Page 81 of A Hurt So Good

“You don’t want me?” War grabs her hand and wraps it around his cock, forcing her to squeeze.

“Oh, I want you, little bird, but I want you when you’re awake,” he tells her with a grin. She’s about to protest when he leans down and bites her lip so hard that she squeals. Then he reaches down and lifts her in his arms before we all head back inside.

War doesn’t make a move to go to her room. Instead, he carries her to the basement.

“Har, grab some blankets and pillows,” he says as we all filter down the stairs. I nod and head into the bedroom, collecting things. When I walk back out, War still stands there with Arya in his arms. He nods to the floor, and I spread out the blanket and pillows. Then War kneels and lays Arya down.

“What is this?” she asks as she yawns.

“We’re all sleeping here tonight,” he informs her. She smiles up at him and then turns to look at me.

“You too?” she asks.

“Yeah, me too,” I tell her. Her smile gets bigger as Denz walks over and drops down on the floor, hitting the pillow quickly. War moves to sit on the couch, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up while I toss my shirt to the side and lay down next to Arya. She rolls over to face me and I can see the smile on her face.

“You happy?” I ask her.

“Yeah. And tired as fuck,” she laughs a little.

“Then sleep, Arya. We’re all here. We’re not going anywhere,” I tell her. She nods her head, and I watch as her eyes slowly close. It doesn’t take her long to fall asleep, little noises coming from her lips.

“She’s out,” War says with a laugh.

“We don’t give the girl much sleep,” Denz adds.

“No, we don’t.”

“She’s happy, though, and that’s what matters,” Denz says as he closes his eyes and slides his hands under his head.

“Yeah, you’re right. She is happy.” I reach over, grab the controller, and flip the TV on. Then I just sit back and flip the channels as Denz falls asleep next. Not long after, War lays down, but he doesn’t sleep.

“You think this is going to work out?” he asks.

“What’s that?”

“The four of us?”

“Why not? We’re not jealous of each other.”

“That’s true. I just don’t want to fuck up our relationships, you know?” This is the first time I’ve heard War talk like this. He’s not really the talking type, but I guess he needs to say his peace right now.

“It won’t. If anything, she brings us together.”

“What about our lives? Shit we’ve been doing before she came along?”

“I don’t know, War. It all seems fucking pointless now,” I tell him.

“You’re right. The gang shit, mostly. We fucking started that shit, so why can’t we end it?” Now, that shocks the hell out of me. War was the one who wanted this. He wanted people who had his back aside from us, and he wanted people to know who the fuck we were. We have that now. We’ve had that for a long time. People on the other side of town don’t fuck with us anymore, and that’s exactly why we started the blues to begin with. Once the others heard about us, they did their own thing, starting the reds and whatnot. But for War to say it’s pointless now really takes me by surprise.

“You really mean that?” I ask, looking over at him. He turns to look at me and nods.

“I’m twenty-five, Har. You and Denz are twenty-three. When the fuck do we grow up?” Now, I raise an eyebrow at him.

“This all because of her?” I ask, nodding toward Arya.

“Some of it. But I’ve been thinking, too. Dad’s right. Why the fuck can’t we help with the businesses? We’ve been kicking ass at opening these clubs for him, and we’re all learning new shit.”

“Oh fuck. Are you starting to like doing this? Not Warren fucking Staton!” I tease him a little. He flips me off, and I laugh a little.

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