Page 51 of Oblivion

My skin prickles, and I feel every step Evan takes as he crosses the room until he’s by my side.

“She’s had a tough week, and I promised I’d let her speak to her parents before I proposed.”

“Propose,” I cough, choking on my own saliva.

“Don’t worry, Wild One. I know you’re too tired to fight with me today. I’m happy to wait until tomorrow to hear all the excuses you’ll come up with to avoid marrying me,” Evan sayswith a bright smile, curling his arm around my back and pulling me into him as he hands me a cup of coffee.

Sebastian’s amused chuckle vibrates through the room. “Welcome to the family…officially.”

I know I should argue. I should protest and fight, but I can’t seem to find any words. Maybe I really am too tired, or maybe I just want a day to see how it feels to belong to the psycho beside me. I’ve wanted to be his for so long that I don’t seem to be able to resist the need to try it out, at least for a few hours.

Yesterday, I was engaged to another man, and this morning, I’ve had sex with Evan three times and only managed to halfheartedly tell him I hate him. Clearly, I’m not in my right mind, so today I’ll be his, just for a little while. Today, I’ll sink into the sensation of belonging to someone who wants me enough to boldly claim me. Then tomorrow, I’ll figure out how to free myself from him.

Hunter slides thick slices of French toast onto waiting plates, and we all take our seats around the table and start to eat. I haven’t been in this house since before summer break, but the familiarity of the moment makes it feel like it’s been days, not months.

Now that I’m here, I can’t believe I was honestly considering allowing these people to become a part of my past. They’re my friends, the first real, honest friends I’ve ever made that were just mine. How could I ever have considered living the rest of my life without their special brand of crazy?

Evans palm lands on my thigh as I sit back and take in the people around the table. No matter what happens between him and me, I think I really am meant to be here, even if I don’t quite fit.

“Please don’t think that I’m not pleased to see you, because I am. But how does your fiancé feel about you being here instead of at Harvard?” Bunny asks from her seat in Hunter’s lap, herconfusion real, like she has no idea what Evan has done to bring me back here.

“Drew and I broke up,” I say, exhaling resignedly.

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” she asks.

Scoffing, I lift my hand and point at Evan. “He happened.”

“Oh, is this something to do with—” Before she can finish whatever she was about to say, Hunter diverts her attention by doing something beneath the table that makes her eyes widen and her lips purse.

“God, I forgot what it was like being around you.” I laugh sardonically. “Hunter, Bunny and I were talking. Can you leave her alone for a minute?”

“As if you have any room to talk.” Hunter chuckles, keeping Bunny’s attention on him, even as he looks at me. “Half the campus heard your screaming orgasms in the middle of the night.”

My cheeks heat so suddenly it feels like I’m going to set on fire. “I did not…” My denial trails off, because honestly, there’s no point trying to pretend Evan didn’t fuck me until my throat hurt from screaming. “Urgh, you’re such an asshole. It’s an unspoken rule in this house that no one comments on how loud the others are,” I hiss, flashing Hunter a glare.

Chuckling, he dips his head and starts to press kisses against Bunny’s throat. “You’re right. I apologize, but I’d recommend we look into some soundproofing.”

“Hunter,” Bunny admonishes, but it sounds more like a moan than a scold.

The vibe around the table is…strained. Clay and January are as usual, sickeningly in love. They only have eyes for each other, lost to their loved-up bliss. Sebastian keeps looking at Starling like he’s worried if he blinks, she’ll disappear. Starling is crazy-girl happy, her grin so wide it’s infectious, and for once, Evan’saura is happy, and the black cloud he’s usually sitting beneath has moved over Hunter’s head.

Despite him blatantly toying with Bunny beneath the table, Hunter has been throwing death glares at Starling since we all sat down. A part of me understands his residual animosity toward the person who helped Bunny escape him. But she wasn’t on her own. I helped probably more than Starling. It was me who arranged for the burner phones and the new ID and gave her a location of a place to run to.

If Hunter is mad at Starling, he should be mad at me too.

“Has it been like this since Bunny went AWOL?” I ask the room, using my fork to motion between Starling and Hunter.

“It’s fine,” Starling says, her megawatt smile fading.

“Why are you so pissed at Starling?” I ask Hunter, unwilling to tiptoe around the tension in the room.

“She knows why I’m done with her,” he says, wrapping his arm more tightly around Bunny’s waist.

“Well, I wasn’t here, so why don’t you tell me. Catch me up to speed.”

Hunter’s stony glare turns on me, but I don’t flinch because I’m not scared of him. I’ve never been scared of any of these boys.

“She cut the tracker out of Bunny’s neck, then gave her twenty thousand dollars so she could run away from me,” he growls.

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