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Luke was sitting on the staircase when I approached. I reprimanded him with a glare. He hopped to his feet, leaned down to grab at my arm and pulled me up the stairs. He heaved me back into my bedroom, closing the door behind us.
I hit the stereo’s volume up a little and stumbled over to the bed. I plopped onto it on my side.
Luke collapsed next to me, facing me. “I can’t believe you stayed there for so long,” he said.”
I pouted. “What else was I going to do?”
He brushed a finger across my cheek. “She forgot about you,” he said quietly.
“If she doesn’t forget and comes back…” I pushed my hand over my heart and sighed.
His features softened, those brown eyes fixing over my face. “It’s been a long day,” he said.
I trembled, nodding, swallowing back my angry, tired tears. I didn’t even care if he was there any more. I didn’t care that we could get caught at any moment. Luke stayed with me the whole time. He didn’t forget about me. He didn’t abandon me, despite my asking. It was overwhelming how kind he was.
He leapt up, hitting the lights. In the dark, he pulled the blanket on the bed and slipped in next to me before covering us up. My heart thundered but as I continued to quake and with my will power depleted, I was too weak to tell him to go home. I wasn’t sure if he would listen to me, anyway.
His arms went around me and I sunk into his hug. His chin pressed to my forehead. I inhaled the vanilla scent. His fingers rubbed at the muscles in my back along my spine. I pressed my cheek to his chest, listening to his breathing. My eyes fluttered shut, my lashes crossing against his skin.
I didn’t care what happened to me. If there was another fight with Luke, or Gabriel, or any of the others, I would jump in. I knew it down to my bones.
Because I knew they’d do the same for me.
T HURSDAY
I nappropriate
I dreamed of holding the hand of a little boy, who was exhausted and wanted to stop running. We couldn’t stop, though. The ground was falling out from under us. If we didn’t keep moving, we would fall into the abyss.
Luke was gone when I woke up the next morning. I smelled him in the sheets. It was the promise of seeing the guys again that had me moving, dragging myself into the shower and getting ready for another day.
Marie and I walked together to Kota’s driveway. I was dying. My muscles ached to the point where I was in near tears carrying my book bag and the violin.
Kota took one look at me as I walked up and I could tell he was biting his tongue waiting for Marie to get out of earshot before he could start his reel of questions.
“What happened to you?” he asked. His green eyes narrowed at me.
I dropped my book bag on the ground at my feet, the violin joined it. “I’m all sore,” I whined to him.
His eyes widened. “Why?”
He didn’t know? “I was helping North and the others at the diner.” I kept the other part to myself, about sitting in the kitchen for a couple of hours after. I didn’t want him to worry about that.
He cracked a half smile, touching the bridge of his glasses. “You were helping?”
“We cleared out the counters in the kitchen and the carpet in the chapel.”
He laughed. His eyes slid to Danielle and Derrick who were coming up the road. Marie was waving to them. Kota looked back at me. “Are you going to make it today?”
I let out a sigh. “Yes,” I said. “I’m already here.”
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and punched something into a text message. “Wait until we get to school. I’ll help.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. Help with what?
He waited with his cell phone in his hands and it buzzed. He checked the message and nodded. “Good.” He looked up expectantly toward Nathan’s house.
I stood beside him, looking in the same direction. The front door opened and Nathan stepped out.
“Are you getting him to come along? I thought he was still hurt,” I said.
“He can’t miss any more school right now,” Kota said. He turned to me. “Blackbourne’s orders.”
I pushed my finger to my lip as we watched Nathan stumbling up the street toward us. Nathan’s eyes were dark, his lips in a grim twist. Even though it was warm, he wore a long-sleeve, collared shirt, open completely to reveal the white t-shirt underneath. He had doubled the layers to help hide the bruises still prominent on his body. His finger was still wrapped in the splint. As bad as I felt, he looked so much worse.
When he looked up, his eyes sought me out and he straightened as he walked. The corner of his mouth twisted up. Was he trying to put on a brave face for me?
The bus swung around the bend on our street as Nathan stepped up beside me. He sucked in a heavy breath as he clutched the straps to his book bag.
“Nathan?” I whispered to him. I was afraid of stressing him. Did he know about yesterday? Was he angry with me, too?
“Heard you missed me,” he said, he half turned, looking down at me. The smile on his lips broadened. “And that you’re beating up the boys at school in protest to get me to come back. Couldn’t let that happen.”
My eyes slid to Kota behind us. He tilted his head, telling me what I was asking. Kota lured Nathan out using me as bait.
I turned forward, my hand sought out Nathan’s forearm. I wrapped my fingers around it. “You better not die on me,” I said softly.
I caught his grin as he moved toward the bus.
Kota picked up my things for me despite my small objection. Nathan fell into the seat first, I slid in next to him and Kota dropped our things at my feet before sitting next to me. I leaned against Nathan to give Kota room.
“What’s up?” Nathan asked. “Why are we squished like this?”
I realized he’d missed a lot. Was he only gone for one day? “There’s a lot more students that ride the bus compared to the first morning,” I said.
“Last count I had was ninety six students,” Kota said. “I’m pretty sure there’s more. This model was designed to hold maybe eighty.”
Nathan huffed, tilting his body around until he had his back pressed up against the window and his arm wrapped around my shoulder. “Next project, figure out how Sang can ride in the car with us to school.”
“We’ve got some other things to worry about right now,” Kota said. “Where’s it hurt, Sang?”
I blushed as Nathan’s face fell on me. “What happened to her now?” he asked.
“Helping too long at the diner,” Kota said. “Overworked her muscles.”
“Shit,” Nathan said.
“I’m not that bad,” I insisted. Now that Nathan was there and I was sure he was in much worse pain, it seemed wrong to complain.
Kota eyeballed me.
I let out a puff of air but surrendered. “Okay, I’m a little sore.” Mostly in places he couldn’t imagine, like my butt and thighs.
When we finally got to school, Kota took my things back as we walked out to the courtyard. The thought of sitting on the hard concrete benches wasn’t tempting, so I opted to stand.
Kota and Nathan dropped onto the bench together. Nathan immediately fished out his cell phone and started messing with it.
Kota put my things and his stuff down on the ground at his feet. He curled his fingers after me, and patted at his lap. “Come here, Sang,” he commanded.
I tiptoed closer to him, unsure of what he was asking me to do. He placed his hands on my waist, pulling me down until I was sitting on his lap. He positioned me until my butt was out closer to his knees. From there, he pressed his fingertips and palms into my lower back, massaging in small circles along my spine.
It was magic. His fingers worked my soreness from my muscles. My eyes closed through a will of their own as he massaged. My heart was thudding because I was sitting in his lap and his touch, but I was powerless to say no. I didn’t want to, anyway.
I slid a glance at Nathan. He caught my eye and he grin
ned. “He’s spoiling you,” he said.
“We just need her to get through the day,” Kota said. “She can go home right after school and rest.”
“What she needs is a strength training schedule,” Nathan said. “Build up some muscles.”
I half smirked, rolling my eyes.
Kota was working my shoulders when Gabriel and Victor came through the doors to the courtyard. They gawked in our direction.
“What the fuck?” Gabriel called out as he got closer. “What the hell are you doing to her?”
“Her muscles were sore,” Kota said, pushing his palm between my shoulder blades.
