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“Chapel,” Bash grunts, turning toward the door. “We need to plan.”
Kiwi
“Are you sure you’re ready to go back? It’s only been a few days.” I chew on my thumb as I watch Kennedy put her makeup on. She sighs and finds my gaze in the mirror.
“I’m sure,” she says. “I can’t take this much time off. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid and I need money.”
“I’ll pay your bills,” I say and her body stiffens. Slowly, she sets her brush down and turns toward me, leaning against the counter.
“You’re not paying for anything.”
“Why not? I’m living here now, so I should help,” I say. She shakes her head as I speak, and runs her hand through her silky hair.
“You’re not paying for anything,” she says again. “You have your own bills—”
“I’ve been living at the clubhouse for a while,” I admit. “I have enough money saved so we could get a bigger place.” She blinks at me. “We could get a room for Enzo—”
“We’re not talking about this right now.” She turns back toward the mirror. “I feel like I’ve barely seen Ian lately, and I still don’t know what the fuck is going on with him. It’s like he’s avoiding me. The last thing he needs is to be uprooted from his home and—”
“He won’t feel like he’s being uprooted,” I say as I move behind her, lightly wrapping my arms around her. “He’d love the extra space. And Raspy would love a yard to play in.” She chews her lip as she stares at my reflection.
“I don’t want you paying any of my bills,” she says again, and I open my mouth, but she continues. “Let me think about moving, okay? I’ll need to talk to Ian about it before I agree to anything.” I kiss the curve of her neck.
“Alright,” I murmur against her skin. “I’ve already been looking at places anyway.” She rolls her eyes as she looks back at herself. I slide my hands onto her hips, pressing her ass against me as I watch her put on her lipstick. “He’ll be fine. In fact, I think he’ll love a bigger place if it means Enzo will live there.” Her eyes drift to mine.
“Are they even talking?” she asks, and I shrug.
“They’ll figure it out.” I kiss her neck again, at the spot I know drives her wild.
“Ez,” she says, and I lift my gaze. “What happened?”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” I say. It’s been the same answer I’ve given her for days, and I know it’s not going to hold much longer. But I’ll figure it out when I get there. I kiss the back of her head and take a step back. “If I think you’re getting too tired tonight, I’m taking you home. Spence can just fuck himself. I’m not letting you run yourself into the ground.” Her shoulders fall as she turns her attention back to herself.
“I’ll be fine,” she mutters, but she has a death grip on the counter and her hand trembles as she finishes applying her makeup.
She can lie to herself all she wants, but she can’t lie to me. I see right through her bullshit. She’s scared to go back, and I understand why. She’ll never feel safe there again, and I hate the world for it. I want to kill Spencer and Milo for leaving her alone. Then I want to kill myself for not protecting her.
“I’m going to take Raspy for a walk,” I say, and she nods.
“Take Ian with you?” Her eyes are guarded, and her voice is tight, but I nod as I knock on the doorframe.
“Sure thing.”
“And get him to talk, please? Just make sure he’s alright.” My heart softens at the worry in her voice.
“I’ll take care of him, love,” I say gently. “I’ll take care of you, too.”
“I know,” she breathes. “Just—could you tell him I want to know he’s okay? I know he’s not ready to talk about what happened, but can you just let him know I’m here when he’s ready? He’s still first on my list.”
“Of course,” I murmur. “He’s okay.” Her lips press into a thin line as she nods. She stares at herself in the mirror, and I wait for her to say something else, but when she doesn’t, I decide to leave her alone. She’s still processing everything, I know that, but he’s not alone.
I hesitate before knocking on Ian’s door. There’s some shuffling, and it sounds like he trips over something before landing heavily against the door, and I smile to myself. It barely opens, and he shifts himself in front of the opening, blocking the rest of his room. My smile slowly falls as I narrow my eyes.
“You okay?” I ask, trying to peek over his shoulder. He moves with me, blocking my view.
“Yep,” he says. “All good.”
“Can I come in? I want to talk to you about something.” His throat bobs as he swallows hard.
