Page 91 of Wild Hearts

“Fun night?” I ask. Her cheeks flush. “Hey, no judgement here,” I say as I pull on my other shoe. “I’m glad it’s you and not some random.” I groan as soon as the words come out of my mouth. “I’m so sorry, that’s not what I meant.”

She shakes her head with a soft chuckle. “It’s fine. I like Jordan. He’s going through a lot, but we’re having fun. I think that’s what he needs right now.”

I nod. “I gotta go check in with my sister, but look out for him for me?”

Jemima smirks. “I’m sure I can figure out a way to keep him occupied for a few hours.”

“I don’t want to know.”

I’m still chuckling to myself as I climb into my car and set off across town to Wren’s apartment. As sobering as it is knowing my sister is struggling, I can’t help the fluttering in my gut at the thought of seeing Wren. We’ve spoken on the phone a few times since the Baptism, but I’ve only seen her three times in as many weeks, and we haven’t been alone.

I pull into the parking lot of her apartment complex and turn off the ignition. I cringe when I catch sight of my dishevelled hair in the rear-view mirror. I rake my fingers through it in an attempt to tame it. There’s nothing I can do about the bags under my eyes or the bruise coming up on my right cheekbone. For a left hander, Conrad sure knew how to pack a punch. Unfortunately, it also reminds me of the black eye that I gave my sister three weeks ago. With everything that happened afterwards, I haven’t had the chance to properly apologise.

Wren must have been waiting for me, because when I buzz her apartment, the door clicks open straight away. I take the elevator to her floor and as the doors slide open, I’m barely able to step into the hallway before she jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and crushing her lips to mine.

I grin against her lips, supporting her underneath her arse. “Miss me?”

“Uh huh,” she mumbles in between kisses.

I take a couple of steps forward and back her against the wall so I can bring one of my hands up to cup her cheek as her tongue tangles with mine. Her kiss is slow and deliberate, as if she’s refamiliarizing herself with every part of my mouth.

My dick twitches in my pants, and she freezes. She pushes gently against my chest as she unwraps her legs from my waist and slides down my body until she can stand on her own. I take a step away, reaching down to adjust myself. Her breathing is laboured, and she turns her head away from me.

“Hey,” I say, tilting her chin up. Something resembling fear or panic reflects back at me, and a flash of anger shoots through me at the prick who did this to her. I kiss the tip of her nose. “Are you okay?”

“I...” Her cheeks flush and she tries to pull away until she notices the black eye I’m sporting. “What happened to you?”

“Don’t try and change the subject.” I drop my hand from her chin and pull her in for a hug, resting my chin on top of her head. “You know I’ll never pressure you into anything, Rookie. We don’t have to rush anything. I’m sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting...”

She sighs against my chest. “I’m sorry, I just–”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I interrupt. “We’ll work things out in our own time.”

She groans. “I wish I hadn’t wasted all this time trying to avoid you.”

I laugh as she looks up at me with a coy smile. “Me too.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and brush my lips over hers one last time. “As much as I’d love to stand out in the hallway all day with you, I need to go check on my sister.”

Wren laces her fingers with mine as we walk down the hallway to her apartment. “She’s really upset with your dad,” Wren says, surprising me.

My brow furrows in confusion. “What? Why?”

Wren shrugs. “She thinks he’s to blame for all the shitty things that happened in the last year.”

Fuck. I feel like this is all my fault. Poor Ivy. I blow out a deep breath and push open the door to Wren’s apartment.

MY SISTER’S TEAR-STAINEDface looks up at me from the couch as I enter, and I’m transported back twelve months to the day Mum and Dad sat us down to tell us Dad was moving out. I’d held Ivy in my arms as she cried, while I sat there numb. I’d known it was coming, but she and Mum had been completely blindsided.

Harley gets up from the couch and pats me on the back. “Wren and I are going to Patty’s to get some food. We’ll leave you two to talk.”

I nod and sit down next to my sister, pulling her into me as Harley closes the door behind him.

“How’re Lachy and Jordan?” she asks, sniffing.

I sigh. There’s no point lying to her. “Not great. How are you?”

“Not great.”

I rest my chin on top of her head. “This sucks.”

---