Page 25 of The Fallen Ones

Caleb hesitated, and I mulled it over.

“That does make it fair,” Caleb muttered after a brief moment of silence. “She won’t know who is who.”

“But I’m her boyfriend?—“

“Ex,” Damien corrected smoothly. “You ain’t shit now, pretty boy.”

“Fuck you, Damien. I still mean more to her than you do. You should be kissing my ass for letting you in. She fucking hates your ass. You didn’t do jack shit for her when your old man cheated and caused her mother to kill herself?—”

Damien was on his feet within a span of a second and in my face, having shoved Caleb aside.

“For someone who likes to throw stones, I’d be fucking careful where you cast them, Jace,” Damien’s voice came out in a dangerously low growl. “I didn’t see you comforting her when it was your slut of a mother riding my old man’s dick.”

I shoved him hard in the chest. He stumbled back before coming right back at me, his hands landing hard in my chest and knocking me back.

Caleb dove between us before I could plant my fist in the center of Damien’s face.

“Knock it off,” Caleb shouted. “I don’t know what the hell you need to do to sort your shit and not fuck this up for all of us, but figure it out. If I get outed and screwed over by you two pricks and lose Lily, I swear I’ll murder you both myself.”

I pushed Caleb’s hand off my chest and continued to glare at Damien. “I’m done.”

“Pussy,” Damien muttered.

I ground my teeth together and forced myself to take some deep breaths so I didn’t lose my shit.

“Are we good?” Caleb asked. “If we’re not, we can all walk away right now and never speak of it again.” It was the pain in his voice that brought me back down. It was all too familiar with the pain I felt at already having lost her.

“We’re good.” I glared at Damien. “Right, Fletcher?”

Damien let out a scoff and looked away before going back to his seat on the couch.

“We’re good,” he said calmly before taking a hit from his joint again.

It definitely didn’t feel good though.

Chapter 9

Caleb

My pulse coursed quickly though my veins. Picking Lily up shouldn’t be so damn hard, but here I was, riding the struggle bus about it. I knew it was the impending party and night coming up that had me all twisted in knots.

This was a different pick-up though. This was something that just felt so suffocating, I wasn’t sure how to navigate it. Our friendship had always been so easy and calm. We were like two puzzle pieces that just fit together. Made for each other.

Now?

Hell. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down. Having nearly kissed her now, I was feeling so much torment at the desire for more, for a repeat, that I was losing my damn mind. I hadn’t told Jace or Damien about what transpired between me and Lily. Her small body shuddering at my touch. My nearness. The way her breath hitched and her brilliant gray eyes searched me for something I was desperate to give her.

I’d almost lost it on her. She wanted to be forced, well, I wish I’d have just said fuck it all and gone for it, even if she screamed at me to stop.

God, what the fuck was happening to me?

I’d had to jerk off twice after I left her place. Once in my car and once in the shower.

The party wasn’t far away, so I just had to keep it together until then.

“Caleb?” Lily’s sweet voice pulled me from my current dilemma and brought me careening back to the present.

“Oh. Hey. Sorry. I was going to knock,” my voice trailed off. I offered her a quick smile instead, hoping I wasn’t coming off as weird as I felt.

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