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I almost laugh as I take in the man almost falling out of his chair as he relaxes into it, but I bat the emotions away once more. I have a job to do, and I can’t let my temporary lack of control on my emotions hinder me. I know it’s temporary, this adjustment to letting Wicked in, and it’ll solidify as she lets me in too. I have no worries. It’ll just take a little extra effort for me to stay locked down in the meantime, but I’ve never been afraid of a bit of hard work.
Back to the job at hand, though. Now is the time to attack while Nic’s defenses are down. Especially when I see a particular look cross over his face, alerting me to what he intends to do next.
“I need to go see Wicked.” He starts to stand, but with a light nudge to his shoulder, I push him back to his seat.
“In a moment.” He turns to me, eyes barely focusing, and doesn’t even bother to struggle. Perfect.
I glance once more at Wicked and Kai, my heart stuttering over itself as I watch her carefree moment in the midst of all the chaos that’s been circling around her. I want to give her everything. The world. My heart. My soul. And I will damn well do what I can to free her from her suffering. To protect her from anything that could possibly wipe that smile from her face. To shield her from anything–or anyone–that could break her.
Even if that someone is Nic.
I harden my features once more as I return to the man sitting beside me, willing him to just listen for once. I search his face for signs of an opening, to see if I have the perfect shot lined up. So close. “You have to understand that Kai and I aren’t going anywhere, brother.”
“You’ve made that perfectly clear,brother.” His attempt at sharpening his tone falls flat, too weak to carry the weight of his words.
“No, I haven’t.” None of us have. We haven’t even discussed it.
My eyes wander to Wicked and Kai as I try to find the words that will be the truest, that will hit the hardest. We’ve never discussed it because, for the three of us, it never needed to be articulated. It justwas. Like it was meant to be. Nic is the outlier. The unpredictable variable that needs to be contained or removed.
His choice.
When his gaze starts to stray away from mine, I pull him sharply to face me once more, forcing him to focus.
“You don’t get it. You think that after all of this is over. After she’s had her fun–or whatever it is you think she’s doing–that she’s going to settle down with one of us. You’re just biding your time, clenching your teeth, counting down the days until she makes her decision. But that’s not what’s going to happen.”
“You’re probably right. A girl like Wicked doesn’t do commitment, does she?”
I seered.
My reaction is instantaneous, fueled by the lid of my steel box leaking at the absolute disrespect in his tone. All directed at my Squeaks. The movement is quick, far too quick for him to even register, as my fist slams into his face with a crunch.
It takes me only seconds to clear my mind of the fury that pushed me over the edge, but it takes him a full minute to react to the hit, making me think he might have truly blacked out for a moment. His head hangs forward as he struggles to get his bearings, blood pouring from his nose, adding to the crimson smeared across his hands from the broken glass.
A groan leaves him as the pain sets in and I sit back in my chair, satisfied that it managed to break through his stupidity. If only for a moment. When he finally regains control of his head, he runs his tongue over his busted lip. Though his nose is bleeding as well, I don’t think it’s broken. I did manage to pull my force back at the last second, otherwise it could have been far worse.
“Fuck. Shit. I deserved that.” He pulls an ice cube from his glass and sucks it into his mouth as he leans back in his chair. “You’re fucking fast.”
Yeah, I am. Remember that.
“You’re drunk.” I take in the unfiltered regret plastered on his features and nod. “You get one. That one. Say one more word about her that I don’t like and you won’t have a tongue to speak another.”
His head jerks in his ready agreement as he speaks. “I didn’t mean it.”
“I know.” I truly do.He’d be far worse off if he had.
“I’m just…”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Iknow.” While I’m pretty sure that’s the biggest truth he’s ever confessed, we’re not done here. I hand him an unopened bottle of water, letting him collect himself however he needs to. After he’s finished the bottle and caught his breath once more, I continue the conversation we were having before his outburst. “That’s not going to happen because she’s not going to choose.”
“Not going to choose?” His eyes cross as he tries to follow the tracks back to our original train of thought. I don’t think he can make it there on his own though.
“I’m not going anywhere. Ever. Kai’s not going anywhere. Ever. We’renevergoing to make her choose. The only thing you need to decide is whether that’s something you can get on board with.” There, the shot is lined up. Now I just need to test the wind patterns.
“What? So we just…share her? Are we going to plan out a schedule for her time too? Or is it just a first come, first serve situation? This is fucking ridiculous.” He shakes his head but pulls back sharply, his hands twitching to move out in front of him as if to defend him when he takes in the look on my face.
