Onyx flung my head away from him as he gave a disgruntled growl and started to pace the room, ignoring the tension between us all. “Why do you three boys fall over yourself for this fucking girl? What hold does she have on you that makes you behave like mindless fucking fools?”
“I know you don’t like her,” I said to him as I rubbed my jaw, “but you don’t need to speak about her like that.”
“Why? She’s poison.”
“Stop it,” Ash murmured as he sat on the armrest of the couch. He was still watching me, and I was watching him. “She’s been a part of us since we were ten. She’s as close as family.”
“She cheated on you,” Onyx reminded him as he turned his glare onto him.
“Did she?” Ash gave me a considering look. “I think she lied.”
Onyx snorted and threw his hands in the air in disbelief. “And how long have you thought this?” he snarked at Ash.
“About five seconds ago.” Ash tilted his head in question as he looked at me. “I think she was told to break it off, am I right?”
I nodded once, and with a slight shake of his head, he looked away from me.
“You’re both fucking clowns.” Onyx looked between us both. “Fix this shit later. For tonight, tell me what I need to know about the house, the fire and the doctor I knocked unconscious in my basement.”
“What?” Ash was on his feet, looking at Jett and me.
Quickly, Jett retold the night, and I filled in the bits none of them knew.
“Why the hell would you take Quinn?” Ash asked Jett when he was finished.
“Because I knew if I needed to bring him back from the edge, she was the only one who would be able to,” Jett replied with a heavy sigh.
“Seriously, has she got a fucking diamond-encrusted pussy?” Onyx spat, and for the third time that night, I busted my hand open when I smashed my fist into my brother’s jaw.
Chapter 14: Quinn
Halloween was my favorite time of year, and I didn’t hide it. It had been a week since the night of the fire, and all three of them were avoiding me. I’d received a couple of texts from Jett and only one from Gray. Which had come the night he told me he couldn’t be near me.
I stared at it now, as I sat in the coffee shop with a pumpkin spice latte.
Gray:Ash knows
That was it. Nohow did he knoworwhathe knew orhowhe reacted. JustAsh knows.
And if I were honest, I was glad that he did. Yes, I’m a horrible, terrible person, and I will burn in hell no doubt, but it was one more weight off my shoulders, and truthfully, I was grateful I didn’t need to be the one to tell him.
Ash wouldn’t need to be told to keep his distance; he would gladly avoid me.
Looking down at my laptop, I looked at the food plans. I needed to go to the house and check in with the football players for my assignment, but I knew I couldn’t right now.
I knew they would fuck up this assignment for me.
Tapping my pen off the side of the table, I jerked in surprise when a large hand stilled my pen. Looking up, I met Gray’s stare and sat in silence as he pulled out a chair and dropped into it.
He pulled his book bag onto his lap and started rifling through it. His hand was still strapped up, and he had missed a game and was due to miss Saturday’s away game too.
He handed me several sheets of paper, and I hesitated before I took them from him.
“I don’t have it all — they’re fucking useless at paying attention — but it’s the best I could do.”
Shuffling through the sheets, I realized they were food diaries, and as I began to scrutinize them more closely, I saw he had even guesstimated at the portion size.
“You didn’t need to do this.”
