Page 20 of Fixation of the Mind

A little bit of guilt snuck in beneath her next words. “When things didn’t add up, I figured you were a plant or a spy, so I kept a close watch. I was so glad that I didn't find anything, and then Ambros began sniffing around you. I got a little territorial and wanted to warn you away from him, but it was just jealousy. I’ve never had a normal friend before, and I got greedy.” She went silent for a moment, letting out a harsh breath. “Then my mom asked about you, and I tried not to give her more than basic information that anyone would give, but I accidentally mentioned your necklace. That was when her attention turned to you. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that would ruin everything!” She sobbed the last part, and my heart squeezed.

“And that’s not it, Lay…”

Hearing her shaky voice, I knew I wasn't going to like it. “Tell me.”

“You know when I took you to the party?” My heart pounded hard in my chest, but I silently clutched the phone, waiting. “I guess Luca didn't trust me when I said you were clean, so he took it upon himself to… try to get information from you.”

My mouth opened and closed, stunned by what I was hearing, and she rushed out the rest in a sob. “He wasn't trying to hurt you. I promise you that. He feels terrible about it now… but he was the one who drugged you with our family's brand of truth serum.”

I couldn't hold it back now. “Cinzia!”

“I know! I know! I'm so sorry.” Between sobs, she growled, “I ripped him a new one! I told him that there better not be a hair missing from your head or he was going to pay. Once we couldn't find you, we shut down the party. The three of us searched for you everywhere, and when I saw you in our dorm, I was just so happy that you were okay. I didn't think about what else could’ve happened to you.”

Hearing my strong, bitchy friend sob was both satisfying and gut wrenching. I could feel her guilt from across the phone.

“Then, when you thought you could’ve been assaulted, I wanted to burn that fraternity house to the ground. I kept myself together in front of you, but as soon as I got to the Alpha Xi Sigma house, I trashed the whole place. Elio was the only one who could talk me out of burning it to the ground.”

A puff of a laugh escaped my lips at the imagery of a stunned Luca and a nervous Elio, both of them unable to hold a candle to the utter destruction Cin could cause. While I did feel betrayed, I knew that Cin hadn’t drugged me. It wasn't her fault, and with her mother occupying the head seat at Foedus, I could guess how hard it was to make a choice between being a true friend and staying loyal to her family and the group that had raised her.

I sighed, suddenly growing more and more tired of being upset over the past. I just wanted to survive the future. Leaning against the wall, I thought about it as if I were using Rion’s brain. It would be advantageous to have a friend like her on the inside, someone I could talk to outside of the brothers… just in case. The illogical side just wanted to keep our new friend regardless, insisting she would be able to weather being by my side. Cin was strong and capable. She also had her family to back her up.

Her hushed, choked-up voice broke through my thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Layrin. Please. Please believe that I would never harm you.”

Heaving out a breath, I closed my eyes, finally deciding on what I was going to do. “I believe you, Cin.”

“Oh, thank fucking god! Thank you, Lay! You won’t regret it.” I could picture her furiously wiping her tears away with a smile, and it felt good to have my friend back. “But now that you’re a part of Foedus, I don’t have to hide anything from you. That's so exciting!”

Even though she couldn't see me, I smiled. She had a way of causing that, with her peppy attitude. I could admit that I would miss her if I couldn't hang out with her or talk to her. “Yeah. I really don’t like being lied to, so try not to do that to me again, K?

She giggled. “If you were in front of me, I would hug you so hard! No lying. Top of the list!" She paused again, but this time her voice went up an octave. "By the way, where are you?”

“Ha ha. You know I can’t tell you that. Ambros would be pissed.”

She groaned. “Uh, he told you? Who cares, Fuck him!”

I giggled, feeling like myself for the first time in forty-eight hours. God, it had only been that long, but my life had changed so much. “So… I guess you heard I’ll have to take the ‘test’? Do you have any helpful hints for it?”

She got quiet for a second before she answered. “I haven't taken it yet, but I hear it's different for everyone. All I know is that Ambros passed in not only the fastest time frame, but with the least amount of recovery time. All of the heads were massively impressed with him.”

I was a little shocked by the admiration I heard in her voice, and she must have heard it too because she abruptly coughed. “So, yeah. I hate saying this, but he’ll probably be the best teacher to get you through this.” I heard someone in the background calling out to her, their voice faint.

“Shit. I got to go, but we should talk more. I know you're going to be busy with training, but I might pop in every once in a while. Maybe we could get coffee or something?” The desperation in her voice had me giving her a yes. While it was obvious that she just wanted someone to talk to, to connect with, I had the same thoughts. I didn’t want to be alone.

We promised to talk soon before we hung up. I had just opened the door, my stomach so ready for food I was about to raid the pantry, when I spotted the boys huddled around the entrance. I lifted a brow, both annoyed and amused by their antics.

“Is the food here?”

Ravi promptly took a step forward. “Yep, just got here and piping hot.”

I nodded and started walking through the doorway, but Roux grabbed my arm. “What did she say?”

Yanking my hand out of his grasp, I continued into the kitchen, the three of them following me like baby ducks behind their mama. “Nothing that has to do with Foedus, just us.”

I could feel them pause, the three of them drilling holes in the back of my head. When I swiveled around, gearing up to yell at them, they smiled at me like nothing was wrong, even Roux, which was just creepy, but it worked. My anger simmered as my stomach urged me forward. These psychos were always going to be in my business, whether I liked it or not, huh?

The smell of Chinese food wafted up my nose, and I whirled around on the balls of my feet. Their collective breath of relief made a small smile drift across my face. They might hate that I had a person outside of them, but they knew I would definitely fight them about it until I won. Cin was an amazing woman with so many skills, but she was starved for something normal, something that was hers and not her family’s. I also needed someone outside of these men. We were a good fit for each other.

“Let's eat. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to kick my ass.”

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