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“Oh. Where is he?” I look over my shoulder out the open bathroom door. The bedroom area is separated enough that you can’t see the beds very well, but I can still tell the room is empty.
“Gym. Dude can’t even relax on vacation.” Holden chuckles, and I nod. Nash is dedicated to keeping himself in shape. At first, I thought his motivation was driven by his appearance, but Nash doesn’t care about his looks in that way. He’s fit because of hockey. His motivation is wanting to be the best at something. Not making girls swoon over his abs.
The swoon-worthy body is just a bonus for him.
I wait for Holden to turn away, so I can remove the robe and climb in, but when he just crosses his arms over his chest and watches me with a lifted brow, I sigh.
“Making sure I don’t drown or just enjoying the free show?” I mumble, making him chuckle.
“Why can’t it be both?” he teases, and I laugh.
“Not much of a show,” I say, making him snort.
“I’m not complaining.” His volume drops as I peel off my soaked robe and climb into the shower. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, but I’m already shaking my head.
“Never.”
“If I leave to go get you breakfast, will you be okay to finish up?”
“Probably.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back. Try not to hurt yourself, please?” Holden leaves, and I’m left alone with my thoughts. Part of me wants to demand Nix talk to me, but a bigger part of me wants to hide in my cabin until it’s time to leave.
I could fake food poisoning.
I’m about to dismiss the idea when I realize I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. Including hanging out with my family while we all pretend like everything isn’t completely fucked. My mom will understand.
I hope.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
“Only” by NF
ROSE
That night, after many hours of napping and a visit from my concerned mother, I’m flicking through the channels on the room’s TV when there’s a knock on the door.
I groan, climbing out from under the comfort of the blankets and tug the door open cautiously.
“Your mother sent us with snacks,” Nash says, holding up several bags of food.
“She’s very persuasive,” Ren adds as he pushes his way into my room, followed by Holden. Nash waits for me to invite him in, and I chuckle.
“You’re not going to barge in?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“No. I’m not a beast. Unlike some men.” Nash shoots an accusatory look over my shoulder.
“Hey, I’m no beast!” Ren defends. I pull the door open wider.
“I’m too tired to fight, and if my mother finds out I turned you three away, she’ll demand to come in herself. At least with you, I don’t have to pretend everything is okay,” I confess, and then wish I hadn’t. I don’t want to talk, and if I keep saying shit like that, they’ll push.
“Let's just get you fed,” Holden offers as Nash steps inside, placing the bags on the small coffee table. There's a little seating area off to the left of my bed, so the guys all gather there, passing out food and chatting. I tune them out.
Their company is nice, and I can admit I needed the companionship, but I just don’t have it in me to say much at all.
Thankfully, this doesn’t seem to bother them. At least not until Holden starts cursing at his phone.
“Nix is being a bag of dicks down at the bar. Your dad is down there with him,” Holden says to me, and I sigh. Sounds about right.
