Page 31 of Connor

Iwasn’t ready.

BANG.

The first knock made me flinch. A heartbeat passed. Then—BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The entire door rattled in its frame, the aggression behind it vibrating through the floor, sinking into my bones.

“NORTH!” Connor’s voice slammed through the apartment, sharp andvicious, and my stomach dropped.

I was halfway to putting the can of ginger ale on the table, but hearing his voice had it slipping from my fingers. It hit the coffee table with a sharp clatter, but I didn’t move to grab it. My pulse roared. My vision blurred. I wasn’t ready for this.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Where the hell are you? Fucking open up!" he snarled. I grabbed the couch cushion, every muscle locking up.

North was already moving, his steps slow and deliberate as he crossed the room. Quinn stiffened beside me, her phone forgotten.

Connor slammed his fist against the door again, the entire apartment vibrating with the impact. "I swear to fucking God, North, if you don’t open this fucking door in the next three seconds—"

North twisted the lock. The second the latch clicked, the door flew open—slamming against the wall with a deafening crack.

Connor stood in the doorway.

Wrecked. Wild. Livid.

His chest heaved, his breathing harsh and ragged, his green eyes burning with something lethal. hHe was barely keeping himself from tearing the entire place apart.

His gaze flicked to North first. Then to Quinn. Then—to me. His entire body went still. And in that moment, I knew. I was so, so fucked.

Chapter 9

Connor

She stood with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Summer’s eyes were red-rimmed.

My stomach dropped, my body tensing the way it did whenever Dad took a step too close to Mom.

And yet, now that Summer was in front of me, real and close enough to touch, my pulse kicked up, my breath caught somewhere in my throat.Two months.Two fucking months without seeing her, without hearing her voice, without the sharp tang of her sarcasm needling under my skin. Two months of pretending I didn’t care, when in reality, I missed her so much that all I wanted to do was pull her close and make up for not kissing her goodbye the last time.

Fuck,I’d been such a fucking idiot. And now here she was—looking so fucking fragile that it made my mouth dry, and my stomach swoop.

I should’ve said something. Asked if she was okay, if she needed me. But my tongue felt thick, my brain sluggish as I drank her in. Her face was thinner, the shadows beneath her eyes darker. Her hair was messy, falling in tangled waves around her neck.

She looked tired. She looked worn. And still, all I could think about was how much I wanted to pull her against me, bury my face in her neck, and breathe her in like she was oxygen after drowning.

Instead, because I was an idiot—because I was angry that I’d come all this way just to find her staring at me like I was the last person she wanted to see—the first words out of my mouth were—

"Well, shit. You and Quinn besties again?"

Summer didn’t react. No quick comeback. No rolling eyes. No biting remark to sting me where it hurt the most. Just silence.

And for some reason, that pissed me off more than anything else.

Before I could say something even worse, North gave me a sharp look. "Stop being a little bitch and come inside."

My jaw clenched. Best friend or not, I hated the bastard when he got all high and mighty like that. Always had. But I did as I was told, brushing past him into the apartment.

North and Quinn exchanged a look—one I didn’t understand, one I didn’t fucking like—before Quinn muttered something under her breath and followed North down the hall.

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