Chapter 17 Mia
I felt the bed dip, and I opened my eyes, noticing that the room was darker than when I had lain down, and I felt the comforter over me.
“Brute?” I whispered, sleepiness making my voice low and scratchy.
I recognized his disgruntled snort. “Yeah, it’s Brute, go back to sleep.”
“You’re in bed with me?”
“I’m under the covers, you’re on them,” he assured me as I heard him get comfortable.
“I’m cold.”
I heard him still, and then he sighed. “Okay, we’ll switch.”
“What do you mean?” I asked groggily as I sat up, frustrated with the darkness, as I couldn’t see anything.
“I’ll go top, you can go under,” he explained quietly, and I heard him get off the bed. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he teased, and I giggled in the dark.
Once I was under the covers and he was on top, I was still cold. “This room’s like an ice box,” I muttered.
“I turned the heat down. I was too hot.”
“I’ll be warmer soon,” I lied as I felt a chill spread over me.
“Okay, go to sleep.”
His voice was heavy with tiredness, and although I wasn’t sure of the time, I knew it was late. Or early morning, more like. “Where were you?” I asked him as I lay there in the darkness, shivering.
“I went home,” he answered gruffly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m really cold,” I told him honestly.
“I covered you when I came in, but you were sound asleep. I’ll go see if Jett has a blanket.” I heard him move again, and my arm shot out to grab him. Surprisingly, I caught him the first time.
“No, it’s okay, it’s because I’m tired.”
“Then go to sleep.” I heard the light humor, and I smiled in the dark.
“I’m sorry you lost.” The room was quiet as he settled back down on the bed.
“Me too.”
“They smashed your new TV.” I turned onto my side to face him in the dark. “And your room looks like three bombs went off in it.”
I heard his long sigh. “Yeah, the twins told me. I’m sorry about your apartment.”
“Campus police said it’s mostly cosmetic, apart from the TV.”
“Red, the TV is replaceable; I’m just glad you weren’t at home.” I felt him shift on the bed again. “You went out?”
Flopping over to my back, I let out a loud groan. “Not you too! I already heard this from the terrible twosome and Ava.”
“Okay, we can talk in the morning,” he told me tiredly. “I need to sleep, Red.”
I shivered again, and I tried to stay silent as I could hear how tired he was. Didn’t his parents live over three hours away, and he went home? The guys had called him back, and he had played today; how was he even still awake?
The more I thought about how cold I was, the colder I got. I was only wearing shorts I borrowed from Quinn, with Ash’s practice jersey. I needed more clothes.
Turning, I curled into a ball, hoping that by making myself smaller, I would warm up faster. I heard a heavy sigh and then a grunt, and Ash got off the bed. Where was he going now?
The covers lifted, and then he was sliding into bed beside me, and I could already feel that he was hot, with the heat radiating enticingly off him. Without a word, he pulled me into him and then deftly rolled me onto my side, a strong arm curled around my waist, my back pulled into his chest.
“Um . . .”
“Red, be quiet,” he mumbled as he tucked me closer into his body.
“Okay.” Stretching out, I felt warmer already. “Thank you.”
He huffed out a breath, and I felt his arm tighten as his chin rested lightly on my shoulder. I was almost asleep when I jerked awake to his quiet question.
“You hook up with Denzel?”
“He walked me home,” I answered honestly.
“Why?”
“So I wasn’t alone . . .”
The strong, immovable band that was his arm flexed around me. “Thought it was no hookups in the apartment?” Even as tired as he had to be, he sounded irritated.
He had no right to judge me after what I’d learned this afternoon. “You get hand relief from the team doctor?” I snarked back and instantly regretted it. I didn’t want him to know it niggled at me.
His chest rumbled with a low laugh, and I couldn’t deny that it caused my toes to curl in delight. “You always act out when you’re jealous?” Ash asked me. His lips were against my ear, his breath causing my insides to jump up in anticipation.
“I wasn’t!” I tried to turn my head fully, but I felt how close his lips were to mine. His fingers moved over my rib cage, and I moved into his touch, greedy for the feel of his fingers tightening over the shirt I was wearing. “What are you doing?” I whispered in the dark.
He didn’t move away, and I dared not turn my head any further. “Nothing. Go to sleep, Red.” Ash moved his head away, and almost reluctantly, I turned around, once again facing away from him.
Within moments, I heard his breath even out, and closing my eyes, I willed the blanket of sleep to cover me.
* * *
I woke up pressed against his body. Our legs were entangled, his arm was around my shoulders, and my head seemed to have chosen his chest as its pillow of choice.
Moving my head slightly, I saw that Ash was still sound asleep.
His long lashes were resting on his cheeks, and I had the insane urge to stroke them to see if they felt as soft as they looked.
His hair fell over his forehead, and I lay staring at him like a stalker before my bladder made it known it needed attention.
With some skillful maneuvering, I disentangled myself and got out of bed. When I was finished in the bathroom, I saw he was still dead to the world. Knowing he needed to sleep some more, I crept across the floor and exited his bedroom.
In the living room, I found a handful of players along with Ava, who was curled up into Jett’s side as they discussed yesterday’s game. When she saw me, she excused herself and followed me into the kitchen, where I was searching for the coffee cups.
“He still sleeping?” Ava asked as she went to another cupboard and retrieved a cup for me.
“Yeah, he must have been exhausted,” I replied as I gratefully accepted the coffee cup.
“How are you?” Ava asked me as she looked over to where Quinn and Gray were coming in through the front door, both wearing running gear and both looking flushed from their morning run.
“Why did they target our apartment?” I asked quietly as I watched Quinn and Gray speak to Jett and then both go upstairs.
“I think it’s because Ash is there,” Ava said reluctantly.
“So, if I had stayed alone, like I asked, I would still have an apartment that hadn’t been vandalized?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can’t you see how crazy this is?” I asked, placing my cup down with more force than I should have.
Reaching out, Ava caught my hand. “Please, just wait until Ash is awake so we can all discuss it.”
Looking over at the guys in the living area, I met Jett’s cool appraisal, and with a sniff, I turned my back on him. “Like I have any choice.”
“Mee.” Ava’s voice was soft, and I could hear the sadness in it, but I didn’t care if she was sad at the fact that I thought her boyfriend was a controlling jerk.
“You know, all week, I’ve had my life messed with.
On Sunday, I have the worst afternoon to date in college.
Not only do I get barged in on in a compromising position, but I gain a new roommate.
Then my apartment, my apartment, gets overhauled because my new roommate doesn’t like my fridge.
Or his bed. Or the shower. Or anything in my apartment that isn’t bigger or better than it was.
” I knew my voice was rising, but I didn’t care.
“Then not content with rearranging my week, my weekend gets dictated too, because I have to be chaperoned everywhere because of something that does not involve me.” I saw Ava’s widening eyes, but I was in full flow.
“Then, just when I thought, you know, I’ll do something to make me feel better, to get control of my week back again, my apartment gets broken into and vandalized.
So, tell me, Ava, how does my best friend, who’s known me since I was four years old, stand there, right there in front of me, and reprimand me for me rightly saying we’re on a crazy train and I want off! ”
“Are you done?” The glacial tone behind me didn’t even stem my anger.
Turning, I looked at Gray, who stood there with his arms folded across his chest, the splint now a simple strapping, hard, cold eyes fixed on me. “I don’t know, am I?” It was a taunt, and he knew it.
“My understanding was that you were here to do music, not amateur dramatics.”
Jerkface. “Your understanding was correct. My understanding is that my home would be fine right now if I didn’t have your cousin living in it.”
“He’s there at the request of your best friend.” Gray leaned forward slightly as if he were telling me a secret. “I never wanted him around your type anyway.”
“My type?” I asked him incredulously.
Gray ran his eyes over me critically. “You know.” His hand waved dismissively. “Desperate.”
“Des . . . desperate?” I spluttered in outrage. “Desperate?”
“You hard of hearing? What’s the matter? Hit your head one too many times off the headboard?”
“Who the heck do you think you are?” I took a furious step toward him as my temper soared.
“I don’t think I’m anyone; I know exactly who I am, and I know exactly who you are.”
“Enough!” Ash came barreling into the kitchen and actually stood between us. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Your cousin has an overinflated ego and a shockingly poor personality,” I snapped.
Gray said nothing. My words mattered little to him, and I wish I could say the same, but his words hurt.
Turning to Ava, it annoyed me more than his words did that she’d remained silent.
“I’m going home to fix the mess your new friends have caused.
” I was proud that my tone was calm and my voice steady.
“I’m not coming back. It’s quite clear I’m not welcome, and I really don’t like to mingle with thugs. ”
“Thugs?” Jett asked. I hadn’t noticed him crossing the floor and coming to stand beside his twin.
Turning to him, I smiled sweetly. Had Ava, my supposed best friend, been able to see, she would have known it wasn’t a positive thing.
“Why yes, thugs. Thugs who bully girls to get them to do what they want. Thugs who threaten to get people thrown out of college. Thugs who like to run around and cause damage in the dark.” I looked scathingly at the twins.
“You bring trouble to your family and your friends, and you don’t even care.
No, wait.” I frowned thoughtfully. “You do care, about yourselves. No one else.”
With a glance at Ava, who stood looking stunned by the entire exchange, I spoke to her. “I won’t be back. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine the further I am away from them.”
With my back straight and my face clear of emotion, I walked past the twins and exited the living area. Climbing the stairs swiftly, I willed myself to keep it together. I would not let either one of those jerkfaces see me cry.
Quinn was coming down the stairs, her hair damp, I assumed from a shower. She halted when she saw me, and I saw the smile fade.
“Mia? What’s wrong?”
“I’m going home,” I told her as I passed, hoping she didn’t follow.
“It isn’t safe,” she started to protest.
Stopping, I turned back to look at her. “Yes, it is. For me.” She went to speak, and I cut her off.
“I am truly, truly sorry for everything you have gone through, Quinn, I am. You seem to be a really nice person, and I’m sorry that happened to you.
I even feel bad for the jerk downstairs, but your problems are only my problems if I’m with you.
Or associated with you.” I knew how selfish it sounded, and I no longer cared.
“My home got targeted because of who moved in. The people causing you issues aren’t interested in me.
I wish you well, and I know with the psycho that you call boyfriend, they will be sorry for whatever they try to bring your way.
But it is not for me to get involved with.
” She looked as dumbstruck as Ava at my outburst. “I’m sorry, it’s just .
. . it’s just not my drama.” Shrugging almost in apology, I turned and ran up the stairs.
I locked the bedroom door behind me and quickly changed back into my dress from last night.
Gray’s hard words were ringing in my ears. Desperate? I didn’t care who he was — he had no right to talk to me like that. He didn’t know me, and he had no basis for his judgment.
Ava herself had said that it was probably because of Ash that they broke in. Not me. I was not involved, but I would be if I stayed.
Wiping my eyes quickly, ignoring the telltale dampness, I quickly shook my hair out with my fingers forming a quick comb.
Mama always said to never let them see you falter, never let them know you’re scared.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the bedroom door and pushed aside my disappointment that Ava wasn’t waiting.
I would have been waiting for her.
This was the second time in as many weeks that I was rushing out of this darn house. I should have known better than to get involved.
At the foot of the stairs, Ash stood waiting. “Red . . .”
“My name is Mia,” I told him quietly.
His shoulders slumped a little, but he didn’t move from his spot. “Can we talk?”
Standing on the second stair, I was almost eye level with him. Without thought, I reached out, and my hand cupped his cheek. “No, we had fun, Brute, but you can go home. I’m a big girl, and those people aren’t looking for me.”
“What if they are?”
“I’ll be okay.” I pressed a kiss to his cheek, surprising us both. “Sleep more, you look exhausted.” Sidestepping him, I walked to the door and opened it.
I didn’t look back, and as I walked away from the house, I was very much aware of the fact that my best friend hadn’t followed me.