Her brows lift. “Excuse me?”
“Go shower,” I repeat, like I’m talking to a teammate who’s trying to tell me he doesn’t need ice.
Sloane’s mouth tightens in that familiar way—her first instinct is always to push back. Then she exhales, slowly.
“You’re bossy,” she says.
“You like bossy,” I reply automatically.
I regret it the second it leaves my mouth because it’s too close to…something.
Sloane’s eyes narrow like she’s deciding whether to stab me with her words.
Instead, she takes her mug, wraps both hands around it, and mutters, “I hate you.”
It’s not convincing.
I tilt my head. “Sure you do.”
Her lips twitch like she wants to smile and refuses.
She turns away first. “Fine. Shower.”
She walks past me, and her fingers brush my side—small and brief, like she can pretend it didn’t happen.
It doesn’t feel accidental.
I stay at the counter until I hear her bedroom door close again, then I exhale like I’ve been holding my breath since last night.
And then my brain does what it does best.
It spirals privately.
I wipe the counter. I straighten the mail. I rinse mugs that are already clean. Busy hands. Quiet head. That’s the goal.
It doesn’t work.
Because Cameron is going to find out.
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. Cameron always finds out. He has this sixth sense for anything that threatens his family.
And I’m his best friend.
Which means I’m supposed to be safe.
I’m supposed to be the guy who shows up, carries things, fixes the sink, makes dumb jokes, takes hits for his people.
Not the guy who sleeps in his little sister’s bed.
I press my palms against the counter and stare at the window over the sink. Outside, the sky is brightening like the world didn’t do anything wrong.
I hate the sky a little for that.
The shower turns on down the hall.
The sound steadies something in me—proof she’s moving, proof she’s functioning, proof she’s still here.
I grab my bag from my room, set it by the back door and wait. Inside are the basics, plus the knee brace. I don’t take it out yet. I just leave the bag on the floor and wait.
