Page 73 of Acid

I scoff, “Well, gee, thanks for that, Steal.”

He chuckles. “Not to get away from you, and you know that, darling. He did it because he can’t see a life without you. He will be back because youarehis life; remember that.”

I tip my head. “Because when a brother loves, he loves hard, right?”

He smirks. “Correct.” He looks down at his linked fingers for a moment and I notice his eyes linger on his ring finger before he looks back up again and admits, “She won’t talk to me….”

I sigh and walk over to him, sitting next to him on the bench, and ask, “Can you blame her?”

“No,” he replies, “I can’t. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, and honestly, I, fuck….” He runs a hand through his hair. “I was new to the position of prez, and Faith was continuously in my ear because of our history.”

I nod, then give it to him straight, “Steal, you’re a jackass.” He looks at me sharply, and I shrug. “You are. You said you loved my sister, yet as soon as she agreed to give you a chance, you made her make all the effort. I get it; you were taking over from your father, but she didn’t deserve that treatment from you, but she loved you so much she took it.” I stand up. “Look, I don’t know what happened that day in the kitchen; she came home and cried that she had to leave, that you didn’t even give her a chance to explain, and that was it. Since I know she’s still living in the area, we’ve gotten closer again, I know some things, things that I won’t be telling you because it’s not down to me, even though I think you two need to talk. You need to take it at her speed, Steal, no one else’s, only hers, and maybe she’ll finally tell you what happened and whether or not she did kill Brute. If she did, you need to ask yourself why, because you know Cass. Healing is who she is. She wants to save lives, not take them.”

He groans. “I’m running out of patience, Pez….”

I shrug. “You held a gun to her head. Did you expect her to jump into your arms?” I tilt my head. “Maybe let her do the same, and she may speak with you sooner….”

He glares at me and snaps, “What is it with people encouraging me to let her hold a fucking gun to my head!”

I laugh, and he huffs before standing when a knock sounds at the door.

“Come on, Prez,” I say, and he snorts, kissing my head.

“I know you haven’t forgiven me and that you’re angry for your sister, but thank you, Perrie, for not pushing me away after Acid left,” he whispers, and my eyes tear up again as I hug him.

There’s a knock again, and we pull apart. Steal smirks. “Just to warn you, I know the person you’re fighting. You may have met your match….”

I raise a eyebrow at the traitor, but he just grins, so I do the mature thing and stick my tongue out at him, before heading out the door, his laughter following.

The crowd screams as the announcer shouts my name into the mic. I see a figure bent over the ropes on the other side of the ring but can’t make out who it is as people surround me, wishing me luck and slapping my back.

Steal goes ahead of me, lifting the top rope and placing his foot on the bottom one so I can climb in. It’s only then that I notice Piston on the other side of the ring, confusing me.

I swear he better not have words for me; otherwise, I’ll be fighting him.

“Hey, Perrie?” Steal says, and I turn. He grins. “Don’t hurt him too much, yeah. He’s missed you….”

I furrow my brows at his words and turn to see who I’m fighting, only to freeze in shock, my mouth parting slightly.

Dark green eyes meet my light blue ones that instantly tear up.

Ollie grins wide before moving to the middle of the ring, ready to fight, but I don’t move, instead I look over his features as a lump forms in my throat.

His eyes are brighter than usual, and his smile reaches his eyes. There is no sign of trauma or pain, the darkness that used to always radiate from him is well and truly gone.

My eyes travel along his body, and I suck in a breath, noticing he’s not wearing a shirt, his back in view for everyone to see, heck, Piston’s jaw is tense as he looks at it.

That’s got to be a good thing, though, right? That he’s not wearing a shirt, not hiding his scars?

Our eyes connect again, and the first tear falls as I realize he’s really here; I’m not seeing things.

His eyes soften, and he rasps, “Are you going to fight me, Tinker?”

My jaw wobbles and sobs build in the back of my throat.

“Kick his ass, Pez; I have $100 on you!” I hear shouted and I look behind me to see Cass standing beside Steal, who is standing extremely close to her, but her teary eyes stay on me.

Steal grins wide, and I stick my tongue out at him again, making him chuckle. He knew Ollie was here.

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