Page 51 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

“No,” she moaned. “I want to stay here. I want to stay riiiiiight here.”

“Shh,” I whispered, securing my good arm around her waist. “I got you, Poppy Star. I got you. Sofe, get the door.”

“On it.” She swayed on her feet as she moved to the door and I grimaced.

“Do I need to call Kandon and ask him to come carry you?”

“No! I’m quite capable of walking myself, jerk face. Come on, she’s half-asleep.”

Thankfully, we managed to avoid parading Poppy through the crowd since Deacon’s house had two staircases leading to the upper-level.

It was tricky getting her upstairs in one piece but we managed.

“Here, take her a second.” I shoved Poppy onto my sister and gripped the stair rail. My shoulder burned like a motherfucker, but I swallowed it down. Pain was all part of the game. Bumps, bruises, breaks, concussions, it came with the territory. But I’d never had an injury that risked taking me out of the game before.

I shut down those thoughts.

“Aaron,” Sofia murmured.

“Yeah, coming.”

Poppy flopped against me. If I’d had both arms available, I would have picked her up and carried her down the hall. Instead, I let her use me as a leaning post as we headed for the last bedroom on the left.

Sofia found a light switch, plunging the room into a muted glow thanks to the dark lampshade.

“Okay,” I said, half-leading, half-pushing Poppy’s dead weight toward the bed. “Down you go.”

She landed with a soft thud, hiccoughing.

“Jesus,” I muttered, taking in her sprawled out form, all toned skin still sun-kissed from the summer.

Fuck. It was taking everything inside me not to scoop her up in my arms and just breathe her in.

“A-Aaron,” she murmured, trying to lift her head.

“I’m here.” I ran a hand down my face but flicked my eyes to Sofia. “You stay with her. I’ll make sure everyone knows this room is off-limits and I’ll text Coach and let him know we’re all crashing here.”

Concern brimmed in her eyes. “What will you tell him?”

“That we all drank too much to drive home, but that we’re okay and we’ll be home in the morning.”

He’d probably kick my ass for it, but it was better than him seeing Poppy like this.

Sofia kicked off her sneakers and laid down next to Poppy. “Sleep, Pops,” she murmured, closing her eyes.

I was hardly surprised when my sister’s breathing changed, indicating she was already asleep.

Spotting a lamp on the bedside table, I went over and switched it on before turning off the main light. I needed a strong drink, or a cold fucking shower if the heat running through me was anything to go by.

Get a fucking grip, Bennet.

She was a beautiful girl. I’d have to be blind not to see it. But this innate need I had to protect Poppy was woven with years of friendship, that’s all it was. The same way I wanted to protect my sister. I cared about her because she was a huge part of my life.

I needed to get out of here, and fast.

“Aaron?”

Keep walking. Just walk out of here and pretend you didn’t hear her.

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