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CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Stella
As promised, we all went back to school the next day and tried to return to normal. Or as normal as our lives ever have been.
Emmie still refused to talk about what happened with Theo the night of Helen’s funeral, and Theo has been just as tight-lipped about it. I’m curious as fuck, but I won’t push them about it. If they want to talk—hell, if they even remember—then they will when they’re ready.
“We should probably go out,” Alex says from the other couch on Friday night as he lights a joint.
“He’s right. This fucking psycho has turned us into boring motherfuckers,” Nico adds.
“You’re more than welcome if you wanna go out and get your dicks wet,” Seb says, his fingers squeezing my thigh where his hand has been resting as we’ve hung out as a group.
“Do you have to be so fucking smug?” Theo mutters, tipping his beer back.
“You’re telling me you’d be different if you had what I have?”
“Seb,” I warn. We both agreed that we’d tone it down a little for Theo’s sake. We might be no closer to making a decision about what we’re going to do, but we do need to stop banishing him from his own home.
“What, baby? It’s true.”
“We haven’t had a guys’ night in ages,” Nico complains.
“Don’t let me stop you if you all want to go and get wasted in a strip club.” Nico and Alex’s eyes light up at my suggestion.
“That wasn’t what he meant,” Theo points out.
“No, and I’d rather watch you strip any day,” Seb whispers in my ear.
“Well, go out and do whatever it is you used to do before I gatecrashed your party.”
They all look at me like I’ve grown an extra head.
“What? I’m not some bunny boiler who doesn’t want Seb to have a life, to have fun without me. I can call the girls over to have a slumber party,” I say, knowing exactly where their dirty minds are going to go.
“Maybe we should stay in,” Alex says. “Get our pyjamas out and have a pillow fight.”
“With Seb’s girl and my sister? Sounds like a wild night,” Nico deadpans.
I sip my drink while they all debate whether they want to actually go and do anything or not until Theo’s phone pings on the coffee table, making Toby pause mid-sentence and all of them still.
“Well, I guess we just got our answer, boys,” Theo announces, although he sounds anything but happy about it. He reads whatever is on his phone before muttering, “Suit up, we’re needed.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Seb complains.
“Do I look like I’m kidding? Boss wants us in.”
“All of us?” Toby asks.
“Yep. His office, forty-five minutes.”
“Fucking hell. Let’s move.”
Before I even have a chance to ask anything, they all scatter.
“I’ll call the girls then, shall I?” I shout after them all.
Knowing I’m not going to get a response until someone reappears, I pull my cell from my hoodie pocket and find my group chat with Calli and Emmie.
