Oliver laced his fingers through mine. “Don’t you dare say that, Heaven. None of us think it. What we have? It’s good. It’s good for you and all of us. Don’t doubt it.”
“What about Anderson? He’s your best friend. There’s no way you’d choose me over him. I won’t make you.”
The door swung open. We all looked over and my breath caught when I saw him in the doorway. His hair was highlighted by the fluorescent lights. It looked like he’d tugged and pulled at it for hours, making it stick up in a million directions. His green eyes connected with mine and after a long pause of heavy tension, I asked the others, “Can we have a minute alone?”
Anderson, never taking his eyes off mine, shook his head. “No, they stay.”
My heart ricocheted around my chest like a pinball in a machine, knowing what came next couldn’t be good. Only an executioner needed an audience.
Oliver’s hand tightened in my left hand, Jackson in my right. Hayden watched Anderson with narrowed, wary eyes. I knew for certain my heart couldn’t handle being broken again.
Anderson stood at the end of the bed, the shadowy light accentuating the dark rings under his eyes and the split, puffy lip.
“I’m so sorry, Heaven.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve been such a dick. These guys saved me when I got here and they mean everything to me. Adding in someone new? Someone like you? It scared the hell out of me.”
“What do you mean, someone like me?”
He shifted around the bed, like he wanted to get closer. Oliver released my hand and gave him room. I tilted my head to see him closer, only to have the urge to touch his lip and make it feel better.
“Dammit. It never comes out right. You’re smart, Heaven. Funny. Kind. Absolutely fucking beautiful. Why do you think I sit next to you every year in our one shared class? It was my only place to get close to you.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Anderson.”
He looked down, the tips of his ears turning red. “I’ve had a crush on you for a long time—longer than these fools know.”
“Oh, we knew,” Hayden said dryly. “She had your approval long before all this started. It’s why we knew she was the one.”
Anderson looked up in surprise. Jackson and Oliver nodded in agreement. “You knew.”
“Dude, everyone knew, you were the only one that wouldn’t take a chance so we took it for you and even then, you managed to fuck it up.”
The guys laughed, shaking their heads at their friend. I watched, incredulous as the whole thing fell into place.
“Jealousy almost ruined this for me--for us.” His hands clenched the railing on the bed. “I’ve been petty. Immature. I was afraid of losing them and the special relationship I had with you. It was so fucking hard seeing the guys at school look at you in those outfits. Seeing you exploited on that fake account ate me up. It made me so angry and insanely jealous. That was my skin they were looking at.” My stomach flip-flopped at his admission. “And then…when I saw the photos of you with Hayden and then Jackson—the closeness you had—the stubbornness keeping me from having it, too… I just lost my mind and took it out on you.”
“I don’t want to come between you guys. Ever.”
Anderson’s hand reached out and touched my chin, turning my skin to flames. “That’s the thing. You’re not. It’s the complete opposite. You’re bringing us together. You’re the bond we’ve been waiting for. They knew it all along, I was just too stupid to realize it.
His eyes burned into mine. “If you’ll forgive me, I promise things will be different. I’ll never act like a dick again.”
Jackson coughed and muttered “bullshit” under his breath.
Everyone stopped and stared at him. He shrugged and gave his heart-breaker smile.
Anderson rolled his eyes. “Fine, I promise to try my hardest not to act like a dick again, to you, especially.”
I inhaled, trying to process ever
ything he just said. The crux of it all was that Anderson liked me—always had, and he is a jealous bastard—which was way hotter than I ever imagined. All that broody angst? That was jealousy. I lifted my hand and he took it in his. His skin was soft, except for similarly scraped knuckles to Jackson. I kissed the red welts. “I forgive you.”
“Yes!” Oliver fist pumped. Jackson smiled. Hayden gave me a wink.
“I’ll keep my promise if you’ll take care of yourself—stay healthy—deal?”
I nodded, feeling a little foolish I ever thought they’d leave me. Their presence is like a cloak, warm and secure. “Deal.”
A knock on the door interrupts us and the boys reluctantly drop my hands, taking a few steps back. Now isn’t the time to drop my relationship status on my mom, even if she had encouraged me to talk to them. In her eyes, they were friends and that was okay.