Page 63 of Psync
There was a loud pounding on the door, and Eli jumped about a foot into the air.
“Eli, you get your tiny ass up and open this door right now before I break it down.”
Holy crap, Eli had forgotten all about Nate. He was halfway to the door before a hand on his arm pulled him back.
“I’ll get it,” Haruka said, tucking Eli behind him before opening the door.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Nate tried to push his way past Haruka but was blocked by his arm.
“Taking care of Eli.”
“Taking care of—Eli, why haven’t you been answering your phone? What’s going on?” Nate tried to look over Haruka’s shoulder at Eli, but since they were both shorter than the man between them, Eli only saw the top of his head.
“It’s okay, Nate’s not going to do anything.” Eli pulled on Haruka’s arm. It resisted him, but after a few seconds, Haruka dropped it and took Eli’s hand, sending tingles of delicious sensation up his arm.
Eli tugged at it, trying to get free without drawing attention, but Haruka tightened his grip. Unless he made a big deal out of it, Eli wasn’t getting his hand back right now.
Nate stomped into the room and dropped down onto Eli’s bed. “I’ve been calling you since you went missing last night. What the hell happened to your face?”
Eli smacked his forehead, which turned out to be a terrible idea. “Ow . . .”
Haruka glared at Nate.
“Don’t look at me, he did that to himself,” Nate said.
“I’m sorry! Last night was really weird, and I think I lost my phone. I would have called you but I—”
Haruka pulled Eli’s phone out of his pocket and handed it to him.
He had thirty-eight missed calls from Nate and thirty-two from Alice.
“You got a call from the police station, too. They want you to come in and make a statement today if you’re up for it,” Haruka said, choosing the worst possible time to be helpful.
“The police station? What the actual fuck, Eli?”
“It’s a long story.” One Eli wasn’t looking forward to telling.
“And you.” Nate turned his ire on Haruka. “Why didn’t you answer Eli’s phone when I called?”
Haruka shrugged and pulled Eli closer. “You didn’t answer when I called you earlier this week.”
Nate was back on his feet, and Eli hurried forward to get between his friend and Haruka, holding out both arms. “Jesus, chill, guys.”
Nate growled and sat back down on the bed, glaring at both of them.
Eli collapsed into his desk chair. Haruka followed, sitting on the edge of the desk, keeping his body between Eli and the bed and allowing his hip to bump against Eli’s arm.
Nate gaped openly at the easy contact between the two. “You need to start talking, Eli. When did this happen?” He waved his hand at the nonexistent space between Eli and Haruka. “No, wait, tell me about the police station first.”
“Umm . . .” What was the best way to spin this?
“Don’t dumb it down, Eli. Your friend deserves to know the truth.”
“I wasn’t going to dumb it down.”
“Yes, you were.” Haruka lifted Eli’s chin and forced him to look him in the eye. “Ash hurt you. He deserves to be punished for it.”
“Ashdid this?”
