Page 19 of In Too Deep

“What’s wrong, sugar? Talk to me,” I whisper, resting my hand on her upper back, trying for reassurance rather than entrapment.

“I’m so fucking stupid,” she mutters back, though I’m not sure if she’s speaking to me or herself.

“Why do you think you’re stupid?” My brain is running through years of my mother’s informal therapy sessions with me, trying to pick the best lines for the moment. Don’t invalidate the feeling, just get to the root.

“I fucked up, Spencer. I fucked up so bad. And it was so fucking stupid.” Her voice cracks.

Not able to stand it a moment longer, I move my hand from her back to her face, placing one finger under her chin to turn her gaze to me. My heart leaps into my throat as I see the tears lining the edges of her two-toned blue eyes. I swallow hard. All the worst-case scenarios are flying through my thoughts, and I’m not sure what I want to be true.

“What’s wrong, sunshine? Maybe we can help?” Eli offers, ever the optimist.

Tori shakes her head, straightening up only to press her hands over her face and shake her head so hard her hair whips at my arms.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t... I don’t know if this can be fixed, or if we can even do this,” she nearly sobs.

“Victoria, breathe. Just take a few deep breaths,” Oli barks, a true alpha bark.

A shiver runs down my spine, the force of his dominance making my chest expand even though his order wasn’t directed at me. For Tori, she’s breathing through tears, and it seems to be working. We’re silent for several agonizing moments, untilTori seems to get herself back under control. She doesn’t lower her hands, but at least the panic seems to have faded. I glance around to find something, anything that can help.

“Let’s sit at the table, and we can talk this through,” I suggest, resting my hand lightly on Tori’s shoulder.

She nods after a heartbeat, and something in my chest loosens. I expect her to go to the dining room, but instead, she turns and heads out onto the patio, pulling out one of the chairs that surround the outdoor dining table. I follow right behind, taking the seat next to her at the rectangular table, forcing Oli and Eli to sit across from us. Amber eyes glare at me, but he can shove it.

“What has you bent out of shape, Tori?” Eli asks, his tone gentle and genuine.

With a sigh, Tori rubs her face to clear the tear tracks on her cheeks before sniffing. “I didn’t want to have this discussion at all, if I could avoid it. But at the bare minimum, I didn’t want to ruin our Christmas,” she says, almost deliberately not answering the question at hand.

“Deflecting isn’t helping, Tor,” I interject, hoping my tone is more teasing than chastising, but I’m not sure it lands.

Tori sighs again, nodding, but then she goes quiet. She really doesn’t want to talk about this, it seems.

“Did you sleep with someone outside of the three of us?” Oli blurts, like the question came out involuntarily.

Tori looks up then, her brow crumpled and nose wrinkled. “No! And why the fuck would that be a problem?”

“It’s not, I guess, but you’re not giving us a lot to go off of, princess,” he fires back, not pulling his verbal punches.

Tori’s eyes narrow as she glares at Oliver. “You guess?” she repeats, hackles raised.

Oliver goes to open his mouth, but Eli cuts in with a surprisingly deep warning growl. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him make an aggressive sound in the entire time I’ve knownhim. Oli is stunned enough to stop talking, allowing Eli to turn his attention to Tori.

“Tori, you have every right to do whatever you want with whomever you choose. We would have liked to know ahead of time, but that’s something for us to talk about later. Right now, if something like that did happen, then—”

“Why are you so quick to assume I’ve fucked someone else?” Tori throws back.

I share a look with Eli and Oli, and I see the same thing I’m thinking reflected back at me. I’m not blind or stupid, and I’ve seen the way Coach looks at Tori. If she admitted to sleeping with Logan, none of us would be surprised.

“You’re doing an awful lot of deflecting again, princess,” Oli says as he leans forward toward her.

Tori flinches back, and I snarl, halfway out of my seat before Tori’s hand clasps my wrist.

“No, he’s not wrong. I just...don’t know how to explain this. I didn’t sleep with anyone else, or anything like that. It’s…about my job…” she trails off like she’s speaking to herself again as she casts her eyes onto the glass surface.

Eli opens his mouth, but I give him a subtle shake of my head. We could ask her every question in the book until the sun comes up, but I doubt we’ll be able to get a straight answer out of her that way. Instead, I want to let the silence do the heavy lifting. It shouldn’t take long, and then we can--

“My boss is retiring, and he picked me to take over when he’s gone,” Tori says in a rush.

Works every time.

---