“I know!” I shout right back. “I know, okay? I’m not arguing with that. But Nicholas hasnothingto do with this. I went in after you, and I would have never gotten you out without his help. Do you even know what he did? He carried your unconscious ass out of there.Carried you,Levi. Did nobody bother to tell you that?”
Levi’s eyes widen, his anger flickering with uncertainty. He glances up at Nicholas over my head, and I turn to see he’s still standing behind me, his expression clearly unimpressed.
“He did?” Levi questions when his eyes find mine again.
Nicholas scoffs behind me.
“Yes, he did,” I snap, stepping closer to Levi. “He saved your ass and mine. And this bullshit attitude you’ve got? It’s not only ungrateful, it’s disgusting. Stop it. Right. Fucking.Now.”
Levi glares at me, his jaw clenched so tight I can practically hear his teeth grinding. But then something shifts. His shoulders slump, his gaze drops to the floor, and he mutters something under his breath so quietly I can’t catch it.
It’s not an apology, but he stopped yelling, so I take it.
“Good. Now, let’s all calm the fuck down before we say or do anything stupid.Again.” Exhaling sharply, I try to steady the anger still coursing through me when I turn to Nicholas. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” He nods once curtly, his lips pressed into a thin line.
But he’s not fine. I can see it in the tightness of his shoulders, the way his hands stay buried deep in his pockets. He avoids my gaze.
“I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
From any of us.
Nicholas finally looks at me with hurt or exhaustion, or maybe a mix of both. “It’s fine.”
My fingers brush against his arm, a silent apology. He doesn’t flinch or pull away, but he doesn’t respond either. And somehow, that hurts more than rejection would have. “You said you needed to be somewhere?”
“It’s over now anyway,” he replies, with a shrug that’s not as nonchalant as he probably wants it to be.
Then it hits me.
It’s Wednesday.
“Oh no. The parkour training? Nico, I’mso sorry.”
He shrugs again, the motion even more stiff and unconvincing. “It’s not a big deal. I just… forgot to let them know it wasn’t happening.”
“You’re still doing parkour?” Koen speaks up.
Nicholas doesn’t answer and avoids his gaze.
“He’s not justdoingit.” I step in before Nicholas can downplay it further. “He’steachingkids. It’s amazing. He’s amazing with them.”
Nicholas glances down at me, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
“That’s… pretty cool,” Koen says after a beat.
“As if you’d care.” Nicholas huffs.
“Right…” Koen smirks faintly, his tone turning defensive. “I don’t.”
Oh my God. They are worse than children.
A soft chuckle comes from beside me, and I glance up to see Ace standing there, Good Lookin’—Jinx—still cradled in his arms. “If I’d known it was you asking for help with parkour, I would’ve told you not to even try it.”
I squint at him. “Why?”
“Because I remember someone who ate dirt every second try while skateboarding back in the day.”
