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Bishop was sitting on the side of my bed in his boxers when I came back into the room.
“Wasn’t sure if you wanted me to leave or not,” he said easily, his eyes on mine. “Up to you.”
“Stay?” I asked quietly. “It’s still early.”
“Can’t promise I won’t pass out,” he warned. “Your bed’s comfortable and I’m tired.”
“Fine with me,” I told him, moving forward to give him a kiss.
“How’s the leg?” he asked, laying his hand gently over the bandage.
“Totally fine,” I assured him. “Sore but no big deal.”
“Wasn’t sure if we’d pulled on it while we were distracted,” he said, standing up so I could pull the bedding back.
I laughed. “You pretty much held it immobile the whole time,” I assured him, climbing into bed.
As soon as we were cocooned inside the bedding Bishop pulled me against his chest.
“Your parents’ place is gonna be so nice,” he said, running his fingers through my hair. “Your mom’s got an eye for makin’ shit look good.”
“You have no idea,” I joked. “Are you guys getting close to being finished?”
“Not too much longer,” he replied. “But don’t tell your parents. I think Harry’s givin’ them worst case scenarios on the timin’ so he can be the conquerin’ hero when we finish early.”
“Probably trying to impress Farrah,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, for sure. Your ma’s got everyone on the job wrapped around her finger,” he murmured.
“Even you?” I asked, kissing his chest.
“Even me,” he confirmed. “She’s so nice—but it’s not that fake-nice bullshit. I can spot that a mile away. Just genuinely nice…but with an attitude. Don’t fuck with her, but also, would you like a sandwich because she made extras.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s Farrah to a T,” I said through my giggles. “She doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of her, but she’s not an asshole about it. She wants you to feel good but she’s not going to take your shit.”
“You’re like her,” he said.
“Yeah, I am,” I agreed. “Mostly. I was never as wild as she is—that was Cecilia.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Christ,” I said, shaking my head a little. “Yeah. She was a nightmare.”
“She’s always seemed cool when I’m around her.”
“She figured her shit out,” I replied with a sigh. “I didn’t really know her when she was an asshole. Partying and lying, treating people like shit and worrying the hell out of my parents. She left when I was little and by the time she moved back home she was a different person.”
“You never worried your parents?” he asked, his voice growing husky as he relaxed toward sleep.
“Not really,” I said, closing my eyes. “We got into normal scrapes and did the regular stupid kid stuff, but I always had the twins and Kara to pull me back from doing anything epically stupid.”
“Or shielding you from shit so you didn’t,” Bishop said knowingly.
He’d been at our apartment when we’d found out just how bad Kara had been bullied back in high school. It had stunned me, to say the least. After Kara realized that we’d unearthed all her secrets, she’d kicked me out of the apartment. Ironically, that was the night me and Bishop had become friends.
“Too bad we couldn’t have shielded Draco,” I said quietly.
“There was no shieldin’ him from that shit,” Bishop said, pulling me closer and dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “No matter how good you are at keepin’ secrets, he always woulda found out, and probably woulda done the same thing again.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” I mumbled.
“I’m probably sayin’ it to make me feel better,” he said with a chuckle, his chest shaking under my cheek. “I don’t know what I woulda done if he hadn’t been inside with me. Even after he’d left that umbrella of protection still stood. I got super fuckin’ lucky.”
I lay there thinking about what he’d said after his breathing evened out and I knew he was asleep. If Kara hadn’t had half naked pictures taken of her at prom and then sent to the entire school, if Draco hadn’t beat the shit out of the douchebag who’d taken them, if Draco hadn’t been sent to prison… none of us would know Bishop. We’d never have met him. It was funny how you could find a tiny silver lining even in the worst circumstances.
I fell asleep to the sound of Bishop’s heartbeat but woke up later to curses flying out of his mouth.
“What?” I said in confusion, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees. I looked around blearily. “What?”
“You do sleep like a fuckin’ octopus,” he wheezed. “Arms and legs fuckin’ everywhere.”
“What did I do?” I asked, my eyes widening as I became aware of how he’d curled up like a potato bug.
“Kneed me in the stomach,” he said, his voice a little less raspy. “Perilously close to my dick.”
