Chapter 20
Holden
Itry to be cool as I leave my brothers but once I’m out of their eyesight I rush to my room. She just messaged so hopefully she’s still online. I still haven’t figured out why I’m so obsessed with this girl even though I don’t know her. But I am.
Once I’m in my room, I drop down in my computer chair and turn on my laptop. I take another bite of my taco, chewing the steak aggressively as I impatiently wait for my laptop to run through the whole startup process.
“Come on,” I mutter under my breath. It’s as if the powers that be hear my words and the screen comes to life. Then it hits. I’m a fucking idiot. This whole time I’ve been waiting for the fucking laptop I could’ve been messaging her from my phone.
Shaking it off I don’t waste any time logging into the school messenger service.
To Holden: Thanks for reaching out. I didn’t even realize we’d been partnered up yet. Also, it was nice of you to tell me a little about yourself. Like you,I’m a junior and I’m twenty. I live with my family too. My brother and his pack. Thankfully, I don’t live in the main house with them so I do have some privacy. I like to eat as well, though I’m sure I don’t have as big an appetite as you.
She lives with her family. Sounds like she doesn’t have a pack, and something deep inside of me likes that. Okay, think. What do I say back?
To River: Yeah, I do. Not as big as my brother Roman. He owns his own construction company and I’m not sure if I should tell you, LOL, but he’s also a cage fighter. We actually just got back from a fight he had tonight.
I hit send, then sit there nervously waiting to see if she replies. If I were a drinker I’d need one to calm my nerves, but alcohol never appealed to me or my brothers. Now I wait for her while I take another bite of my taco. I swear, suddenly this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
The seconds tick past and nothing. Shit, did I scare her off? Maybe I shouldn’t have said that about my brother. Him being a cage fighter is so normal to me that I don’t ever think twice about telling anyone. Then it happens. She responds.
To Holden: Did he win?
A simple three word question, but it’s more telling than any answer she could ever give me.
To River: Undefeated. He’s a beast inside those metal bars. My other brother Nash goes to school with us. He’s 21, 6 months older than me, so he’s a junior too.
To Holden: 6 months. That math ain’t mathing, sir. But you get to graduate with him. That’s pretty cool. It’s almost like he’s your twin.
To River: I was adopted. Technically he’s my cousin. But his parents adopted me. Even before that, before I lived with them, I thought of both of them as my brothers. And the three of us became a pack.
To River: I’m the beta to their alpha. LOL.
She doesn’t immediately respond as she did before. No, now there’s a lag in the flow of our conversation.
“Get it together, Holden, she’s probably doing something and couldn’t respond right back.” Not wanting to seem like a pathetic creeper, I take the last bite of my taco and pick up the plate. Might as well go clean it real quick.
I take the steps at a run, jumping off the bottom one. When I enter the kitchen, I see Roman still sitting at the table, but now he has a stack of papers in front of him and his laptop.
“Already done talking?” he asks, looking up at me with a smug look on his face.
“Just bringing the plate back down,” I say, stepping over to the sink and washing it quickly, then placing it on a dishtowel on the counter to dry.
“Shit bro, it’s a joke. Damn, I’ve never seen you worked up like this over a picture on a screen.” He holds up a piece of paper, his eyes darting from it to what he sees on the screen.
“What are you doing?” I ask, wanting to change the subject.
“Verifying that all the information on the contracts match my estimates so they can go out tomorrow to be signed.”
“Boring,” I sing out, drawing out the word to emphasize my true thoughts on it. I give him a thumbs up before rushing out of the room and heading back to my laptop.
I stop just outside my door, bracing myself in case there isn’t a reply from her.
But Lady Luck is on my side, and there’s one waiting.
To Holden: I just realized I never answered your question. I haven’t gotten any information about what our project is. Guess we’re both in the dark on that.
We continue chatting back and forth until finally she tells me she has to go to bed. When I look at the time, I notice it is nearly two in the morning. I cringe knowing I have to be up at seven for school. Fuck, tomorrow is going to suck.
