Page 16 of Finn

I spot Cap’n Crunch, and I almost laugh, but then I remember that there’s so much more I want to say to Cole, and it’s not about reminiscing over childhood cereal tastes.

He walks past me to one of the couches and plops down. His white socks poke out of his jeans as he digs into his cereal. Seeing him like this, it’s hard to believewhohe is. I’ve been burning to ask him questions about how he got to be the leader of the Dragons but held back due to the fear of what I might find out. Ignorance might be better in this case.

“About that,” I say, moving to the couch opposite him and sitting. “I rescind my apology.”

His gaze flicks up. “You can’t do that,” he says around a mouthful of cereal.

“I absolutely can.”

He shakes his head. “No way. You already apologized. Taking it back is wrong.”

“Well...” I hedge. “Then I’m mad at youagain.”

He rolls his eyes. “What now?”

It’s so hard to see the gang leader in him at this moment. It makes me revert back to when we were so close as kids. It hurt like hell when he left—or more like escaped. We had no idea what had happened to him for fucking years.Years.I was heartbroken.

I bite the inside of my lip again and wince because I’ve already given myself a sore there from my conversation with Jax and Finn.

Cole continues to eat his cereal, staring at me over his spoon as he shovels the sugary goodness into his mouth.

“What happened to you?” It’s the first question that comes to mind, the most pressing concern I have. The root of where every other complaint I have about him stems from.

His eyes widen, and he hurries to finish his cereal, drinks the milk, and sets the bowl down on the coffee table in front of him. Sitting back, he quickly wipes his mouth with his fingers. “Why don’t you tell me what the problem is so I can fix it?”

“That’s the thing, Cole. You can’t fix it.” I refrain from throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation. “Is that why you go around making demands? Because you’re trying to fix everything?”

He leans forward, rests his elbows on his knees, and steeples his fingers in front of him. The overhead lights catch on his earrings, making them glimmer.

I can tell just by the set of his mouth that he’s about to spill some bullshit on me, so I cut him off. “Cole. I’m your sister.” I stand, step right onto the coffee table between us, and then jump off it to the left of him. “I need answers. I need information. I don’t want you to skirt around the truth like you’ve been doing. I need to know stuff. It’s time, okay?”

He looks away. “The less you know, the better.”

I take a seat on the cushion next to him. “You can’t keep making decisions for me without telling me the reasons behind them.”

He peeks at me. “Is this about that trainer douche? Fuck, Leenie. Do you need to get laid that badly? I’m sure you can find someone else.”

“Who?” I shout. “You won’t let me do anything, and I’m beginning to think you wouldn’t approve of anyone.” I shove my hand in the direction of the door. “How about Dempsey. Can I fuck him?”

Cole makes a choked sound in the back of his throat, lips parting in disgust.

“See? Why? You trust him with your life but you won’t let him fuck me?”

“Let’s just be clear,” he glowers. “You’re just using him as an example, right? Or do I need to cut his fucking balls off?”

“An example, Cole, God.” I push off the cushion and start to pace beside the two couches.

He watches me for a while until he asks, “Is this all just about having sex?”

I shake my head. Guys are dense. “I’m talking about living my life. Ever since you came back, I haven’t been able to do that.”

Cole doesn’t respond immediately, and when I glance up, pain distorts his face. He nods slowly. “You wish I didn’t come back.”

“No. No...” I go to him, sitting beside him on the leather couch. “I love you, Cole. You’re my big brother. I get that you have...responsibilities now. Major ones.” I’m skirting everything I’m scared to talk about, but I keep going anyway. “But I don’t understand the reasonwhyyou do things, and maybe if I just did, I wouldn’t feel like I want to throat punch you so much.”

He cocks a brow. “Throat punch me?”

“So. Bad,” I growl.

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