Page 53 of Traded

I pull my knees against my chest and listen to the silence of an apartment that doesn't sound like mine anymore.

I wake up to Liam’s silhouette pulling my bedroom door closed.

And an empty bed.

Chapter seventeen

Thanks for Nothing, Dick

Games Played:2/82

Blackwater Titans

2–0–0

T-1 Atlantic Division

Jeff Akerman, NPHL Network Analyst

"Let’s be honest, Cal, the Titans couldn't have asked for a stronger opening week. Two convincing wins, balanced scoring, and the kind of defensive structurethat wins Cups. It's only October, but the Titans’s launch under Captain Carter Reynolds looks ready to leave the league chasing their ankles."

Ifly across the kitchen with the speed of a runaway train. “Notthe Columbian!”

Lauren drops the bag. She eyes me warily as I scoop it up, aware that all eyes are pinned on me. I hide it behind my back. “Uh. There’s some decent Brazilian on the shelf. Very nutty.”

“That one was in the cupboard.” She gestures awkwardly to one of the communal spaces we’ve haggled out between ourselves in the last forty-eight hours. “Sorry.”

I know exactly how my favorite imported coffee that sells out every other week got there. Jonas rubs at the back of his neck, his cheeks reddening. “Sorry, Ro.”

I slide it back intomycupboard. My tiny, hidden away in the corner cupboard with the few things I’d rather not share with my new sister-wife, given we’re sharing everything else. My tone is testy. “Not your fault.”

Carter raises his eyes as I slip back around the island and bury my face in my Titans mug. His hand finds my knee and squeezes. “Look at you, playing nice.”

The amusement in his murmur makes me slide my knee away. “Good of you to notice, since I’ve barely seen you in days.”

“I already apologized.” He easily twists my stool to face him, keeping his voice low. Jonas engages Lauren in conversation opposite—and howdomestic, I think sarcastically. What a peaceful Monday morning scene. “What more do you want from me, Ro? You know what the season is like.”

Anybody would think we were a perfectly merged pack.

Liam catches my eye over Carter’s shoulder in a clear reminder of our discussion, and my own shoulders slump. “I know. But you didn’t come home.”

“I told you.” He picks up my wrist and kisses it. “I was exhausted. Figured it was better to catch a few hours in the med bay than drive, and then I slept through. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

And I slept alone. I bite my tongue on that one, side-eyeing Liam as he turns to Lauren. The two of them bend their heads together, her dark silk against his, and I hate it.

I hate it all. I want to destroy this perfect breakfast spread I made to try and pretend that this is fine, and normal, and not screwed ten ways to Sunday. Sweep my arm across it and send every plate shattering. Get up on the island and scream at them until they listen.

This isn’tright.

Liam laughs at whatever she says, reaching over to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Something approximating a snarl erupts from my mouth. That’sourthing. “Do youmind? Some of us are trying to eat without the PDA.”

Jonas pauses, his coffee halfway to his open mouth.

Lauren sits back in her seat with a deep inhale that only irritates me more.

“You done with breakfast?” Carter steps in before Liam can. His fingers slip to the back of my neck and squeeze lightly. “I’ll give you a ride. I need to head in early.”