34. Charli
CHARLI
Yikes. That’s ominous.
Nix snorts, shaking her head and turning away. She kind of skips down to our room, and I’m more confused than ever.
I look at Sawyer. “What happened?”
He shrugs, looking just as worried and clueless as I feel.
Ben lets out a soft sigh as he shuffles past us. “Nix shaved off his eyebrow,” he murmurs, and I gape at his back before turning to blink at Sawyer.
“Oh shit,” he whispers. “Our boy’s gonna feel that one. You know how much he cares about his looks.”
I close my eyes, my stomach sinking.
I thought we were going to plan out her revenge together.
“Charli!” my brother shouts again.
I flinch and suck in a breath, sharing one last look with Sawyer before creeping into the bathroom.
“Hey, bro. You okay?” I ask him gently, then have to fight the urge to crack up laughing when I spot his reflection in the mirror.
He looks ridiculous with one fully formed, beautiful black eyebrow on the left and absolutely nothing on the right.
Oh shit.
Biting my lips together, I look at the floor as my stomach trembles with amusement.
“She needs to stay the fuck away from me,” he growls. “Your psycho little friend better not talk to me again. She better not even fucking look at me!”
His voice rises so loud and thunderous, I’m sure Nix can hear every word from where she is.
I cross my arms, staying quiet and letting him get it out.
Having grown up with the guy, I know when to keep my mouth shut.
He doesn’t get mad very often, but when he does, it’s like a firestorm, and you just have to hold your breath through it.
And that’s what I’m doing right now.
Holding my breath.
“I mean, what the actual fuck!” He slaps his hands on the vanity, then slumps his shoulders with a heavy sigh. “I thought she was into me.” His whisper is soft and suddenly broken.
I wait a beat, seeing if there’s any more to come before cautiously opening my mouth. “You guys did seem to be getting on. Until you… well, you really embarrassed her last night.”
“I didn’t mean to.” He winces. “Shit, I don’t even remember what I did.” Closing his eyes, he groans, rubbing his aching head.
I know he threw up a lot last night, but he obviously didn’t drink enough water.
I downed so much before I went to bed, I ended up getting up twice to pee, but it was worth it.
I’m not feeling too bad this morning. And Nix was a box of birds when I first woke up.
She flitted out of the room with a cheerful “Good morning,” and I had no idea it was because she’d come up with an evil plan to get my brother back.
I can’t admit that it was actually kind of genius. Hitting Darian where it hurts the most—his looks. He really does care about that, and Nix must have known this.
And now she’s gone and—
Shit, Nix. Why’d you have to take it this far?
My stomach dips as the consequences really start to sink in.
There’s no way she can move into our house now. These guys can’t be under the same roof. She’s crossed a line, and Darian won’t be able to let it go.
“I’m really sorry,” I murmur. “She shouldn’t have done that.”
“You think?” The k comes out all harsh and punchy.
I sigh and take a seat on the edge of the bathtub. “Please don’t retaliate.”
“I won’t,” he snaps. “I’m not going anywhere near that girl ever again. I’ll see if someone else can drive her home today.”
“Really?” I wince.
“Yes, really!” He spins with a pointed look. “You can’t expect me to hang out with her anymore. She’s a danger to society!”
I snort and start to laugh but quickly swallow the sound when he narrows his eyes at me.
“Okay, okay.” I raise my hands. “I get that you’re raging right now, but—”
“There is no ‘but.’ How am I ever supposed to trust her if I know she’s capable of pulling this kind of shit? There’s no way I can live with her now, Charli. Her name is off the list.” He leans forward, making himself emphatically clear. “Permanently.”
My shoulders slump. I knew he was going to say that. The second I saw his missing eyebrow, I knew it was going to be like this, but I’m still gutted.
I was looking forward to living with Nix, but she went and ruined it.
And Darian ruined it by being an idiot last night.
I’m kind of pissed off with both of them, actually.
The thought of having to put up with that kind of thing throughout the year is painful, though, so yeah, living in the same house as both of them would be the worst.
But still… I’d had high hopes it would all work out, and now they’re completely dashed.
“Who’s it going to be, then?” I softly ask.
“I don’t know yet. But we’ll figure it out before we leave today.” Darian turns back to the mirror and cringes at his reflection, lightly poking at his missing eyebrow.
“Think we should run some more tests?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Maybe we should just go by gut feeling, you know? Let’s watch how everyone deals when they’re hungover and feeling like shit.
” He spins back to face me, jabbing his long finger in my direction.
“And if you hear anyone laughing about this behind my back”—he points at the hairless patch above his eye—“they’re off the list. Got it? ”
“Got it.” I nod and stand up, giving my brother’s arm a light squeeze before heading out of the bathroom.
I’m feeling like shit over this whole thing. I don’t want him to notice how disappointed I am.
Wandering down to my bedroom, I find Nix sitting on the bed cross-legged. She’s playing some game on her phone, and I cross my arms and frown at her until she glances up at me.
“What?” Her shoulder hitches.
“You know what.” I sigh and plunk down on the bed opposite hers. “I thought we were going to come up with something together.”
“The idea hit me, and it was too good to ignore.”
“Phoenix,” I whine her whole name, really trying to make my point.
Her face flushes, and for just a second, I think I spot a flash of guilt or remorse or something.
“Think you could apologize?” I ask hopefully.
She scoffs, then starts to laugh. “Highly unlikely, I’m afraid. He deserved exactly what he got, and I’m not saying anything to that man.”
“Well, he never wants to talk to you again either, so I guess that works out well.” My words come out terse and sulky, but I don’t care. I am annoyed and disappointed about this whole thing. And dammit, I’m allowed to show it.
Tucking my hands under my legs, I bob my knee and gaze out the window with another sad sigh.
Nix’s little fingers brush over my knee. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. I know you two are close, and I’d never do anything to disrupt your relationship. We’ll just hang out when Darian’s not around.”
I give her a pained frown and she swallows, going back to the game on her screen like she didn’t just carve a canyon through the middle of my life.
Two of my favorite people have just gone to war.
How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?