Page 82 of Disorder (Elite of Elmwood 2)

Her eyes scanned over my face, taking note of the bruises, the split lip, and the cut at my temple. “Oh girl, shit. Look what they did to you.”

“You should have seen me a few days ago. This is nothing. An improvement.” It was a sad attempt to make light of my injuries, but I didn’t want Mads’s pity.

Heat flared in silver eyes. “That fucking bitch. I’m gonna cut out her black heart.”

“That seems to be the consensus going around.” My gaze dropped to the floor as I thought about dinner last night and how good it had felt to come unhinged.

She dropped a pile of papers on my desk. “The gall of that bitch. She just made an enemy out of the Elite. Biggest mistake of her miserable life.”

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”

She touched my shoulder, drawing my eyes back up. “Probably not, but I had to see you. Besides, with your mom and Carter’s dad here, I doubt he will try anything.”

“I’m sorry about the car.” I had already apologized for her car being stranded at Tommy’s but I felt the need to say it again.

Like before, she replied, “I don’t give a shit about the car. Besides, Grayson and Brock brought it back before my parents even knew it was missing.” Mads sank onto my bed, legs dangling over the edge as she kicked off her shoes. “How are you doing? Really. Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.”

I plopped down on the other side. “Like a caged tiger, clawing, hissing, and scratching to get out of here. She took the lock off my bedroom door. Who the fuck does that?”

She grimaced. “Harsh. And really frightening.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Does Brock know about the lock?” she asked.

“Brock is too busy shoving his tongue down Ava’s throat and fingering her,” I grumbled, salty as fuck.

“That is not true,” she retorted, her delivery half-assed. Even she didn’t believe it.

My brows inched up. “Which part?”

“Well, all of it… mostly.”

I heaved a long sigh and dropped down onto the bed. “I don’t know whether to thank him for distracting Ava with his dick or fucking scream my lungs off.”

Pulling both her legs up and weaving them like a pretzel, a glint came into her eyes. “Why choose? I’d go with both. I find screaming to be a huge stress reliever.”

The corner of my lips twitched. Leave it to Mads to make a joke of this messed up situation.

“He misses you,” she added.

A sarcastic snort blew from my nose.

“I mean it,” Mads emphasized.

“Does it matter?” My words came out flat.

“Maybe not, but it’s clear you’re ridiculously jealous. You care about him, even after I warned you.”

She had warned me. The first day we met. God, that seemed like a lifetime ago rather than just merely months. “What about you and Micah?” I countered, turning the tables around on her. I was done being in the spotlight.

Our gazes met, and I swore I saw something like amusement flicker through them. “There is no Micah and me.”

I pressed my lips together, the smile I tried to hide peeking through. “I see the way you’ve been dancing around each other. The way you look at him.”

She rolled her eyes, fidgeting on the bed. “You need glasses. And I need a cigarette.”

“What are those?” I asked, indicating to the stack of pamphlets she had set on my desk.

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