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I don’t like it. Any of it.

When Ares came to me and asked if I wanted to come with him for Christmas, it had been my instinct to say no. I usually stay put in Atlanta and work on Christmas. There are plenty of people who don’t have family to see or that they want to see, and I’ve always opened my shop to them so they can work out their feelings about all that with tattoos. Sometimes you just need an outlet, and it’s been nice to provide that for them.

But Tate agreed to come, and I know Ares wanted me there, so I agreed. I’m always happy to go anywhere with the two people who mean the most to me, but the holidays just make shit complicated.

This is a perfect fucking example of that.

Everything is chaotic and out of control now, and it’s something I enjoy. We’re at the mercy of the weather and the rental agencies and the airports. More than that, there’s Brynn to factor in now too, and it’s hard to say what that’s going to mean.

All this time, she’s been the girl who fucked Ares over years ago. He tries to pretend that he’s over it, that all he’s left with is anger for what happened between them, but it only takes being in the room with them for a few minutes to realize that he still has strong feelings for her other than that.

I know who she is, of course. Brynn, whose music I listen to a lot when I’m designing tattoos and doing sketches. Her music always spoke to me, and I feel like I’ve done a lot of my best work with her in the background. Privately, I’ve been thinking of her as my muse in a way, for years.

And now she’s here, right in front of me.

That throws me off badly.

Ares finally seems to notice that Brynn is there, and his eyes rake over her and then dart to Tate. If hearing that we’re stuck for another night killed the hope, seeing the two of them like this just fucking buries it. His face does something complicated, and I watch him wrench his eyes away to look anywhere else. My stomach clenches. Worse than having them argue is the idea that having Brynn here and Tate being so fucking bold with wanting her is going to wreck our friendship. The idea of that makes me want to throw up. I can’t lose the two people who are the most important to me. I can’t let this group crumble in the face of this.

I wait to see if Ares is going to lash out, but he doesn’t. He takes a breath and lets it out slow, then looks at me instead of Tate or Brynn. “So what are we going to do?” he asks.

“Well, we’re definitely stuck here for at least one more night,” Tate says.

“Once they plow the roads, we could try for a car,” I add. “Might be faster than waiting for the airport to reopen. Especially if there’s bad weather where we’re going too.”

Ares nods. “Yeah, that makes sense. So we wait and then try to get out of here tomorrow.”

“It’s probably going to be a mad house,” Tate says. “Everybody trying to get out all at once as soon as it seems clear enough. I wonder if there are going to be enough cars to go around.”

His eyes dart to Brynn as he says it, and I see the moment Ares realizes what he’s getting at.

He folds his arms, leveling a stare at Tate. “What are you saying?”

Tate shrugs. “Just that we’re trying to get out as soon as possible, and we’re all going to the same place. So to me, it makes sense for us all to go together.”

“Makes sense for who?” Brynn asks, finally speaking up.

Ares’ eyes cut to her sharply. “So you don’t want to go with us?” he snaps. “You want to take your chances out there alone?”

Brynn rolls her eyes at that. “Like you want me in a car with you for the whole drive home. Please.”

“Listen,” Tate says, breaking in. “I think it’s fair to say that none of us want to be in this situation for various reasons. But we have to think about what’s going to get us to where we’re trying to go faster. Do either of you want to explain to your parents why you’re later than we already are?”

Ares and Brynn both shut their mouths and shake their heads.

“Right. So if we can get one car, then we’ll just take it. No one is leaving anyone else stranded here.”

“Fine,” Brynn mutters.

“Yeah, okay,” Ares follows.

“Great. So now we just have to survive one more day here and then we can get the hell out of Bumfuck Nowhere, Ohio.”

Tate seems to be the only person happy with this plan. Both Ares and Brynn are glaring at the floor, which is better than them arguing with each other, I guess. I’m also not thrilled about it. Being trapped in this hotel room with Brynn is one thing, but being in a car with her is different. There won’t be any escape from the sound of her voice or the way she smells or the energy she brings.

The part of me that has always admired her music and wanted to know why she writes the things she does wants to be closer to her, but every other part of me wants to stay away. It’s better if I don’t get close. Better for me, better for the group.

Ares is already dealing with Tate just flaunting shit in his face, and the tension can only get worse from here.