Page 70 of Kingston
“Christ,” I bite out, groaning internally as I swivel away from them and focus once again on these stupid, motherfucking instructions.
He gives me a disarming smirk as he slips past me, presumably to go fetch some water for her. Typical Archer. I’d wager he thinks my surly attitude where Elliot is concerned is amusing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I witness Cannon pressing a kiss to Elliot’s temple before he, too, exits the bed with a similar situation going on in his athletic shorts.
My eyes narrow on him and my voice comes out a rough bark. “You should get going. Class.”
Cannon doesn’t bother to acknowledge my gruff suggestion. Or demand? I’ve never bossed these guys around. I can’t imagine why I’m doing it now, except—
I groan, trying to breathe through my misery. I’m fucking jealous. And it irritates the shit out of me.
He stops at the side of the bed, mimicking texting.
Elliot releases a careful breath. “I will if it’s an emergency.”
“She’s not supposed to be on her phone,” I growl.
Cannon leans down and cups her cheek, pressing another kiss to her forehead before approaching me with a grimace, arms crossed over his broad chest. He puffs it out a bit. An intimidation tactic? I don’t know, but I find it fucking hilarious. He knows he and I are pretty much equal in height, weight, and the ability to fuck each other up. He stands before me, the muscle in jaw twitching away.
Finally, I get what he means. “I’ll watch out for her. I’m not that much of a dick.”
Cannon pauses a beat, his brow furrowing, then gives me a semi-amused grin, which I totally read asAre you sure about that?
“I’m right here, you know. And not a child. I can take care of myself, and if you don’t believe that, you’ve all seriously underestimated me.”
I haven’t. Not for a second.This girl has fight in her. Archer steps around me, a bottle of water in hand. Ducking into her bathroom like he owns the place, he comes back out with the prescription bottle we’d gotten at the hospital pharmacy last night. When he gets to her bedside, he murmurs low, “We definitely don’t think you’re a child. We all want you to feel better.”
I don’t miss the tiny smirk she gives him and the flicker of flirt in her eye. “Whatever you say.”
I clench my teeth and swing the door open so I can make some marks on the outside of the door. My thoughts are so damn muddled today, I’m probably going to fuck this up.
Cannon watches for a moment, then steps closer and rests his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. The concern he’s feeling oozes from him.
No. Not right now. There’s only so much I can think about at once. I heave out a breath. Archer joins him, speaking in a low voice. “Are you going to be okay with her today? I mean, we haven’t forgotten what day it is.”
“I’m fine,” I bark out. It’s good. I’m all good. “Go to your classes. I’ll be here if she needs anything.” I reach up and tug so hard on the chain I wear with my sister’s arrow pendant, it almost snaps. I haven’t been able to stop touching it and toying with it since the moment I woke up this morning.
Archer raises a brow.
“I’m fuckin’ fine.” I scrub my hands through my hair, my eyes darting over to Elliot’s. Quietly, I add, “You know how I am. I need to get through the day. Maybe taking care of her will be a welcome distraction.”
He sucks in a breath, pulling me in for a quick back-thumping hug. “Yeah. Let us know if it’s a problem. Otherwise, I’ll be back around two.”
Cannon squeezes my shoulder again before they take off, leaving me here with Elliot.
I wait a few beats as they head to their own rooms to get ready for class, my head bowed, staring at the grain in the wood floor. Hearing Elliot shuffling on the bed, I lift my head, then amble over to her, my eyes scanning her features. She’s back to lying on her side and has drawn her knees to her chest. “It’s going to be a little bit before I get this done. Maybe an hour. If you want, you can go rest in my room so I don’t disturb you.”
Her eyes dance over my features, and she chews on her lip for a moment before she nods. “I’ll do that. Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem.” I frown as she shuffles from the bed and shuts herself in the bathroom. While she’s in there, I stew, wondering when she’ll feel up to filling me in on more details of the shit show from last night. Those fuckers refused to say a word when I confronted them about their failure to keep her safe. Not one of them had offered up an ounce of information. And that dick, Alec. He deserved my fist in his face. He has balls to think he can question me and get away with it.
My thoughts are cut off by Elliot emerging from the bathroom. I take in the lump on her forehead, and my teeth clash together with force.Goddammit. And just like that, the same gut-wrenching, sick feeling I had when I saw her lying helpless on the floor last night rushes back, hitting me like a runaway train. “Elliot. You fuckin’ tell me if anyone bothers you. Even if you think it’s something small or something stupid. You hear me?” She purses her lips, her eyes connecting with mine, and I swear for a moment she’s going to give me some snark or sass, and I kinda wish she would, so I know she’s okay. The guilt over what happened has been eating at me from the inside out. “I’m being serious right now. Whether it’s someone in this house or otherwise. Something happens, I want to know about it.” I pause, scanning her face for information, but she’s hiding whatever she’s thinking incredibly well. “And we’ll talk about last night’s game when you feel up to it.”
She wets her lips and nods without saying anything. It’s killing me.
“Go on and lie down in my room. If you need something, let me know. When I’m done, I’ll come get you.”
She stares at me with those doe eyes of hers, the same ones I’d looked into when my dick was inside her, and damn. Knowledge of things I have no business knowing crash over me again. And the way she’s looking at me… like she knows something is tangling my thoughts every time I’m near her.
