Page 32 of Never Will I Ever

My voice comes out raw, like it was shredded with a thousand razor blades. “Well, there’s not going to be a repeat. So remember that before you try coming back, begging for more.”

The certainty and finality in my statement has an effect on him. More than he’d like, I’m sure. But he can’t hide it now; no mask can repair itself that quickly. It takes time to piece it back together after being broken and dismantled to this degree.

He sure as hell tries, though, as his words leave him with a bite of venom.

“Never will I ever.”

Ten

Kaleb

I didn’t sleep a wink after storming out of Avery’s cabin last night, and it’s showing as I drop onto the bench between my brothers for breakfast. Meanwhile, the two of them are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take on the day packed full of activities.

And apparently, ready to irritate me to no end at the drop of a hat.

“You look like crap,” Colton pipes up the second I reach for my fork.

I glare down at him, in no mood to deal with his shit this morning. “Just because you’re not at home doesn’t mean you’re allowed to use that word, Cole. You know that.”

My brother cocks his head. “Would you rather I say you look like a steaming pile of poo?”

Jesus take the fucking wheel.

“I’d rather you not be a pain in my ass at seven in the morning,” I mutter before stabbing my eggs and shoving them into my mouth.

“So you can say ass, but he can’t say crap?” Dayton asks, brows furrowed.

Cole nods before aiming a smug little smile at me. “Seems pretty hypocritical if you ask me.”

My fork clatters to the table, my cool nowhere to be found this morning.

“I’m an adult, and the both of you are far from one.”

“So what you’re saying is we can be hypocrites when we’readults,” Day concludes, a smarmy little smile on his lips.

Colton smirks back. “I think that’s exactly what he’s saying.”

Do not kill your brothers. Donotkill your brothers.

I begin counting backward from ten, begging for the control I normally have over my emotions to make a reappearance, if only so I don’t commit fratricide. Unfortunately, I don’t even make it to five when Avery enters the cafeteria looking as worse for wear as I do. His hair is done and he’s freshly showered, giving off that typical put-together appearance he always has, but his face tells another story. Even from here, I can see the heaviness in his features and dark circles formed under his blue eyes as they find me.

He holds my gaze only for a brief moment before turning toward the breakfast line, but the rush of heat coursing through my body happens regardless.

And I fucking hate it.

“You aren’t the only one who looks like a pile of poo,” Dayton says, and when I shift my gaze to my brothers, I find them both looking at Avery.

While I know Dayton’s comment was only meant to be funny, there’s something in Colton’s expression that lets me know he’s seeing more than he might let on. He’s been eleven going on twenty-one ever since he started middle school, and he notices everything.

A fact proven when the next question leaves his mouth.

“Did you two get in a fight because of what happened last night?”

I stop chewing mid-bite, the food instantly turning to ash in my mouth before I force it down my throat. The line I’m treading here is a very fine one, and while I will never make a habit out of lying to my brothers, there’s no part of me that wants to tell them the gory details of Avery pinning me to a tree and mauling me with his mouth.

So I settle for the most watered-down version of the truth.

“We talked about it, but it wasn’t a fight.”

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