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I moved in, following his movements.
As he landed, his head hit again, and he began to slide down to the ground.
I grabbed his shirt, yanked him up, and held him. I shouldn’t have done that move, but he wasn’t going to go anywhere. I’d stunned him enough, and my fist was back. I had perfect line right next to his eye. Real damage could’ve been done, but then a guttural scream sounded and a body yanked down on my arm, hanging on me.
It was Ramsay.
I knew it before she was there, knew she was coming. Of course, she’d come in, save her cousin, save another one she loved.
Of course, I just handed her own nightmare to her, live and in person, and knowing that, feeling the instant regret, I caught her as her hold slipped. She was going to fall. I slipped an arm around her waist and yanked her against me.
She stiffened, but I put both arms around her and moved her backward until we were beyond the crowd that’d gathered, moving us into an empty room, and I held her. I needed it more for me because I didn’t know if I’d ever hold her again.
“N-no! No!” She wrenched herself out of my arms. “No!” She hit at my arm. “You don’t get to do this. Not after you ended things.”
“Ramsay—”
“No! I said no!” She was pawing at her hair, trying to clear it from her face, but the strands were sticking for some reason. Giving up just as someone tried opening the door, she reached for the handle and opened it herself.
Clint, Alex, and Trenton were all there. One or all of them grabbed for her, pulling her through, putting her behind them.
I started for her, not meaning to, knowing I shouldn’t, but I did it anyway.
I had to. I just had to go to her. She was like gravity for me.
“No.” Alex moved to the front, his hands braced against the doorframe, barring my way. His brothers were next to him, all wearing murderous expressions.
This was my best friend.
This had been my best friend.
His gaze was dark, ominous. “Stay away from us. Stay away from her. Got it?”
Everything was ricocheting inside me. Who I wanted. What I couldn’t have. Why I couldn’t have her. What I couldn’t do. Knowing I’d be leaving—none of it mattered. None of this mattered.
It was over. My life here was over. This week was just . . . the universe’s joke on me. I was getting a live and in-person tease of what I was leaving behind and would never get back again.
I didn’t move, but I withdrew. Alex sensed it, a slight frown showing before I clipped out, “Not a fucking problem. Get out of my way, Maroney.”
80
RAMSAY
FIVE DAYS LATER
“Oh.” My mom sighed behind me. “Honey.”
I met her gaze in my mirror. She was taking me in, her eyes starting to shine as she leaned against my doorframe. “That’s your Homecoming dress?”
It was a dark mauve-colored dress that felt like silk, with lacy sleeves. It changed colors depending on the light and the angle. From the side, it looked completely black. The front crisscrossed across me, wrapping to the side with a braided pattern weaved throughout the dress.
It almost looked Grecian.
My hair was swept back with long loose curls. I’d been nervous to do it, but I skipped the football game to give myself enough time. Theresa and Alred dropped by to help and had just left to pick up Gem on the way to the dance.
I nodded, smoothing out the front before turning to her, dropping my shoulders. “What do you think?”
Her eyes were now watering. “You look beautiful.”
She said it so softly, wistfully.
My throat swelled, seeing her emotion. “Mom,” I whispered before looking away.
“You’ve decided to go then? To the dance?”
She knew about the end with Scout. I came home that night and she’d been here, on one of her nights off. I hadn’t wanted to lie. She took one look at me, opened her arms, and I walked into them.
“Yeah.” I met her gaze again, giving her a somewhat sheepish grin. “It’s at that new hotel, and all the planning I did . . .” I raised a shoulder. “Gem, Theresa, and Alred will be there. A lot of Theresa’s other friends too. I’ve just started to hang out with them. They’re fun.”
“I think that’s good. Your cousins too.”
I gave her a nod.
“Your father would be swooning over you and crapping his pants at the same time. You are so beautiful, and there is going to be so many guys. He’d be so worried he would either need to go to the gun range or go to the store to get medication. But he’d be so proud of you.” A tear streaked down her cheek. She only took a deep breath, her smile turning sad. “I know he’s here, and I know he’s swooning over you, saying how proud he is of you, but we can’t see him.”
