You know when you feel eyes on you? My eyes shoot up, distracted by Nate and Brantley both standing there watching me. The bag swings and almost hits me, so I curl my arm around to steady it.
“What!” I snap at them both.
“That’s supposed to make you less angry. You seem madder than before,” Nate teases. “Any reason why?” He grins at me, stretching out his arms. I notice they’re both in work out gear. Both no shirts and both wearing appropriate sweat shorts.
I’m so fucking fucked when it comes to these two.
“Yes, there is a reason actually,” I mutter, bouncing up and swinging toward the bag again. “Pancakes.”
Brantley is on the other side of the bag in a heartbeat. “Wanna spar?”
My eyes fly to his.
“I mean, I get the feeling that you’ve done this whole thing before. Am I right?”
“A little,” I grumble, readjusting the gloves.
“There’s so much we just don’t know about you, little terror…” Brantley torments, picking up the sparring pads. My eyes catch Nate who has started on the skipping rope.
He’s skipping doubles, his eyes slicing through me with every swing. I know that out of all of them, Nate and Brantley are the more athletic guys. Especially Nate. He does all sorts of training to keep his body in check. Including CrossFit and Parkour.
He twists his arms over all while not breaking his skip.
My eyes fly to Brantley. I smile before I start swinging, now hitting each pad.
The boys are all out back of the house, so I start on the pancakes. I’m not showering before because then I might lose my appetite. All of The Kings are here—sans Abel, who has done a complete ghost. I start on mixing another load of batter, pouring it into the one that was in the fridge. Brantley won’t know that half of it wasn’t in the fridge. I heat up the griddle and start pouring two at a time. The sound dock is still on and I hit play on some music. When I first got to Brantley’s house, it was disturbing. But now I love it. I love the history and character that lay within the aging walls.
“It’s a Vibe” from 2 Chainz starts playing and I lose myself in flipping pancakes.
I feel him before I turn around. Nate takes up every area that he occupies.
He comes closer, stealing a pancake. “Have you got something to wear tonight or are you going shopping?”
I glare at him. “They’re not ready!” I gesture to the pancakes. “I’m going to get a dress and other shit I need so I don’t have to keep squeezing my ass into Bailey’s. I’m also taking Madison with me.”
He freezes mid-chew. “Why?”
“What do you mean why?” I ask, narrowing my eyes on him.
“She fucking cheated on Bishop. I can’t even—”
“—You’re a fucking hypocrite if you’re going to be mad at her about cheating when you’ve so happily done it to me.”
He laughs, but it’s not a nice one and I instantly know that I’ve just lit a match and—probably—am about to be burned. “I’ve never fucking cheated on you, Tillie.”
“Yes, you have.”
“How the fuck can I cheat on you when we’ve never really been together? Explain that shit to me because—”
I turn my face away from him before I smack him over the head with this spatula, but his hand grips my chin and he yanks my face up to face his, squeezing roughly. He searches my eyes, and I see by the way his pupils dilate that whatever he’s about to do, it is going to hurt. “How can I fucking cheat on someone who was never mine?”
Ouch.
I yank my face out of his grip, my heart sinking to the bottom of the ocean. “You’re right. That’s my bad. You do you, Nate.” I can’t even be bothered arguing with him right now. I’m too angry at his words.
He steals another pancake. “And that’s not why I’m mad at her.”
I clench my jaw, my anger refusing to let go.
He carries on. “It’s because—”
“—because it’s not fucking you,” I finish for him, piling the last of the pancakes up. This has always been an issue for me, how he cares for Madison. I’m irrational, I know, but we all want to be the only one. Not the one of two.
He doesn’t answer, only making me even more angry as I flip off the switch to the griddle and snatch the plate of pancakes. I ignore him as he’s clearly watching me move around the kitchen, and then I leave, going outside to where the rest of The Kings are, all of their eyes lighting up on the pancakes. I sit down beside Eli and Hunter, leaning back on my chair. Brantley is opposite me, unmoving. I zone out on the pancakes and watch as everyone digs in, only I’ve lost my appetite. A foot connects with mine under the table and I glance up to Brantley, who’s watching me carefully.
“You okay?” He mouths, searching my eyes.
I’m not.
I’m more than not okay. I wanted to be the stronger person and reign hell on Nate, but I can’t. All I can do, is move on. I need to move on and away from his toxicity. I’ll never be his. If I was Madison, he wouldn’t have treated me this way. I realize that now.
I shake my head, skating off the chair and storming back to my room. I need to get out of this fucking house. I fly past Daemon’s room, but he’s once again not there.
It makes me worse. I can feel my mind spiraling and I don’t like the way it makes me feel. I kick open my door and yank out the same clothes I was wearing yesterday, slipping in and out of the shower. When I reenter,
