Page 51 of Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U)
I eye him, and Sully elbows him. They both move out of my way. Grant and Taylor made it out of their beds too. They seem more confused than anything.
“You good?” Grant mouths.
I nod.
Evan is at the back of the pack. “Wrenny.”
He steps forward like he’s going to take her from me. I bare my teeth at him, stopping him in his tracks, just as Wren shakes her head against me.
She doesn’t want him either.
He sees the look in my eye, and he’s as confused as me. Well, he can get fucked. They all can.
I don’t know how I went from hating her guts to…this.
She thought I went through her shit. It wasn’t me, and I highly doubt it was any of the other guys. They respect her space, although there’s certainly been an air of confusion around the house in the last week or so. Only Evan has caught me downstairs past midnight, but I assured him it was a one-time thing.
A total lie.
It’s her face I pictured while being held in the police station. Her name I cursed when my father scolded me. When he made sure I knew I had to do better, tobebetter.
I never told Evan what she did. I made something up to explain why I was hauled out of the lunchroom and later arrested—something my ego did not anticipate needing to brace against. The questions, the jokes.
Now there’s this.
Hurt flashes across his expression, but I ignore it and keep moving. Up the stairs, into the bedroom. I turn to close the door and find the rest of the guys in the hallway.
We don’t need a fucking audience—but they probably deserve an explanation.
I do, too.
My body aches. I’ve never thrown myself at something so hard—no check in hockey could compare to the jarring nature of trying to break down a door. A door Wren locked to keep me—and the world—out.
But she can’t keep me away. Not after tonight.
With her head tucked in the crook of my neck, her fingers curled in my shirt, the need to protect her grows stronger and stronger.
I kick the door shut and sit on the bed, resting her on my lap. I stroke her hair. “It’s just us.”
She shudders, her fingers tightening on my shirt before slowly relaxing. Her palm flattens. It’s amazing how much heat is transferred from her to me.
“I’m sorry, Stone.”
“For what?”
She lifts my hand and runs her thumb over my knuckles.
“Punching it didn’t work. I just rammed it until the lock broke.” I force a laugh to hide my sudden nerves. I’m not fifteen years old anymore, practicing how to talk to hot girls. “I’m fine…”
“But?”
There’s always a but. And in this case, it’s the elephant in the room. The reason for her screams.
“But I think I deserve the truth. You said someone was in your room. You freaked out about the picture I posted. Who is chasing you?”
I can’t even tell her how much I need her to be honest.
She slides off my lap and scooches backward, until she’s leaning against the wall. She takes my pillow and hugs it to her chest.