I grind my teeth and start pacing. “I’m not mad at her. I’m just—”
“Losing your mind without her?” Ronan finishes.
I stop pacing and stare straight at him. “Yeah.”
Because that’s the truth.
She’s the one person who cuts through the static in my head. When she’s around, the noise quiets. The world stops spinning so violently. Without her? I’m stuck holding my breath, waiting to fall apart.
“We’re all feeling it,” Rowen says, setting his book aside. “But we’ll work it out. Reign’s already backing us, and Berk’s processing everything. When she’s ready, we move forward. Together.”
Ronan nods. “We just have to be smart. We can’t make this public until we know how to explain it. Not to school, and definitely not to our parents.”
I stiffen.
“Yeah,” I mutter, forcing a breath out. “That’s a conversation I’m never having.”
My dad will never know about Berk. Not now. Not ever.
Ronan sighs and scrubs a hand over his neck. “It sucks, man. If the three of us date her, guys will high-five us and call us legends. But Berk? People will tear her apart.”
“Not happening,” I snap, the words a growl. “Anyone who says a single thing about her, they deal with me.”
Ronan salutes dramatically. “Yes, Captain Rage.”
Rowen ignores him, eyes serious. “We protect her. That’s the rule. All of us or none of us.”
I nod, because there’s no other option.
Berk isn’t just some girl we care about.
She’s ours.
She’s the calm within all our storms.
And no one—absolutely no one—gets to hurt her.
Chapter Four
Berkley
Screw calling.
If I’m doing this—actually doing this—then I’m going all in. No halfway courage. No hiding behind a text. No letting my voice crack over the phone. Just me showing up, bold and terrified, and pretending I’m the bravest person in town.
Reign messaged me ten minutes ago with an update like she’s running a covert operation.They’re all in Ronan’s room. Coming up with ways not to pressure you but still get you to talk. They miss you.
Yeah.
Cue the Olympic-level stomach flips.
So here I am, standing on the Calder porch with my heart pounding loud enough to echo and nerves somersaulting like it’s a full-contact sport. Before I can back out, I grab the doorknob and walk inside.
No knocking.
I’ve earned the right to enter.
I take the stairs quietly, half hoping they don’t hear me coming, half hoping they do. Outside Ronan’s room, the door is open just enough for the sound of their voices to float through.
