“Never mind,” I mumbled before I all but ran to the dining hall, that smirking psychopath right behind me the entire way. Even after I grabbed a tray and randomly pointed at food, before I chose an empty table near the back, he stayed on my ass like we were connected via a physical hold.
Forcing myself to breathe deeply until I could act normal, I was scouring my brain for a neutral topic when Connor dropped his arm over the back of my chair. He’d gotten a serving of the shepherd’s pie and two salads, but he touched neither as he curled his fingers into my jacket. “I think we need to talk, brat. About what happened on the weekend. Sorry I wasn’t around much, but my father and I needed to deal withthose assholes and ensure that the Crusades know their place, once and for all.”
Swallowing roughly, I tried to focus on his words and not the heat of his fingers as he toyed with the material of my denim jacket. “You don’t have to apologize,” I said, forcing myself to pick up my chicken parmesan sandwich. I didn’t taste anything as I took a bite, but at least it kept my hands and mouth busy.
Connor watched me as I ate, never touching his own food or removing his hand from the back of my chair, as if he anchored me to the spot. It wasn’t until Brodie appeared, Andrew and Haze behind him, that I found myself a few inches farther away from Connor. Who was now plowing into his food, as if he’d been starving all along.
My stomach swirled at the sensation of being watched, especially when the other guys took the empty seats across from us and I was the center of attention in a way that threatened to drag me down into the depths of both desire and embarrassment.
I had no idea how this was my life, but I was thankful I didn’t die that day in my last college. It would have been a real shame to miss out on knowing these five guys.
“Is it okay for you to all sit here?” I asked as they settled in with their lunches.
Andrew nodded, his expression cold. “Yes. We’ve spread the word that this is part of our punishment. No one will question it.”
Oh, right. The big old secret had to be maintained. I still hadn’t figured out the whys of that, and it was probably about time I did.
Before I could ask though, Brodie reached out and grasped my hand. “You okay, Evie? You seem kind of…”
“Spaced out,” Haze added.
Connor let out a low laugh that I wasn’t sure the other guysheard. “She thinks we’ve trauma bonded. Which one of you wannabe therapists put that notion in her head?”
“Not me,” Andrew said, his only reaction as he proceeded to eat his usual lunch of boiled eggs, five-hundred-seed bread—with extra fiber—and plain chicken breast. If there was ever a guy who needed a little seasoning in his life, it was this one. Though, he had been eating my dinners lately without complaint, which I’d taken as a huge compliment, because he didn’t vary his routine much outside of that.
“Sheneedsa therapist,” Haze said in his usual blunt way. “To help with the gun trauma.”
I blinked, a sliver of hurt erupting at his harsh reference to my brokenness. As if I hadn’t already been aware. Just when I’d felt like I was gaining ground with all of them, suddenly I was once again a freak who was the cause of a mass shooting in my last school and still needed therapy.
It was fairly obvious they all knew what happened to me by this point. Just because they hadn’t spoken directly to me, didn’t mean they weren’t aware. Maybe it was time for me to drop the act as well and just get that shit out there. My former therapist would agree with this plan of action.
“I was in therapy for months before I came here,” I said shortly, dropping the last half of my sandwich on the plate. I couldn’t stomach anything else. “After I got out of the hospital, I went to therapy five times a week. Three for my mind and two for my body. I’ve done the therapy.”
“Doesn't mean you don’t still need it,” Andrew added, and when no one asked me what I’d been in hospital for, it confirmed that they’d all know about the shooting. Probably since before we’d moved into the damn house together.
I was distracted as Connor nudged my tray toward me. “You need to eat that all, brat. You’ve been picking at your food lately like a fucking bird.” A fraction of my hurt eased at the thoughtthat he’d noticed my eating habits and cared enough to comment.Stupid trauma bond.
Brodie let out a loud laugh. “Maybe they are trauma bonded. Otherwise, Con has been snatched up and replaced by a new model. Model A for asshole is gone, so this must be model B.”
Feeling the telltale signs of embarrassment creeping up my throat, I was about to jerk to my feet and rush out of here when Connor released a low rumble. “Ignore the moron at the table, Evelyn. You are not leaving until you eat!”
A rush of anger helped to keep the other, softer emotions at bay. “Look, I’ll tell you the same shit I told Andrew. I don’t need more father figures in my life. I’ll eat when I’m hungry. I’ll leave the grounds if I want to. And I will not have you four interfering in my life just because we live together.”
“And occasionally kiss and fuck,” Connor drawled, back to model A again. “Better tell Ethan about your new rules because he’s a bossy prick who likes to control.”
I choked on a gasp, which set Brodie off into the loudest laughter I’d ever heard, shutting up only when I glared him into oblivion. “I could fuck all five of you on a regular, rotating schedule,” I shot back, as their eyes widened and jaws slackened, “and that still wouldn’t give you the right to dictate my life. Not now. Or ever.”
“Excuse me!” The nasally voice came from the side of the table, and I turned to find a familiar, annoying face standing there: Laura Sandiconte.
“You’re excused,” I shot back, jumping to my feet and hefting my tray like I was about to throw it at her. Andrew looked mildly concerned, which was a huge step up from his previous apathy, while Brodie and Haze only looked mildly amused. Connor just looked disgusted as he ran his gaze over her.
“I thought we decided that this was a no-whore zone,” hedrawled, lacing his fingers together over his flat stomach. “Shouldn’t you be off on your knees somewhere, making Andrew some money?”
Laura’s face turned to a shade of red that I had no idea a human could attain. “You lowlife thug. Just because all of you share a house now, doesn’t mean you’re anything but scum.” She swung toward her boyfriend, voice lowering into a whine. “Andrew, I don’t understand why you’re sitting here withthem.Are you sure the dean would enforce this punishment? Have you spoken to your mother? They’re your enemies, for Fletcher's sake.”
If only you knew, bitch.These boys had never been enemies, and she was clearly not important to Andrew if she didn’t know the basic facts of who his best friends were. These four and Ethan were the ones that appeared to have a lifelong trauma bond.
Now I just had to get them to admit the whys and hows of their odd friendship—and soon.
