Page 16 of The Demons We Hide

His face is battered and bruised, one eye so dark and swollen that it’s a wonder he can see out of it at all—if he even can. There are more mottled bruises peeking out from beneath the hospital gown he wears and an almost sheepish expression on his face. I’m the first to step into the room.

G shifts on the bed, gathering up the sheets in his fists—fists that look scraped raw where they aren’t taped up. “Hey, Prep Girl,” he greets me, ducking his head. Nolan stands, his mouth opening as if he wants to warn me not to be a bitch, but I shoot him a harsh glare before moving closer to the thin bed.

“Hey, Playboy.”

Gio’s head lifts, and warm chocolate-brown eyes meet mine. I lift my hand, pausing as it hovers over the bed and I’m not sure if I should touch him. He’s… rough-looking to say the least, and I don’t want to hurt him more than he’s already got to be. Before I can lower it again, though, he releases one hand from the bedsheets and grabs it.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he says. “I’m sorry about not taking you to see your dad.”

I shake my head. Right now, that’s the least of my concerns. Though I’m angry—hurt, it’s no longer by him. “It’s okay,” I whisper, letting our fingers twine together as I say the words and mean them. “I forgive you.”

What I can’t forgive, though, are his friends—and their ploy. For a moment, I contemplate calling them out in front of G. Asking why they bothered to burn down my apartment if this was G’s excuse all along, but nothing the Scorpion Kings have ever done has ever made sense to me. And I don’t want to stress G out.

We might not be friends—not really—but we’re not rivals anymore.

“How long do you need to stay here?” I ask, breaking the awkward silence that follows.

“Another few days,” Nolan answers at the same time that Gio announces, “Tonight.”

The two exchange dark looks. “You aren’t ready to leave,” Nolan argues.

“I don’t want to stay here any longer,” G shoots back. “I can heal at home as well as I can here—better probably, since my bed is far bigger than this piece of shit.” He shifts on the mattress again and the crinkle of the plastic topper under the sheets punctuates his meaning.

Nolan curses and shoves a hand through the thickness of his hair. “The doctor said you shouldn’t even be on your feet today,” he states. “You’re lucky that your ribs ended up being bruised rather than fractured or broken. As it stands, you’re going to have to take the sidelines at next week’s game.”

“Fuck that!” G lurches forward, releasing my hand. “The Eastpoint scout is going to be there for that fucking game.”

Eastpoint?I look between them as Lex comes to stand in the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

“I know.” Nolan doesn’t look happy about the admission. “But you can’t play looking like you went five rounds with a semi and lost.”

Gio’s face scrunches up. “Fuck.” He rakes his hands—two fingers taped together—through his hair. “I can’t afford Eastpoint without a scholarship.”

“You’re going to Eastpoint?” It hadn’t occurred to me that the three of them would even contemplate college, but then again, why not? Just because they don’t come from money doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to attend university.

“Well, not fucking now, and then we have to deal with…” Gio’s words taper off as his hands lower to his lap and he flicks a quick look at me before returning his attention to Nolan. “I can’t stay here,” he repeats his earlier words.

His obvious reluctance to finish his last statement and the brief look he’d sent my way has my hackles rising.What do they have to deal with?I scan the three of them. Lex seems indifferent as he stands against the door with his arms folded like some unholy guard dog. Nolan blows out a breath, his brow wrinkled and dark circles marring the skin beneath his eyes. Gio… seems to be actively not looking my way.

Oh yes, they’re keeping something from me.My skin turns clammy and heat strokes nasty claws down my spine. I’m tired of liars, and yet I’m surrounded by them. Always.

Keeping my tone even, I crack my neck to the side and speak. “Well, why don’t I let the three of you figure this out. I’ve got to head out and find a new apartment.”

“What?” That shock of a question comes from three mouths and damn it, I have to give it to them, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were genuinely shocked.

Three pairs of eyes are on me, and not a single one of them is full of knowing. They might be better heading off to Hollywood for an acting gig. I’ve got a distant cousin who’s there now. I haven’t heard from Selene in a while, but she’s got connections there. Maybe if I don’t want to kill them all after everything comes out, I’ll offer to set them up and have her introduce them to some directors.

I take a step towards the door. “Well, I can’t exactly go back to my old apartment,” I state. “Not when it’s a pile of ash.”

A beat of silence passes and then Nolan turns to face me fully. “Why would you find somewhere else when you’re staying with us?” he demands.

“Is that what you were so mad about last night?” Lex asks. “Did you think we did that?”

The sound of my laugh sticks in my throat and becomes choked, a noiseless and unamused facsimile of what it should be. “Did I think you burned down my apartment to give me nowhere else to run?” I direct my look and the question to Nolan. “I don’t know, but I do know one of you threatened to keep me with you by any means necessary.”

Nolan’s already shaking his head before I’m even done. “I would never?—”

“Burn down my apartment?” I ask, cutting him off. “Of course not.” The smile I offer is razor sharp. “Just like you’d never kill someone or help someone else get rid of a body. You’d never do anything like that, right, Nolan?”

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