Page 119 of Headstrong Like Us
Farrow holds my hand, as though to say,easy, wolf scout.
“You wanna slut, come get me!” Donnelly shouts back.
Luna grins.
“Moffy.” Sulli touches my other wrist, heat and hurt blazing in her green eyes. Her squared jaw set tight, bearing down on emotion.
Fuck. I go on total lockdown. “What happened?”
She’s near tears of rage and pain, and I need off the dancefloor so I can hear her. I turn back towards my brother and sister, and Farrow already leans in and says, “Quinn and Donnelly are watching them.”
“Are you staying back?” I question.
His lip lifts. “He forgot already.” He clasps my jaw and whispers against my ear, “You’re mine to take care of, wolf scout.”
“Right.” I nod. He’s been in positions lately where he’s had to prioritize my family above me, and I guess it slipped that he’s my 24/7 detail and required to follow me everywhere. “Still haven’t forgotten you’re my bodyguard. Can’t forget.”
His eyes burrow into me. “That’s not what I meant.”
Time stops, and the moment crashes into me like a tidal wave.
Husband.
He’s going to be my husband.
I inhale strongly, our exchange a snapshot—so fast but it’ll last forever. I have to move. As I clasp Sulli’s hand and guide my cousin to the bar, Farrow trails next to us, and Banks and Akara aren’t that far behind. They all keep their distance.
Seeing how upset Sulli is.
Respecting her privacy.
Temp bodyguards surround the bar, and Sulli white-knuckles the hanging rope to a swing, a phone in her other fist. Only one theory unspools in my brain.
Someone hurt her.
Someone hurt Sulli.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No.”
Breath solidifies like cement blocks in my lungs. My face hardens, stoic—I rest a hand on her broad shoulder, and I’m about to speak but our heads swerve.
Beckett approaches, a bright-orange drink in his hand.
“Oh no, you’re not fucking coming over here right now.” Sulli looks offended by his presence. Right before Scotland, Sulli learned about Beckett’s cocaine use, and their close friendship fractured.
According to Charlie, Beckett has kept his word and hasn’t touched cocaine. I’m really proud of my cousin for not using drugs since the trip.
Beckett pauses a foot away. “You looked upset. I just wanted to make sure you’re—”
“I’mfine,” Sulli says heatedly. “I’m fucking fine.”
Their friendship has not been repaired. And I hate that it’s been this ripped apart. But Beckett said some cutting stuff to Sulli that can’t be taken back that fast.
Beckett tries again. “Sul—”
“I don’t want to fucking talk to you,” she snaps, angry tears breaching. She holds up a foamy cup of beer. “I’mpointlessly destroying my bodytonight. So you can go fuck off.”
