Page 21 of Home Stretch

TEN

Kade

I manageto calm down enough to lead Malia over to my car and help her inside. We make it back to my apartment in under five minutes, but now I’m wondering if I should have taken her to her own apartment since Thorne and Hendrix are here.

“We’ll get out of your way, but we wanted to talk to you about something,” Hendrix says as he shoves notebooks into his backpack.

“What’s that?” I ask as I grab a glass and fill it with water for Malia.

“Thorne and I were talking, and… we’re going to be moving out soon. We want to live with Locklyn and Elodie and not worry about anyone being home.”

I smile. I had a feeling this was coming. I mean, they’re both head over heels in love with their girls. I know that feeling, and I’m happy for my friends. Plus, this might end up working out for all of us if my plan goes right.

“I’m happy for you,” I tell both of them. They look relieved as they smile back.

“We’re happy for you, too,” Thorne says, nodding toward my bedroom, where Malia is waiting for me.

“Is everything alright? She seemed a little stressed when you guys came in,” Hendrix says.

“Yeah, she’ll be alright.”

I want to fill them in on what’s been happening, but I’ve left Malia alone for a few minutes already, and I’m dying to get back to her.

“I’ll see you guys later.”

“Later,” they call, and as I head down the hallway to my room, they head out the front door.

“Thanks,” Malia says as I pass her the water.

She’s sitting on my bed, and I grab my desk chair, pulling it closer to her so we can be face-to-face when we talk.

“What am I going to do now?” she whispers as she stares at the glass of water.

“You could move in with me. I can cover rent.”

“I’m not sure that Hendrix and Thorne would like that.”

“They actually just gave me some interesting news. Your parents may not be on your side, but the universe is. Hendrix and Thorne are moving out. They want to be alone with their girls.”

Malia nods. She doesn’t seem surprised by the news either.

“I figured that would be coming soon. I mean, Locklyn spends more nights over here than at our place already. I was going to offer to look for a new place, somewhere smaller. I probably can’t afford that now, though,” she says with a sigh. “But what does that have to do with the universe?”

“Well, you can move in here. Thorne’s parents paid rent for this place for the whole year. We just cover utilities and groceries.”

“Won’t Thorne and his parents be mad that they have to pay rent somewhere else, too?”

“I doubt it. They’re super generous, and right now, they’re all on cloud nine because Thorne and Elodie are finally back together.”

Malia blinks as if the thought of a wealthy family being generous is a foreign concept. Hell, from what she’s told me, I’m not surprised. Her own goddamn parents disowned her.

“I would still want to ask him,” she hedges. “I don’t want him to think that he’s getting screwed or that I’m taking advantage of him.”

I nod, and she takes a deep breath, though I can tell she’s still on the brink of a breakdown.

“I guess I should start looking for a job. It’s going to be hard to find one now that school has already started. I have some savings, so I should be good for a little bit, but if I’m paying for rent and for everything else… plus be saving for tuition… that money is going to be gone soon,” she rambles, getting caught up in her racing thoughts and worries.

I lean forward, taking her hand in mine.

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