21. Wren
WREN
“Wren, no.”
I stumble backward at Stone’s rebuttal when I make the decision to tell Evan the truth. The sternness on his face throws me off balance because it’s weird for him to suddenly act protective. Evan glances between Stone and me with a little crease on his forehead.
“Yes.” I move toward them both.
The hallway isn’t long by any means, but it feels never-ending with their eyes glued to me. The rest of my housemates are in the kitchen, talking amongst themselves, so I lay it out in the open, rushing through something I’ve buried for years.
“The day he got arrested…” I start, leaning back on the wall with my arms crossed over my chest for protection. Protection from what? Evander hating me, I guess. “It was my fault.”
“Wren.”
Stone’s tone sends shivers down my arms, but I refuse to look at those soul-sucking blue eyes that caressed every inch of my body last night.
“Stop it.”
I ignore Stone and look at Evan. He’s waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets, resting against the wall opposite of me. The space between us feels just as big as the wedge that I know is going to make a dent in our trust.
“How was it your fault?”
I gulp and look down at my shoes. My feet hurt from my shift, but I stay ramrod straight and suck in tears.
“I knew the drug dogs were at school that day because when I went out to your car to take a nap, I saw them and freaked out.” A shaky breath leaves me, and I’m pretty certain the entire house is listening, because you can hear a pin drop.
“My dad gave me a package that morning, and though I didn’t look, I knew it was drugs. ”
Shit. Why is this so hard to relive?
I run my hands down my face and continue to stare at my shoes.
The memory is a broken record repeating itself over and over again.
“I didn’t want you to get in trouble, and I didn’t want your parents to hate me.
They were the only stable adults I had in my life.
” My voice breaks, and I try to move past the lump in my throat.
Stone steps forward and moves beside me. Our arms brush, and I glance at the touch.
“So she put the drugs underneath the carriage of my truck, knowing the dogs would sniff it out, and you’d be in the clear.”
“What?” Evan’s whisper is a slap against my cheek. He hates me. I know it.
“I’m sorry,” I choke. “I just knew that Stone would get a slap on the wrist because of his dad. If I was the one caught, I’d lose my scholarship, and I couldn’t fathom it. It was my only way out, and if you were the one who got caught, your parents would be buried in court fees and—”
“Stop.”
My neck cracks when I look at Evan. Stone steps forward, like he’s prepared to rescue me if Evan tells me to get out, but instead of Evan looking at me, he looks at Stone.
“So you knew? And you never told me?”
Stone shrugs but says nothing. He doesn’t deny it, and he doesn’t offer an explanation.
Evan moves his attention to me. “And that’s why you let him bully you? Because you think you deserve it?”
“I do deserve it,” I reply. “And if you want me to mov—”
“Did.” Stone’s hand wraps around my upper arm.
I inhale at his touch. It’s sincere, and I have no idea what to do or how to act. Stone isn’t a nice guy, especially to me.
“You did deserve my coldness, but I didn’t know how bad it was. I didn’t think things were so black and white or life and death. Now, though…”
Evan puts his hands on his hips and blows out an exasperated breath. He stares a hole at Stone’s grip on my upper arm. “I never thought I’d see the day that you, Stone Foster, would put someone else before yourself.”
“He’s gone soft!” Archer yells from the kitchen, staying hidden behind the wall.
Stone scoffs and drops his hand from my arm.
Evan rolls his lips with hidden laughter, but I don’t find anything amusing.
“You’re not angry? I got your best friend locked away behind bars, hauled out of school in handcuffs.”
“I’m not angry. No.”
I am thankful, don’t get me wrong, but there is a sickening part of me that wants Evan to be angry, because whether Stone and Evan agree, I do deserve it.
I brought doom to Stone two years ago, and it was the entire reason he posted a stupid picture of me and let my father know of my whereabouts, and now, doom is coming for us all.
Someone was in our house, in my stupid little nook of a bedroom.
“I put the tension in your friendship and caused so many fights between you two.” I waft my hand out into the air, aware that I’m spiraling. “My past is coming to bite me in the ass, and you are all involved because I live here. Actually, you know what, I’m gonna move ou—”
Stone comes around and puts his hand over my mouth, silencing me. I try to elbow him, but he’s too quick and dodges the blow.
“Be. Quiet.”
I bite his palm. He hisses between his teeth, but his laughter fills my ear.
“I haven’t gone soft despite what everyone in this house is currently thinking. I’ll bite you back, Sticks.”
He eventually drops my hand, and everyone is watching us go head to head. His glare is cold and hot at the same time, sending little shivers all over my body at the thought of his teeth skimming my skin.
There’s a snicker of laughter from down the hall, and I cross my arms, leveling my housemates with a withering stare that they all laugh at. “I’m moving out.”
“Over my dead fucking body.” Stone’s hands dip into his pockets, and he walks over to Evan, leaning on the same wall, waiting for my reaction.
“Over all our dead bodies,” Grant adds.
“Ugh!” I yell and stomp down the hall to my room.
I hate myself for the feeling of relief, because I know I’m being selfish.
My housemates are beefy and have too much testosterone, making them more lethal than most— especially on the ice—but they’re nothing compared to guns.
And that’s exactly the type of weapon my father and his sick friends bring to every fight.
There is no law they won’t break to get what they want and, furthermore, to taste revenge on their tongues.
I fling open the door to the closet— my room —and stand in disbelief.
There’s bubbling laughter from the kitchen, and I bare my teeth.
I spin, and Evan and Stone are both looking to the ceiling like the Mona Lisa is painted up there or something.
Evan’s lips are pulled into his mouth, and Stone’s tongue is pressed to the inside of his cheek as he pretends nothing is unusual.
“Where the hell is my stuff?” I ask, staring directly at Stone because I know he’s the only one who would do this.
He slowly lowers his head and serves me with one raised eyebrow. “Hm?”
“Stone,” I bark. “What did I say about going into my room?”
“You mean the closet?” He shrugs. “The door is broken. You’ll have to relocate until we fix it.”
“Relocate?”
There is something familiar in his eye, and I’m beginning to read him very well. He walks over to me, and everyone else fades away.
“Yep,” Stone says, gripping my chin. “You’re staying with me now, Sticks.”
No.
I open my mouth to protest, but suddenly, I’m flying through the air and end up dangling over his broad shoulder. “Stone!” I yell through the jostling. I look at my foster brother. “Evander! Do something.”
“Sorry, sis.” He grins. “But it’s for your own good.”
I’m shocked and unsure of how I feel about Evan and Stone no longer having their little disagreement over me. “Are you guys seriously tag-teaming me now?”
Stone’s grip on me tightens when we reach the top of the stairs. “No one will be tag-teaming when it comes to you.”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that, Stone! Gross. He’s my brother.”
His chuckle vibrates against my chest, and eventually, I stop trying to escape and sway over his shoulder because what’s the point? I can’t even escape from him inside my head.
“Welcome to your new room.” He drops me down onto the bed and flicks his chin at my purple pillow. It’s closest to the wall, right next to his. “That’s your side.”
I hear the lock of the bedroom door and stay quiet. He comes over and flops down beside me.
“And this side is mine.”
Great.