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Chapter 12
Astrid
It’s too early to get up. Maybe 5 AM? So we fall asleep again, tangled up on my mother’s bed. But in an hour, I creep out of bed, shivering in the cold air of the apartment, and grab a flannel robe of my mom’s. There was no point in paying for heat with no one here, so I had it shut off. As many times as I’ve threatened to spend the night here, I never have until now.
I glance back at Wyatt, his face mashed against a pillow as he sleeps. The phoenix ink stretched across his built back reminds me of the time I first saw him. Powerful and dangerous in the ring, he gave no fucks as he mastered his opponent. But he gave me something different last night. He opened up, and I saw the range of his emotions for the first time. I saw more than the anger and hurt. I saw love and need as his hand stroked my cheek and later my pussy.
A chill shoots through me, thinking about the way he made me shake in that bed. But I’ve got shit to do. So I hurry out of the bedroom, clutching my phone, and go into the kitchen. I’m thankful I always carry it with me. Even if I have to shove that huge screen into my bra. My fingers swipe the screen, and I wait the longest thirty seconds I have ever waited for someone to pick up the phone.
Derick skips hello and jumps to the conversation. “Astrid, where are you?”
“Safe at Mom’s,” I reply, “Where are you?”
His sigh is exaggerated. “Back home, hiding under my bed.”
The weight lifts off my chest as relief floods into my body. Finally, I know at least one more person is safe. “I don’t know how much it’ll cost,” I tell him, “but I’m taking all my money to bail Nova out.”
“There’s no bail set yet.” Derick’s voice cracks with emotion. “I’m not even sure if she’s been charged with anything. It’s the weekend, and I doubt they’ll do anything even with your money. This is bullshit. Completely.”
I hear movement coming from my mom’s bedroom, and I don’t want Derick to know that Wyatt is here. “Look, I’ll call you later. I have to go.”
Derick ends the call without saying a word, but he did fill in some details. He’s also flipping out over everything that happened last night and feels guilty for not saving Nova too. But I repeat the words that Wyatt said to me all night; there was nothing we could have done at the time.
Derick lucked out by getting away before he was seen. He knew how to exit the building through the retail store and led a group of people out behind him. He’s a hero in the Monarchs’ eyes. Derick, the cousin with the funny clothes and weird lines, stepped up in a crisis, and that won’t be forgotten soon. But all he talked about was Nova, Teeny, and Grinder. He could not care less if he’s built up more respect.
“How are you feeling?” Wyatt leans over my shoulder to plant a kiss on my cheek. He has a sheet wrapped around his waist and sits down opposite me at the table.
“I feel like shit, but I’m doing better than most this morning.” I try hard to edit the sulk out of my voice.
“I’m waiting on a call.” He looks at his phone then places it on the table. “We have to wait for news.”
I scoff. “I spend a lot of my time waiting when things are falling to pieces. And after graduation, they’ll be something else I’ll have to wait for.”
“I want to say it will be okay,” he replies, “but I don’t want to piss you off later if I’m wrong. I’m not going to lie to make you feel better. But the police know that influential people are concerned about Nova, Teeny, and Grinder.”
“I spoke to Derick, and Grinder was released early this morning,” I reply, “His friend’s father vouched for him. He talked to the cops, but they wouldn’t give him info on Nova or Teeny.”
Wyatt frowns. I know what he’s thinking, but we don’t share our opinion. He gets up from the table, and I grab his hand before he walks off.
“Thank you for saving my ass last night,” I say softly, “I would’ve gone back and been arrested too.”
He nods. “Astrid, there are few things I wouldn’t do for you. You only have to talk to me.”
I hold his hand tighter. “When we leave Stonehaven, are we going to leave together?”
Wyatt doesn’t answer. He said he wouldn’t lie. Instead he leans in and places a kiss on my lips that’s so tender that my thoughts float away, knowing that he means every word he says.
He pulls his hand out of mine. “I’m going to get an Uber back to the club and see if my car is still there. You want a ride?”
I go into my tiny bedroom and throw on a pair of old jeans and sneakers. We get dressed quickly and head out of the building. People are always up and moving no matter the time. Wyatt looks cautiously up and down the street as we step outside.
His car is one of many left in the warehouse lot. Each car left behind represents someone who was taken away last night. I sigh, rubbing my hand over my face as I stare at shoes scattered on the asphalt. Shoes that fell off while people were hauled away.
I get it. We are an illegal fight club, but those people were my friends. Even the ones I hadn’t met mean something to me. And we can’t get a job that covers the expenses we have. And I don’t mean for clothes or Nintendo. I’m talking about food and rent. Or my mother’s rehab or college. It’s not fair, but it’s the system.
Wyatt pulls me into a hug as I let my emotions drain out of me. My breathing returns to normal as he gives my heart time to calm. He looks at the yellow tape stretched across the door.
“We better not go in there,” he says.
