Chapter 28
LOCHLAN
Drago
Jesus Christ.
Ronan
Holy fuck. She going to be okay??
Achilles
Yeah, she is. They pumped her stomach and have her hooked up to a saline drip. She’s going to be fine.
Me
Thanks to you, speed demon. Fuck, man.
Drago
You need us to bring anything?
Achilles
No, thanks. We’ll probably leave soon. Her parents are here now.
Achilles
That Laz Kislev motherfucker is, too.
Ronan
Lol, what’s your beef with Laz?
Drago
Yeah, isn’t that her dad’s friend?
Achilles
Fucker doesn’t need to be here.
I snort.
To the casual observer, Achilles' weird animosity toward Wren Antonov’s father’s buddy would make no sense. But I happen to be fluent in “broody Achilles”, and I’m pretty sure I know exactly where this is coming from.
To back up: Achilles is currently at Greenwich Hospital, after driving Yelena and her friends there with a barely breathing Wren. That’s what had Galina bolting white-faced from my grasp with barely an explanation.
I don’t blame her. Her friend nearly died tonight.
Wren’s going to be okay. But she rolled up to the hospital with a 0.34% blood alcohol level, which is nearly high enough to kill a full-grown man, never mind a nineteen-year-old college girl weighing a hundred and twenty pounds.
Achilles has just officially brought our group chat up to speed, but I’ve been getting details from him privately over the last couple of hours.
Galina has been completely unreachable.
Which, again, I totally understand.
I know she’s not checking her phone, but I switch to our DMs and send her one more all the same.
The Ghost Prince
I’m here for whatever you need, baby.
Still no reply. I get it.
She’s got other things to worry about right now aside from her favorite masked stalker.
While I wait, I amuse myself considering exactly why Achilles is so butt-hurt about Wren’s dad’s friend being there.
One of the reasons Galina, Yelena, Wren, and Lucia are all friends in the first place is because their fathers are all best buddies who go way back.
But while the rest of them found partners years ago, got married, and had kids, Laz Kislev, who runs the Kislev Bratva, stayed a bachelor until recently, when he married Wren’s ex-boyfriend’s mother.
It barely lasted a few months. Word is, they’re in the middle of getting divorced.
Anyway, I’m willing to bet money that Achilles has his panties in a twist about Laz’s presence because Laz is, one, very friendly with Yelena and her friends, having known them their whole lives, and two, a criminally good-looking motherfucker.
Add “good looking older guy” to “being overly friendly and familiar with Yelena De Luca” and you get “cartoonishly overprotective and possessive Achilles.”
I mean, that’s just basic math.
I’m also lowkey amused that Achilles still hasn’t just come out and said he and Yelena are a thing. But I guess they have their reasons for keeping it quiet.
…I mean, it’s not like I’m over here shouting my situation from the rooftops.
I frown, dropping into the leather chair by my bedroom window.
The thing is, I want to shout it from the rooftops.
I want to tell the whole fucking world about Galina. I want to glare into the face of every fucking man I walk past with her, so that they know she’s mine.
I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. I might not be spying on Galina in her room anymore. I really did remove the cameras the night she got dosed at The Reckless party. But I can still read her like at least a semi-open book.
I know she wants more from this. I’m ready to give her that, and then some. I’ve completely fallen for Galina. Entirely, recklessly, and hopelessly.
But I can see that she’s scared, and I know why. She’s worried about what happens when this whole thing stops being a fantasy role-play. She’s worried about what’ll change or if I'll become “too real” once I lose the mask.
Right now, I’m her masked book boyfriend who breaks into her room at night or pins her in the shadows somewhere semi-public around campus and makes her shatter. After that, she can go back to her real world.
But if I take the mask off, she loses the separation. I won’t just be a BookTok fantasy. I’ll be her actual partner.
I know she knows at this point. I mean, there’ve been some hints. But purposefully marking my neck the other day and then looking right at the concealer I borrowed from Selene was my confirmation.
But I know the reason she’s not telling me that she knows is the same reason she’s not telling me she wants more from us.
She’s scared of the bubble popping. Of waking up from the dream.
I just wish I knew how to tell her that she has nothing to worry about, because I’m already entirely hers.
I check my DMs again.
Nada.
I head down into the weight room set up in the basement of Kingsward Hall. Otherwise, I’ll lose my fucking mind waiting for her to DM me back. I end up getting joined down there by Nacho, which would normally aggravate the fuck out of me. But tonight, he’s not a terrible distraction.
Even when he tells me how bent out of shape he is that Velvet Villainess recently did a live stream where “some guy” was involved, grabbing her throat with a gloved hand from off-screen, I let it wash over me.
I’ve just stepped out of the shower an hour later when I hear from her.
Velvet Villainess
can you please come over?
It’s well past midnight and The Atheneum is sound asleep when I arrive five minutes later. I should use the window: it's how I’ve gotten into her room most other times. But tonight, I don’t feel like sneaking around like I’m her dirty secret.
Tonight, I want to walk through the front door as her man.
Because she’s my girl.
Galina’s face is streaked with tears when she opens the door to my soft knock. Her face is scrubbed raw of makeup, her red eyes puffy, her hair in a loose, messy bun, her petite frame swallowed by an oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants.
She’s honestly never looked more beautiful.
Her breath floods out in a choked rush when I step inside and immediately wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight.
“Whatever you need, baby,” I murmur. “Whatever you need, I’m here.”
Her hitching breath devolves into full-on sobbing against my chest.
I just hold her and tell her it’s going to be okay. That I’m here. That she’s safe. That Wren is safe.
“Would you sleep with me?” she whispers, lifting her tear-streaked, crumpled face to mine. “Just…hold me, and don’t stop holding me while I—”
She lets out a little gasp when I lift her effortlessly into my arms. I kick off my shoes and gently carry her over to her bed. Then we both slide under the covers, her back nestled against my chest as I wrap my arms around her and pull her against me, shielding her from the world.
Like I’ll protect her from any storm.
Like a real couple.
Like I’ve already figured out how to tell her that I’ve fallen in love with her.