Page 30 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

Not sure I could.

Everything was hazy, spinning around me.

“Come here.” He gently eased his arm around me and tucked me into his side. I wanted to tell him I didn’t need his support or offer of comfort. And maybe I would…

When the world stood still again.

* * *

“Shh,”someone hissed. “We need to make it past Coach Mac’s room.”

“Maybe we should stick to our own room assignments?”

“Not happening, Poppy Star. I need you in my bed.”

Someone snorted. I tried to open my eyes, but everything felt heavy. My eyelids, my arms and legs. But my stomach… God, it felt like something had crawled inside me and died.

The air shifted around me as I clung to Cole as he carried me down the hall.

“Someone needs to watch her,” he said, his deep voice rumbling through me.

“I can.” It sounded like Ashleigh’s voice, but everything felt distant. Like trying to hear under water. “And Cole can room with E.”

“I’ll watch her.”

“You sure, bro?” Aaron asked. “Maybe I should—”

“It’s fine. No point in ruining everyone’s night. I’ll make sure she’s okay, I promise.”

“W-what?” I murmured, trying to come back to the land of the living. But it was too difficult, too easy to give in to the heavy pull of exhaustion and intoxication.

But I heard his voice somewhere on the edge of my consciousness.

“Shh, Sofe. I got you.”

I got you.

CHAPTERSIX

Cole

I managedto get Sofia into my room, the one I was supposed to be sharing with Aaron.

She was a dead weight in my arms as I carried her over to the bed and laid her down.

“C-Cole?” she murmured, her eyelids fluttering.

“Shh.” I brushed the hair out of her face, my chest tightening as I touched her.

Fuck, she was beautiful. Big blue eyes, tan skin, and those soft pink lips. Lips that had been two seconds away from kissing Jordan Handell while I stood there, wishing it was me.

But it was more than that. I’d seen past her party girl effort right to the lingering pain in her eyes. Sofia was hiding something. The more I watched her, the more I felt it. And the more I thought about it, the more I came to the same conclusion. If she was hiding things from Aaron, it was bad news.

Really fucking bad.

My cell vibrated and I dug it out of my pocket.

Aaron: You sure you’re okay with her?

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