5. Wren
WREN
Welcome to Hell.
Looking at Stone Foster in my new bedroom is exactly what I would imagine if I were to be face to face with the devil himself. A handsome, smug, cocky, evil monster. The hate in his blue eyes is fleeting and quickly replaced with a vengeance that I feel down to my bones.
“No,” I whisper, beginning to shake my head.
It is just like old times—being in a room with Evan and Stone, feeling like the odd one out. Evan always included me, being the best foster brother there was, but Stone always shut me out, irritating me, hating me, picking on me.
But we aren’t teens any longer.
We are adults, and Stone is obviously out for revenge.
I smelled it the moment I stepped in the house.
Call it a sixth sense, or maybe I am just used to constantly having to watch my back.
I’ve been on edge since the moment I planted the drugs on his truck.
Only, the other people out for revenge are even worse than Stone.
Maybe that’s why I’m not shaking in my shoes, staring at him from across the room.
“I’m leaving,” I say. I send a quick glance to Evan who is clearly panicking.
“No, you’re n—”
“Thank fuck. See ya, Sticks.” Stone leans farther back on the bed, and his arrogant, proud smile is all I see.
“Stone,” Evan warns. He steps in between us.
I’m near the door, ready to dart, until I look past Evan’s shoulder and latch onto Stone’s glare.
It’s full of disdain, and I can’t even blame him.
And God , why does he look so good? Blue eyes the color of the sky surrounded by thick, dark eyelashes.
A heavy brow line that makes him look dangerous—which is completely accurate—and even though he’s smiling at me like the prick he is, his smile is absolutely perfect.
The angles on his jawline should be illegal, and there’s a messed-up part of me that wants to know how sharp they feel beneath my palm.
“What?” Stone pulls his steely gaze away from me and puts it on his best friend. “I had dibs on the room first, right? She should be the one to leave.”
Irritation flies down my spine at his need to push me out. I’ve been pushed around all my life, and I’ve grown a little more of a backbone over the last two years.
“I was here first. Finders keepers, losers weepers.”
Stone glares, and I can’t believe that was the first thing I’ve said directly to him in two years.
“No one is leaving! You both need to grow up. This little hatred game you two have been playing is done.”
“The fuck it is.” Stone stands, and if we weren’t separated by Evan, he’d be towering over me like a nightmare.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. Stone doesn’t understand why I did what I did, but truly, it was a life-or-death situation for me. I had to get out of Maysville, and my full ride to Shadow Valley was the only way I was going to do that.
“She’s just using you.” Stone’s cold accusation parts my lips, and a rushed gasp flies out.
“What?” I cross my arms and stand tall. “That isn’t true.”
Evan throws his hands up and walks toward the door, bypassing me and my tantrum. He’s disappointed, and I instantly feel bad.
“You two need to hash this out. I’m sick and tired of having two important people in my life hate each other.” He turns and looks us both in the eye. “Figure it out. Neither of you are leaving this fucking house until you do.”
The door slams, and Stone is completely unbothered, and it’s obvious that he feels zero remorse. Typical.
He sits back on the bed with strong arms holding him up from behind. His muscles flicker with each thundering beat of my heart. “There’s a nice tree out front that you’d be perfect for. Those sticks of legs you still have will blend in perfectly.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s the best you’ve got? The stick joke?”
“Why are you even here? You had nowhere else to go? I find that hard to believe.”
I stand with my back against the closed door and recross my arms. I’m wearing my Shadow’s shirt, and if I don’t leave soon, I’ll miss my second shift, and the dinner crowd gives better tips.
I’m beyond grateful to have a steady waitressing job that works around my school schedule, and I’m not going to screw it up by being late.
“Do you think I’d stay in a room with you if I had any other choice? ”
He chuckles, and it’s frustrating how it sounds the exact same as it did two years ago.
“Have you seen me, Sticks? Of course you’d want to stay in a room with me.
” He reaches back and grabs the other pillow, closest to the wall, and throws it on the floor, along with the thin blanket that was at the foot of the bed. “I get the bed.”
“How gentlemanly of you,” I snide.
Stone stands and shrugs. “I’m the hockey player here. I need the rest.”
He walks toward me, and I want to run, but I don’t because that’s just not who I am. I’ve been face to face with much more dangerous people than Stone Foster, even if he does absolutely loathe me.
“What do you need to rest for?”
He’s standing a mere inch away, and my heart is flying through my chest so fast I’m certain he can see my pulse pounding against the side of my neck.
Stone is completely relaxed, though. His breathing is level, and the moment his lips part, I’m surrendering to his breath against my face like it’s a wicked spell.
I gasp when his hands latch onto my forearms, but I don’t dare pull away when he flings them onto the door behind me with a little too much force.
His knee is between my legs, and I’m so frozen I can’t even breathe.
Heat paints my cheeks when he stares at my chest. His eye twitches, and his body puts off so much hate that it should scare me.
“The Shadow Bar and Grill ?”
His laugh is full of sarcasm, and I hastily pull my arms out of his grip. He steps away, and I finally can breathe again.
“That’s what you need rest for? A fucking waitressing job?”
He rolls those cold blue eyes of his, and I put my back to him, flinging the door open with so much force it hits the back of the wall. I’m halfway down the hall when he calls out from behind me.
“See you later, roomie .”
* * *
My shift at Shadow’s ends too quickly.
I’m back at home and staring up at the light coming from the window in what was my room until my past decided to come bite me on the ass.
Evan’s texts are burning a hole in my back pocket, and part of me wants to tell him why Stone hates me so much, but I don’t want the pity, because knowing Evander, he’d understand why I did what did.
He would be disappointed, but he knows my living situation and family drama better than anyone.
Stone knows of my past too.
But he has a cold heart, so of course there is zero compassion or sympathy on his part. Except… Stone never did tell Evan the truth. The only thing Stone did after the whole ordeal was pretend I no longer existed.
Too bad he has to share a room with me now, and after reading Evan’s texts, I know I have to suck it up and play nice because if there is one person in my life who I don’t want to upset, it’s him.
“Get in here, girl! We made dinner.”
I peel my eyes from the second-floor window, and three happy grins stare back at me from the door. The smell of Thai food slips out past Evan’s teammates and pulls me toward the door without much protest. I can’t say no to stir-fry noodles and curry, even if I did eat a hamburger on my break.
“Wow, this smells…” I pause at the open containers from Touch of Thai splayed out on the coffee table in the living room surrounded by empty plates. I laugh. “I thought you said you made dinner.”
“ Made as in…put it on a plate.” Evan snickers after landing a quick peck on my temple. “The rest of the food is in the kitchen.”
Suddenly, I’m fifteen years old again and uncomfortable at the thought of someone taking care of me.
Should I give them money for dinner? Should I say I already ate?
Should I pick up dinner tomorrow night? The last thought sends a rush of panic down my spine because how the hell can I afford to feed hockey players on my measly waitressing salary?
Instead of asking any of the questions on the tip of my tongue, I smile and walk into the kitchen, leaving Evan, Sully, and Grant in the living room as they rewatch some hockey game on ESPN—probably of themselves, knowing how hockey players are.
The moment I step foot on the tiled floor, I pause and almost retreat.
There he is, all tall and broad-shouldered, leaning over the counter like he owns the room.
I don’t make a single noise, something I managed to master all those years ago, sneaking through foster homes while my temporary guardians were asleep so I could find loose coins in the couch cushions or some leftover food that was usually spoiled in the back of the fridge.
“Hungry, Sticks?”
I stay quiet because I don’t trust him. He’s probably poisoning the food.
“There’s a nice spot out back.” Stone peeks over his shoulder, and his lips tip in a devilish grin.
“Perfect for sunlight. I’ll water you every other day, and I picked up a bag of soil after practice.
” He spins around and leans against the sink, holding a white-and-red container that has Touch of Thai written on the front.
“I thought if we just buried those sticks of yours, they would morph into a tree trunk, and you’d be set. ”
I hate him.
I hate that I’m letting him bully me.
I hate that I understand why he’s bullying me.
“Clever,” I say, moving farther into the kitchen. Nerves fuel my steps, but I refuse to show him any sort of guilt or any type of cowering. I will make this work between us, mainly because I truly have nowhere else to go—I can’t afford it.
“I thought so,” he replies.
I catch the quick grin on his lips, and alarm bells ring in the back of my head.
“Here you go.”
He’s holding out the container of Thai food, and I gingerly reach up and place my hand on it. Our fingers brush, and heat whooshes all the way up my arm and into my chest, burning me from the inside.
“Did you poison it first?”
Stone keeps his fingers resting against mine. “No, I prefer to watch you suffer slowly. Makes it more rewarding.”
His hand is gone a moment later, and that’s when I realize the nonexistent weight of the Thai container. I peer inside and see that it’s completely empty.
“Enjoy dinner, Sticks.”
His evil, menacing laugh is more of a threat, and I’m suddenly wondering what is more uncomfortable: sleeping in a room with someone who hates me or sleeping in the backseat of my old, barely running Honda.