Bella snorts and pulls back. Her green eyes glow against her blotchy but flawless skin. “Thank you for telling me. I understand why you didn’t. Just… don’t keep anything like that from me again. Okay?”
“I swear I didn’t hide it to hurt you. I’ve wanted to tell you for years. I just… I thought the best place for it to be was in the past.”
“If I ever see your bitch-ass mother, I’m?—”
Hearing her mention my mother makes my pulse stutter. “Hey,” I cut in quickly. “She’s not worth you going to jail. And please don’t form some sort of sibling Avengers club with Griff and go on a manhunt.”
“I’d look hot in a Black Widow outfit.”
“You’d be terrifying,” I snort. “Now go back to working on the club with Brodie. They’re letting me go home in a few days, and I already know what the next few weeks will look like—bed rest, a skyscraper of books, and a hot hockey player at my beck and call.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispers, and a familiar tightness grips me. We’ve been here before, specifically when she found me in the diner. I won’t take her dream from her again.
“I’ll check in with you every day. Texts, FaceTime calls—whatever you want. But you can’t put your life on hold for me. We need to keep moving forward.”
“Us against the world, baby sister.”
“Us against the world,” I echo, leaning into her as thirteen years of weight finally slide off my shoulders.
There’snothing like coming home when you’ve been away. It’s been five days of doctors, cops, and hospital showers, but it’s comforting to be back in Huxley Bay. There’s a saltiness in the air that hits differently, like it knows me in a way no other place does.
As soon as we walk through Chase’s front door, the faint plastic smell of balloons fills the entryway. It mixes with the clean scent of Chase’s place. I take in the banner hanging on the wall. It shouldn’t make my eyes sting, but it does.
Welcome home, Erinis scripted in the middle of it. At the bottom right-hand corner it reads:Made by Roman and Olliepoop Oliver.
I can’t hold back the burst of joy inside of me.
As soon as I kick off my shoes, Chase scoops me up. My body is a bit off balance, but being lifted into his arms reminds me that I’m safe.
He carries me up the stairs, into his room, and straight to his en suite. He places me on the counter, then leaves the bathroom to return a few seconds later with a T-shirt, a pair of sweats, and a towel, which he hangs on a hook.
“Shower, then bed rest for two weeks. Doctor’s orders,” he says, placing his hands on my upper arms. “Valerie will swing by your place and get some things packed up for you.”
“I wish I could take a bath instead. I’m not sure I can stand.”
“I’ll hold you up any time, Bookworm. Just say the word.”
My brain knows he’s being sweet. My body knows he’s dangerous in ways that make my skin crawl with desire.
I turn my head to face his very open shower with no doors. Looking back at him, I know my cheeks are pink.
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “I won’t take a look at the goods if that’s what you’re worried about, not unless you want me to look.”
“Such a gentleman,” I mumble.
It’s ridiculous how much that reassurance flusters me.
“When the stitches are healed, I’ll get you the world’s best bath salts. I promise.” He gives me a small peck on the lips and leaves me alone.
I exit the bathroom fifteen minutes later wrapped up in Chase’s clothes. Just as I’m entering the bedroom, he walks in with a tray. Toasted bread and melted cheese—comfort in edible form—fills the air, and my stomach grumbles.
He sits beside me on the bed, saying nothing as he watches me eat. His hand strokes my knee the entire time, and it’s exactly what I need.
“Did you call Brax?” I ask, putting the empty plate back on the tray.
“He’ll be here in a couple hours.”
“Okay.”
