Chapter 32
I skimmed my hands over my kilt, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. Briar let out a meow as if to say, “You’re stalling.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled. But I still didn’t open the door.
Something had shifted yesterday. Walls had crumbled, and the guys now saw me a little more clearly. And I was getting a more accurate picture of them, too. It was like excavating some ancient archeological dig. Each stroke of my brush revealed a little bit more.
Letting out a long breath, I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. I started toward the stairs but came up short at the sound of voices.
“I never should’ve let her out of my sight. It’s my fault those fucking scars are all over her back,” Colt growled.
“You thought you were protecting her. You had no idea what she was dealing with at home,” Ronan argued.
Protecting me? From what?
A whistle sounded, and Trace inclined his head toward the stairs. “Nosy company.”
I scowled at him. “I’m walking down the stairs. You’re the ones whispering behind my back.”
The corner of Trace’s mouth kicked up. “You were eavesdropping, otherwise, you would’ve been walking not waiting.”
“Whatever,” I grumbled.
Colt’s gaze swept over me. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
I nodded. “I’m fine, really.”
The truth was that I was still a little shaky, an emotional hangover. But we’d had a massive breakfast earlier, and I’d be fine once the routine of school kicked in.
Dash didn’t look convinced. “Just text one of us if you decide classes are too much, and we can take you home.”
I gave him an authentic smile. He was always looking out for me. “Thank you.”
Colt swung his keys around his finger and headed for the front door. We all followed behind him, taking our usual seats in the Range Rover.
I wondered what ordained those seats. Colt was always the driver, and Trace always took shotgun. I hadn’t had friends in Louisiana, but in the books, I read guys were always fighting over who sat in the front or who drove. These four never did.
Ronan reached over and massaged the spot between my brows with his thumb. “You look like you’re trying to work out one of Dash’s ridiculous calculus problems.”
The casual touch sent a wave of heat dancing across my skin. I swallowed hard, trying to find the words I needed when my body was going haywire. “I was just wondering why you guys never fight about who sits in the front or who drives.”
Trace’s gaze flashed to me in the rearview mirror, but he didn’t say anything.
“I think we’ve just got bigger things to worry about,” Dash explained.
I knew that was true. I didn’t know Trace’s story, but I knew that Colt and Dash had both lost the people closest to them, and Ronan didn’t have a relationship with his family for some reason.
It dawned on me then that he’d lost his mother, too.
When Declan had shared that with me yesterday, I hadn’t known that he and Ronan were brothers. My heart ached for them both.
“We’re just mature for our age,” Colt said with a grin.
Ronan snorted. “Your breakfast of choice is Fruity Pebbles or Count Chocula. Pretty sure that knocks you out of the running for mature.”
Colt flipped him off. “Like you’re one to talk, with your action figure collection.”
Ronan flushed. “They’re collectibles.”
Trace barked out a laugh. “You’d probably still sleep in superhero sheets if Baldwin hadn’t redecorated your room.”
“You’re all a bunch of assholes,” he muttered.
Something about the exchange made me smile. As if I were finally getting a peek at how the guys were on a normal day when drama wasn’t around every corner.
Ronan sent me a dirty look. “You could tone down the grin.”
I only smiled wider. “I like superhero movies.”
His brows rose. “Really?”
I nodded, then blushed.
His finger skimmed across my cheek. “What’s this pretty pink about?”
I pressed my lips together and then realized I might as well confess. “I didn’t really have the extra money for movie tickets, so I used to sneak into the local theater through the staff entrance in the back.”
Trace glanced over his shoulder, brows raising. “Breaking and entering, Little Bird? I’m shocked.”
I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t exactly breaking, seeing as the door was never locked.”
Dash laughed. “Shows ingenuity.”
“Anything for Thor. He’s pretty handsome, you know.”
Four growls filled the vehicle, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Colt pulled into his usual parking space, and we all piled out of the vehicle. I groaned as I saw Chloe approaching with Mimi and Grace in tow. She beamed at the guys, ignoring me altogether.
“Hey, guys. I’m really looking forward to this weekend. It’s been so long since we’ve all been together.”
I stiffened. The idea that Colt, Ronan, Dash, and Trace were getting together with Chloe made me physically ill.
“Stop acting like they made plans with you,” Declan drawled as he walked up.
Chloe’s gaze jerked in his direction. “I never said that, just that we’d all be seeing each other.”
Declan rolled his eyes. “Not by choice.”
Chloe’s teeth ground together, and she looked about two seconds away from stomping her foot. It wasn’t a good look.
“Run along, Chlo,” he said without even looking at her. “None of us want to deal with you until we absolutely have to.”
“One thing I actually agree with Dec on,” Colt muttered.
Chloe flushed and stormed off, her friends on her heels.
Declan’s brow furrowed as he approached me. He lifted a hand, ghosting a finger under my eye. “You okay?”
The faint touch sent a pleasant shiver skating over my skin. “Fine. Just didn’t sleep that great.”
It was a total lie. I’d slept the best I had since my dad had died. But I knew the breakdown hangover left me with dark circles and red eyes.
Declan slipped a hand under my hair and kneaded my neck. “Maybe you should go home and rest.”
Heat spread through me at his touch, and before I knew it, I was practically falling into Declan, my head pressed against his chest and my eyes half-closed.
“No… I gotta go to classes,” I mumbled, sounding half-drunk.
“Enough,” Ronan gritted out. “Stop pawing at her.”
My eyes flew open, ping-ponging between the two brothers as they glared at each other.
This was bad on so many levels. But mostly because if I were honest with myself, I felt pulled to all five of these guys. And that made me the worst kind of low…