Page 72 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

It was Sofia, my sister. She would always come first.

“I’ll wait out here,” Coach said, and I gave him a small nod.

“She’s okay, right, Mom?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Your sister is fine.” Her haunted eyes met mine. “She’s going to be fine.”

“I can’t believe you went to all this effort for a little attention, Sofe.”

“Asshole.” She grinned from the hospital bed.

“Brat.” I shot back.

Poppy’s gaze flicked to mine, but quickly darted away, and a barrel of guilt rolled through me.

I shouldn’t have kissed her. It had only complicated things. She was dating Eli and I was acting like a jealous asshole.

“How are you feeling?” I approached Sofia’s bed and took her hand in mine.

“Don’t look so worried, it’s just a little anemia.”

“Does that mean you’ll be eating loads of raw meat and spinach?”

“Ewww gross.” She balked. “The doctor is giving me an iron supplement. I’ll be fine. You didn’t have to both come.”

“Of course we did.” Poppy smiled, taking Sofia’s other hand.

This… this was the other issue with me and Poppy ever being more than just friends. She was my sister’s best friend too. How could I risk that? Risk the bond they shared?

The hard truth was if we gave it a try and it ended badly it would tear through our families and leave a lasting mark. Besides, Poppy had her future mapped out. I didn’t want to get in the way of that.

She was better off with a guy like Eli.

No matter how much it cut me up inside.

“Cole didn’t come?” Sofia asked, and I frowned.

“No, why would he?”

“Because you’re usually joined at the hip. I just figured he’d be here somewhere.”

“Nah, I sent him home. Didn’t want the hospital staff to get pissy at all your visitors.” I smirked, and she flipped me off, poking her tongue out at me.

“At least it didn’t happen at school,” she said. “I never would have lived that down.”

“Did they say it could happen again?”

“It’s a possibility, but hopefully it won’t. I don’t need that drama in my life.”

“That’s the spirit, Sofe. At least you’re not Miss Bendy Gymnast over there. Can you imagine fainting mid-tumble.” My eyes flicked to Poppy and a hint of a smile traced her lips.

Lips I’d kissed less than two hours ago.

Fuck.

It was all I could think about. How soft they were, how fucking good she tasted. It had been everything I’d ever dreamed of and not nearly enough.

Calm the fuck down. Your sister’s lying in a hospital bed. Now is not the time to be obsessing over your best friend.

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