Page 77 of There's No Us Without You
Eden gasps and rushes into my room, placing the container on the bed before coming to my side and wrapping her arm around my waist. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I say again, pulling out of her grasp. “Just a little sore from this weekend’s game.”
Eden eyes the packet of ibuprofen on my bed. It must have fallen out after I attempted to conceal the evidence. “Is it bad? Do you need to see a doctor?”
No. Fucking. Way.
“No.”
She squints her green eyes at me, scrutinising me in a way that says she doesn’t believe me, but says nothing else.
Honestly, I don’t really care if she believes me or not. I know what I’m doing.
Seconds later—in a stroke of luck—Will walks past my room, taking Eden’s death glare off me.
“You’re back,” he says, pausing in the doorway, his focus darting between Eden and me. “Everything okay in here?”
Eden’s face flushes and she swallows hard, her eyes locked on Will. I’ve obviously missed something, but I don’t have the mental energy to ask about it, so instead I nod, giving Will the answer he needs.
“Heard we’re having home-made pizza—a Tyler and Eden special,” I say, trying to gauge Will’s mood over his brother being here. “You in tonight?”
Please fucking say yes. There’s no way I can be alone with Eden and Tyler right now, especially when Eden is searching for my damn soul with those eyes of hers.
“Yes.” Will narrows his eyes at the woman bouncing on her feet next to me. “Why?”
I lift a shoulder, forcing a grin onto my face. “No reason. Thought you would have missed me.”
“You aren’t on my mind twenty-four seven, Emerson.”
Wincing, I rear back. “Fuck. Whatever, I was joking. I’ll see you at dinner, then.” I shake my head at my best friend and take a deep breath to calm the heat spreading up my chest.
What a dick.
“Sounds like a fun fucking time,” Will says before stepping into the hallway again. There’s a groan, then he reappears. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on here that I should know about?”
Eden swallows audibly, her eyes darting to mine for a fraction of a second before she plasters a big grin on her face. “We’re good. We were discussing options for pizza toppings. You know what Em’s like, always arguing over pineapple or no pineapple.”
Interesting. I’ll ignore how easy it was for her to lie to Will because I need him to leave. It’s only a matter of time before he figures out we’re lying, if he hasn’t already.
And for the record, I’m a pineapple-on-pizza kind of guy.
Eyes narrowed, Will cocks his head. “Right. I’ll be in my room.”
“You aren’t coming to help cook?” I take a step towards the open doorway, needing him as much as I need him to disappear again.
“Nope.” The door to my bedroom is slammed shut, signalling the end of our conversation.
“Someone’s in a mood,” I mumble under my breath while taking a seat on the edge of my bed. “I came back at the right time.”
It takes all my effort not to wince when the pain shooting through my knee threatens to bring me down for a second time in front of Eden.
“I think it’s because of Tyler.” Eden shrugs. “Will wasn’t very happy when he saw him here.”
I scoff, running a hand through my hair. “No shit.”
“Wow.” Eden huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “Will isn’t the only one in a mood.”
“Whatever.” I hang my head in my hands, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes.
