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“You’re happy about the deal being flipped on its ass?” he questions.
“Well, I’m not with Carson out of love. It’s just a deal, one I intend to hold for only as long as I have to before I cut him loose like the dead weight he is.”
He tilts his head as he studies me. “Ruthless.” He dips his head in acknowledgement. “But nothing is worth this,” he argues, pointing to my shoulder once more.
I hum in disagreement. “I climbed in bed with a snake, the least I could expect was to get bit.”
He huffs in frustration, shaking his head as debates with himself how hard to push me. “Then why?”
“Everything has a price, DeBose. Carson found mine.”
He studies my expression for a moment before relenting. “Fine, no doctors. No more questions. No judgment. But what the fuck are we going to do about your arm?”
I smile. “You’re gonna pop it back into place.”
“Are you crazy?” he sputters. Yes, very much so, in fact.
“It’s probably a terrible idea, but it’s the best we got right now. So let’s do this.”
He laughs but he doesn’t argue, instead just cursing to himself. He sets his hands up, one lifting my arm up, while the other rests where the bone is beginning to stick out at an odd angle. “This is so incredibly stupid,” he murmurs and I laugh. “Deep breath in,” he instructs. “Breathe out.” He lifts my arm firmly while applying pressure from the top and I can feel the moment the joint slides back into place. I try not to, but I let out a little yelp from the sharp pain before I breathe a sigh of relief.
He raises his brows as he collapses at my side and I smile with a grit of my teeth. “What’s up DeBose? That can’t be the first time you’ve ever made a girl scream.”
“Not a girl of your class,” he smiles, shaking his head before he adds, “That was a very dumb thing to agree to.”
“Thanks for doing it anyways.” I feel like I found a new friend today, more than just a potential ally but a real friend. I didn’t think I would have the chance to build such things in my time here, but I’m grateful that I’ve been able to. It’s making surviving that much easier.
“You need to ice it. And your face.”
I groan. My makeup is going to be that much harder to maintain over the break when I see my parents. As much as I miss them, this is going to be a nightmare.
“First a scream, and now a groan, my skills are better than I thought.” His teasing pulls me from my building panic and now it’s my turn to shake my head at him.
Nudging him with my good shoulder I direct him towards the door. “Go show me some more of those skills and distract everyone so I can get out of here unnoticed.”
His smirk is a little devilish as he backs away from me. “I don’t know how well that will work, I’ve always been better with girls than guys, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.” He tosses me a flirty wink before he disappears and I can’t help but a smile.
That smile turns into a laugh when not even twenty seconds later I hear a loud crash and his muffled yell shouting, “House war!” At the top of his lungs followed by multiple thundering footsteps.
What the fuck?
I don’t have time to be intrigued by whatever the fuck he is doing. I quickly send a text for someone to come straighten up the room, grab my bag, and make a run for it. Slipping down the hall and listening carefully for anyone around before I disappear without anyone setting eyes on me.
The pain is back with a vengeance and my shoulder has a new throb to it, but in a way I’m glad for the last hour because at least I know I can count on one person in that house to have my back. Now I just need to do my best to rest for the next couple of days before I can slip onto that jet and return home to the people who love me most in the world.
How well will I be able to hide my darkness from the people who created me?
ChapterThirty-Five
WatchingBrielle for the last few weeks has gotten us nowhere.
The guys still aren’t as convinced as I am that we are missing a pretty big piece of the puzzle, but the more I think about it, the more I know I’m right.
Her interactions with each of the guys has only solidified that for me. Why choose Carson when she clearly at least wants them too? Why take the bet? Why accept the reward? Even if the punishments were a nuisance, it caused no real damage to her. She should have been able to easily overcome everything we had thrown at her so far.
But it was barring her from the football game that broke her will to hold out?
Please. Not a lick of it makes any damn sense. Doesn’t seem as if she’s made that clear of a choice from where I’m sitting. Of course these assholes are just too stubborn to admit that.
