Page 59 of You Belong With Me

The fucking bastard.

I lean toward the mirror to inspect the bruise more closely when suddenly, there’s a knock on my front door. It must be Lux. Quickly, I find a new pair of panties, and sweats and slip them on.

“Just a sec!” I call out, tossing my dirty clothes into the hamper on my way to the front door. I pull it open. “Wow, that wa–” The words die on my tongue when I see who is on the other side of the door. He looks so much like Lucas that my heart jolts every time I see him. “Christian,” I say. “What are you doing here?”

He’s leaning against my doorframe, looking casual and annoyed, which is pretty usual for him. “What’d you say to my brother?”

I blink at him. “Uh, why don’t you ask him?”

He rakes a hand over his face. “Yeah, I would, if he weren’t losing his motherfucking mind right now.”

Losing his mind? I’m dying to ask him what he means by that, but I just shrug, instead. I can’t get wrapped up in Lucas’ drama again. “Sorry, can’t help you.”

He scoffs, and just before I’m about to close the door, I glance over Christian’s shoulder and see a black sports car pull up. Lux pops out of the passenger side and heads up the walkway. She’s wearing sweats and an oversized hoodie with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder.

When she gets close enough, she addresses Christian, “What areyoudoing here?”

“Lucas is out of his mind.” He flicks his chin in my direction. “And I was hoping Wyn could talk him down.”

Lux scrunches her face, then looks at me, her gaze catching on my bruised cheek. “What the hell happened?”

I step aside and open the door wider. “I’ll explain…”

Christian’s phone pings, and he glances down at it, then hisses, “shit.”

My heart leaps into my throat. I’m trying to look I don’t give a fuck about Lucas, but the truth is, I do. I givea lotof fucks, and the fact that Lucas is losing it right now has me feeling every possible kind of way.

I swallow and try to keep my mouth shut, but curiosity gets the best of me. “What is it?”

“Gabriel just called a meeting.”

It’s the middle of the night, but that hardly matters. These guys call meetings at all-fucking-hours. It’s a wonder they get any sleep.

“Wait, Gabriel isn’t a Sacred Son,” Lux points out. “Does he have the authority to call a meeting?”

“Who fucking knows,” Christian says, pushing off the doorframe with a heavy sigh. “He probably wants to talk about the tribunal.”

Now, that catches my attention. “Tribunal? For who, Gabriel?”

“Yeah,” Christian says impatiently. “Lucas found evidence that Gabriel could be connected to another secret society.”

Another secret society? Wait, what?

I glance at Lux, and she glances back at me.

“We’re coming with you,” Lux says.

Christian is silent for a second—and I’m sure he’s weighing whether or not Roman and Lucas would give him shit about allowing us to tag along. In the end, though, he shrugs. “Fine, whatever.” He points at me. “But let’s be clear, you’re only coming so you can talk some sense into my brother. You leave before Gabriel pops up.”

My heart crawls up into my throat. “Yeah, sure.”

I have no intention of talking to Lucas at all, actually. He’s a weakness I can’t seem to shake, and whenever we’re face-to-face, I find myself falling head-first into those stunning blue eyes, which is the exact opposite of what Ishouldbe doing.

Lux tosses her bag into my apartment, and I throw some shoes and a baggy sweatshirt on, then grab my purse. We all pile into Christian’s car, and Lux takes the front seat, which means I’m wedged into the back with a bunch of fast-food wrappers.Ugh, boys are so gross. I shove the wrappers aside and buckle up.

Thankfully, Rush House is only a few minutes away, and as we pull into the driveway, I see Lucas’ car. My heart leaps into my throat, and my heart starts hammering against my ribs. I just saw him less than an hour ago—why does the idea of seeing him again make me feel like I’m going to pass out?

Christian and Lux get out, and I push the passenger seat forward, getting out as well. I take my phone but leave my purse because we won’t be here for very long, anyway.Hopefully.Andif my purse is in Christian’s car, then he’ll have to be the one to take me home. That’s my logic, anyway.

---