Page 28 of Cannon
But the tiny smile disappears when I stand up, and she looks around us at the pills still littered all over the floor. “Archer?”
“Yeah?”
“Is he going to hate me?”
My chest squeezes so hard it constricts my lungs. I huff out a hard breath and catch her chin with a few of my fingers, forcing her to look at me. “No, Peaches. I think Cannon… he has big feelings where you’re concerned. And that’d be why he’s upset.”
“I don’t understand. Can’t you—?” She gives me a hopeful look, but immediately squashes it before I can even answer. She holds up a hand. “No. That would be wrong. I’ll wait for him to talk to—” Her eyes widen. “You know what I mean. I’ll wait for him to come to me.”
I nod. “I think that’s wise. Be patient with him.”
“I will be. But it’d be easier if I knew what was going on.”
“Yeah, well. Sometimes you gotta wait for the answers to come to you rather than poking around for them.” I take her arm in an attempt to guide her out of here, but she pulls it out of my grasp.
“Wait. I should clean this up for him.” She gives me a determined look that I know I have to nip in the bud, because Cannon really should be fucking sleeping. He has all sorts of trouble when he doesn’t get enough shut-eye.
Giving her a swift jerk of my head, I grit out, “Nope. Come on. I’ll handle this later.”
THIRTEEN
KINGSTON
What a fuckin’shit show last night was. Or was it early this morning? Yeah, I guess it was. I shake my head in an attempt to clear the fog, hands planted on either side of the sink. One glance into the mirror at my reflection, and I’m disgusted with myself. What a fuckin’ time to lose my temper. I’m always in control.Always.But when I realized Elliot wasn’t in her room… or more to the point, when Archer told me where shewas… for a few humiliating seconds, I saw red. And the dumb fucking part is she and I never agreed to be exclusive with each other. In fact, it was my dumb ass who suggested we share her.
I exhale a loud sigh. At least Archer was the only one who saw me like that, so torn up with jealousy that I couldn’t think—couldn’t even see straight.
The proof of it is there in the hallway, though, in the form of an ugly hole in the wall between Cannon and Archer’s rooms. It’s such an obvious display of my anger that I’m positive Elliot will ask questions, and Cannon will likely see and acknowledge it for exactly what it is—a disturbing loss of my self-control.
Because he had what I wanted.
But shit.Cannon.He can be irritable and aggressive sometimes, but I’ve hardly ever seen him wig out quite like that. And to have it happen because of Elliot… well, he’d been out of it when I hauled him in here, trying my damnedest to calm him the fuck down.
And Elliot—I can’t say I’ve seen her as thrown as she was either. Without even realizing I’m doing it at first, I rub my hand over my chest. My heart had squeezed so damn hard, seeing the look of shock and fear on her face. I wanted to go to her, but I knew I was more capable of handling Cannon if it came down to having to physically restrain him. Thank fuck it hadn’t come to that.
I turn on the cold-water tap, then splash some over my face, not even caring that I’m getting it all over the place—on the counter and floor and down my chest where it soaks into the waistband of my joggers. I rub my hands over my face, taking a few deep, cleansing breaths.
I’ve just started to blot my face dry when a knock on the door has me straightening up. I’d assumed none of us were going to class today and everyone would sleep in. Except me. I’m always up early. There’s no denying I need these quiet morning hours to think things through. As leader of this house, I’m responsible for the brothers in it, and there’s a hell of a lot going haywire lately. It feels like last year with people taking things too far. People getting hurt. And what had Oliver, Calvin, and Bryce done about it? Nothing.
My jaw sets as pressure like I’ve never felt before wraps itself around me, constricting my breath.God fucking dammit.With a sharp exhale, I throw down the hand towel and exit the bathroom. Before I make it to the bedroom door, it opens, and Archer pokes his head in. I let out a relieved sigh and wave him all the way into the room. He closes the door with a quiet click behind him. “Morning.”
I grunt in response, eyeing him. “Yeah. Nothing good about it from this angle.”
He shrugs, his gaze dropping to my chest. “Yeah. You not going to class?”
“Nope. I won’t be able to concentrate. And I told Cannon he should rest. He was… not in a good place last night.”
Archer nods, then makes himself comfortable, flopping onto his back on my unmade bed. “Yeah. I can imagine. I’ll check in with him later.” He lets out a sigh. “I can’t really afford to skip classes, but I’m not going either. I want to make sure Elliot is okay.” He draws in a breath, eyeing me, almost as if he’s wondering whether or not he should continue the current vein of conversation.
I sit down, propping myself up against the pillows. “Spit it out. What happened after I took Cannon out of there?”
He frowns. “Nothing much. Not really, anyway.” His jaw tightens as he scrubs both hands through his hair. “She’s concerned he’s going to hate her or something.”
“Can you blame her after that reaction?” A dark chuckle drops from my lips. “But does sheknownow? Obviously, she got a look at his fleet of prescription bottles and vitamins.”
Archer gives me a look. “Not unless she didn’t go to sleep and has been googling his medication all morning. I doubt she has been because she was exhausted, but I wouldn’t put it past her in the near future.”
I grimace. “I couldn’t convince Cannon that it would be okay if she knew about his issues.”
