Chapter 7
Alex Junior
Olivia
Ieye the wicked bruise Theo magically woke up with this morning on the side of his face. “So are you going to tell me how you got that or am I going to have to guess?” I ask him since he still hasn’t said anything about it.
He pauses at my question, his spoon laden with steaming porridge halfway to his mouth as he flicks his gaze from Alex to me.
The three of us are the only people sitting outside in the freezing cold, huddled around a small fire Rhys started.
Harlow snuggles up next to me, watching me eat with a keen gaze in case I drop any food.
Everyone else grabbed their food and raced back inside, where it’s marginally warmer.
Except for Rhys. I’m not entirely sure where he is. Probably patrolling around the wooded area that surrounds the house we stayed in overnight, scowling at the trees and bushes like they personally offended him.
“I walked into something,” Theo mumbles before shoving the spoon into his mouth and avoiding my gaze.
I cock an eyebrow. “Really?” Has Theo always been this bad a liar?
He nods and shovels more food into his mouth.
Alex suspiciously does the same, both of them staring hard at their porridge like it’ll give them the secrets to the universe.
At least the thick tension that’s been between them for the past several days is gone, replaced with whatever the hell this is.
My eyes narrow as I place my half-eaten breakfast on the frozen ground in front of me and study them.
Apart from the black and blue bruise on Theo’s face, neither of them look any different than they did yesterday.
Maybe a little more well-rested, if the lack of dark circles around their eyes is any indication, and Alex isn’t looking at us with icy blankness.
So it doesn’t take a genius to understand that something happened between them last night.
Something involving Theo’s face, and Alex’s very obviously bruised knuckles.
Hmm.
“So how did you walk into Alex’s fist?”
Theo chokes on a mouthful of food, and Alex immediately jumps into action, slapping his friend on the back.
“W-what makes you say that?” Theo says, having recovered from his choking.
Alex moves back to his spot in front of the fire as he trains his gaze on me, his blue eyes wide with shock and alarm.
“Seriously? Half your face is a different colour and Alex’s fist isn’t exactly looking pristine either.”
I’d laugh if I wasn’t so annoyed that they thought they could hide something like this from me. As if I wouldn’t notice the bruises or the change in how they interact with one another when just yesterday, Alex was doing his damnedest to avoid us at all costs while giving us nothing but cold looks.
Idiots.
Theo blows out a breath. “We didn’t want to worry you.”
“So you tried to lie instead?” I flick my gaze to Alex. “Are you at least going to tell me why you punched him?”
Alex shifts, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation as he fidgets with his half-eaten pot of food. “Things got heated, and I… lost control.” He swallows hard, his eyes darting everywhere but at me.
Theo huffs. “What he won’t tell you is that I definitely deserved it. I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have and basically goaded the poor guy into punching me. The fact that I walked away with only this bruise is a miracle.”
Alex grimaces and shakes his head. “I wouldn’t say he deserved it.”
“I would.”
“Theo…”
“Alex.”
The two of them fall silent and glare at each other.
My God, these men… “Have you at least sorted whatever caused the fight?” While I’d rather they didn’t punch one another, if it means they no longer have this weird chasm between them, then they can punch each other as much as they like.
Within reason.
Theo is the first to break their little stare down. “Mostly,” he says with a casual shrug.
“Mostly? What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means I might get a good punch in the face in the future.” He pauses. “Or Alex will.”
Alex nods as if that’s a reasonable answer.
I sigh and shake my head. Men.
Twigs snap beneath boots, causing all three of us to tense until Rachel walks into view. She’s bundled up in a thick coat and a hat with a pot and spoon clutched to her chest.
“I’d say good morning, but it’s not,” she says with a heavy sigh as she plonks onto the ground next to me and nestles her pot into the fire to heat. Harlow’s bum wiggles on the ground as she wags her tail, causing Rachel to chuckle and stroke the dog.
“Didn’t sleep well?” I ask as I resume eating my breakfast. The guys do the same.
“I slept fine. It was when I woke up that shit started hitting the fan. I had to break up a fight between two idiots who were convinced that the other had stolen a packet of crisps. Turns out it was a completely different person, which only pissed them off further. I had to threaten them with bodily harm in order for them to calm the fuck down.” She shakes her head and glances around, doing a double-take when she catches the bruise on Theo’s face.
“Damn. Who’s fist did you get acquainted with? ” she asks with a low whistle.
Theo scowls at her. “How do you know it was someone’s fist?”
The smile that spreads across her face is a little terrifying. “I’ve punched enough people in my time to know what it looks like when one connects with someone’s face.” Her gaze flicks over to Alex, cataloguing the bruising on his knuckles with a chuckle. “You boys already fighting over Ollie?”
I scoff at the ridiculous question. “No one’s fighting over me, Rachel.”
Theo smirks. “Are you sure about that, princess?”
My stomach drops and my eyes widen. “Please tell me you weren’t…”
Theo’s grin grows, but he says nothing.
Thankfully, Alex puts me out of my misery. “We weren’t fighting over you,” he says while shooting his friend an exasperated look. “Although don’t take that to mean you aren’t worth fighting over.” He turns to me, a knowing look in his eyes.
“Definitely worth fighting over.” Theo winks as his grin turns devilish and his heated gaze rakes over my body.
I suppress a shiver as memories of his lips and fingers on my skin flash in my mind.
“Ugh, get a room,” Rachel says, reminding me that we aren’t alone.
Theo chuckles and leans back against a tree. “We do. We have an entire forest. You’re free to leave whenever.”
“I think I’ll stomach the flirting over having to break up another pointless fight, thanks.” She reaches for the now steaming pot that’s been sitting in the fire and digs into her breakfast. “Thanks for the offer, though.”
We eat in comfortable silence with the only sounds being the scraping of metal spoons against the pots, Harlow’s contented snores, and the birds singing in the forest. There’s the occasional squawk and chirp from Ketchup as she flutters from tree to tree above us.
It’s peaceful and relaxing, something I haven’t really had since we freed these people and ran from the Scourge.
Unfortunately, our peace is soon ruined by the stomping of feet and annoyed huffing from the very last person I want to see.
“Where’s Rhys?” Jerri demands as she steps into the small clearing.
She still has a foul attitude, one that’s been grating on a lot of people, especially since she’s still refusing to help with simple tasks like collecting water and helping to set up camps at night.
That, combined with the constant catty fights between various people in the group, is only adding to the rising tension.
Alex’s constant avoidance of me and Theo weren’t helping either, but maybe that’s no longer an issue if Theo’s bruised face is anything to go by.
The guys say nothing and continue eating as if Jerri isn’t there. I want to do the same, not wanting anything to do with the woman, but poor Rachel has been dealing with people all morning. It’s time I helped.
“He’s not here,” I say as I place my mostly eaten breakfast in front of Harlow and softly give her the go-ahead to finish it.
Jerri makes a noise of disgust. “Of course you’d be the type of person to let your dog eat out of your bowl.”
Theo’s eyes snap to hers. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks sharply, clearly done ignoring her.
She waves him off. “You know what I meant. Where’s Rhys?” She poses her demand to Rachel this time.
The other woman shrugs. “What Ollie said; not here.”
Jerri huffs. “Fucking men. Always gone when you need them,” she mutters with a scowl. “Tell him to get his useless ass in gear and find me when you see him.” She storms off back towards the house, all of us glaring at her back.
I shake my head. “What a delightful person.” The sarcasm in my voice is thick.
Alex snorts and offers Harlow his leftovers, which she happily takes, her bum wagging as she licks the pot clean. “You have no idea.”
“Still don’t know what Rhys saw in that harpy,” Theo says as he hands Alex his pot to give to Harlow. “He says some bullshit about how she was different back then, but she honestly wasn’t. He was just blinded by love, or at the very least, a need to be wanted.”
“I don’t think you have any room to talk about previous partners and being blind about who they really are.” Alex shoots him a dry look, causing him to wince.
“Okay harsh, but fair.”
I frown as the two of them exchange looks, doing that thing where they have a silent conversation between each other.
What’s that all about? I want to ask, but I’m all too aware that they’ve only just patched things up between them.
The last thing I want is for this to devolve into another fist fight because I brought up the past.
Rachel hums and nods in agreement. “I was like that with my first boyfriend. I was infatuated with him and only realised what a dick he was after we broke up.”
Oh, that sounds familiar.
Both Theo and Alex pin me with knowing looks, and I grimace. “In my defence, I knew from the beginning that Ethan was a dick. I just didn’t care.” Or was too desperate not to.
“That doesn’t make it any better,” Theo says with a frown.