiff and unconvincing. “It’s not a big deal. I just… forgot to let them know it wasn’t happening.”
“You’re still doing parkour?” Koen speaks up.
Nicholas doesn’t answer and avoids his gaze.
“He’s not just doing it.” I step in before Nicholas can downplay it further. “He’s teaching kids. It’s amazing. He’s amazing with them.”
Nicholas glances down at me, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
“That’s… pretty cool,” Koen says after a beat.
“As if you’d care.” Nicholas huffs.
“Right…” Koen smirks faintly, his tone turning defensive. “I don’t.”
Oh my God. They are worse than children.