Page 51 of Brittle Heart

Just as I’m about to let my head drop again, a hand intercepts, palm up.

“Knock it off. You’re gonna hurt yourself,” Josh warns, coming out of nowhere, startling me. I recoil while staring at him with wide eyes. “It can’t be that bad, can it?” he asks, a grin on his face. But then, his gaze shifts to my temple.

It hurt like hell for a few hours last night, but now it’s just swollen. It doesn’t look as bad as it did this morning since I managed to cover the redness with makeup, but there was no hiding the lump.

“What happened?” Josh asks, stepping closer and gently lifting my chin with his finger.

His touch catches me off guard, making my stomach tingle, and I let him lean in to take a closer look before regaining my senses and leaning back out of his reach.

“It’s nothing.” I brush it off.

“That sure as fuck doesn’t look like ‘nothing,’” Clay chimes in from the other side of my desk.

Damn, I didn’t even notice him there.

“Did your uncle do this?” Josh asks, studying my face.

I don’t want to lie, so I tell him, “He hit me while falling, flailing his arms. It’s not as bad as it looks.” My tone grows colder with each word.

“Yeah, about that,” Clay starts, but Josh holds up a finger to stop him.

“Do you need to see a doctor, Carolina? It looks bad,” he asks.

I roll my eyes. “No, I don’t.”

“She’s fine. It’s just a minor bruise, right? Nothing important, no big deal,” Clay says, his tone carrying a challenge, gaze narrowing at me.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d know if it wasn’t, seeing as you seem to have a vast medical knowledge,” I retort.

He huffs. “Now you’re overestimating me.”

“Well, it’s hard to underestimate you,” I say.

“Yep, you’re okay.” Josh chuckles.

“So, spill the tea, sis,” Clay says, smirking down at that ridiculous mug. “What was the deal with yesterday?”

Is he really asking me to talk about Roberto?No freaking way. I’m just about to tell him to fuck off when he goes on.

“What’s your beef with Del Moro? What’s the source of all this bad blood between you guys? Is he an ex?”

I nearly choke on my own spit. “Hell no.”

Josh seems to relax next to me, making me glance at him.

“So, what’s up? I’m curious too. You guys seem to genuinely hate each other.”

I could tell them it’s none of their business, but they did bail me out yesterday, and it looks like that won’t be our last run-in with him.

Fuck.

“We do hate each other, but it wasn’t always like this. His father was a family friend, and our families used to hang out a lot. His dad and my uncle were especially close. We saw each other almost every weekend and at school. Then, some stuff happened between my uncle and his dad, and they never came over again. They moved out of the neighborhood, and he started bullying me at school. And I don’t mean harmless name-calling. It was brutal.”

Clay’s jaw clenches as he asks, “What did he do?”

“I’m not going into that with you,” I say. “I’ve already said too much.”

They exchange a look just as the door swings open, and Sophia walks in.

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