Damaged (Boys of Winter 2)
I pull my elbow free and give him a tight smile. “Thanks,” I murmur. “I’m good now.”
Grayson nods and takes the helmet out of my hands as King and Cruz step out from behind the Escalade. They both watch us standing so close together, glancing between us with a strange curiosity that has me fighting a smile and rolling my eyes. There’s not a doubt in my mind that they’re wondering if our little threesome just became a party of four.
Not wanting to hang around for their interrogation, I make my way to the main entrance of Ravenwood Heights Academy with the three guys following behind, my helmet still tucked safely under Grayson’s arms.
We walk into the school together and I get all of three steps before Ember comes crashing into me. “What the actual fuck, girl? Where the hell have you been? You know it’s been like … fuck … days since I saw you last. What happened to you?” she demands, grabbing hold of my shoulder and scanning her gaze over my body. “I swear, I thought you must have picked a fight with the wrong guy, been roofied, and then woke up in a random Mexican hospital. I’ve been so worried about you. I mean, is it that hard to answer your phone or send a text? Sheesh, girl.”
My face twists into a cringe and I give her an awkward shitty smile. “Sorry,” I say, knowing that’s not going to cut it. “I haven’t seen my phone since … crap. I don’t even know when I last saw my phone, but it’s been a while.”
Ember gives me a blank, unimpressed stare as the students walking in through the main entrance have to shoulder charge me to get past. “Seriously?” she grumbles. “Four fucking days, babe. What happened to you? I’m going to need something a little better than ‘I lost my phone.’ I mean, I thought maybe you’d been put with a new family and I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”
My heart breaks for my friend, and once again, I’m left feeling like the shittiest person on earth.
I pull Ember in and wrap my arms around her small frame. “I’m sorry,” I tell her, trying to keep the ache out of my tone, but failing miserably. “I didn’t mean to disappear like that, I just had … a lot going on and then all this shit went down with Carver and I just … I’m sorry.”
Ember pulls back and gives me a tight smile. “I guess you’re not about to tell me what happened with Carver?”
A smile cuts across my face and I shake my head, which only makes her sigh. “Damn, it was worth a try,” she tells me. “I still don’t think I really understand how you ended up living there, but I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous as fuck. Those guys are … wow. They’re just wow. There’s no other word to describe them.”
“Trust me,” I grumble under my breath as I loop my arm through hers and lead her down the hallway toward my locker. “I have plenty of descriptive words for those guys, but right now, I need you to keep my mind off them. What’s been going on with you?”
“Really?” she groans. “You’re not going to give me anything? Not even a little hint at what went down between you and Cruz after your party? Because I haven’t forgotten that you were supposed to tell me what’s going on between the two of you, and don’t think I didn’t notice how you skipped out early. You were fucking him, weren’t you?”
A wicked smile cuts across my face. “So, you and Jacob, hey? How’s that going?”
She gives me a blank stare. “Really? You’re going to avoid it altogether?”
“Damn right, I am,” I laugh as I drag her to my locker and momentarily forget which one is mine. I swear, at this stage, I think I’ve actually spent more days away from school than actually being here. “Now, tell me everything that’s been going on with you. I’ve missed your hourly updates on your life.”
Ember rolls her eyes as we come to a stop outside a locker with a familiar combo lock attached to it. I fumble with the code as Ember drops her shoulder against the neighboring locker before going all girly on me and letting out a deep sigh. She meets my stare as a beaming smile stretches across her face. “Do you really want to know?”
“Umm … yeah,” I laugh. “Tell me everything. Besides, it’ll hopefully work wonders in getting my mind off the four assholes who know nothing about personal boundaries.”
Ember narrows her eyes and I see the desperation pulsing through her. She wants to push me for information, but she knows that if I were going to tell her something, I would have already done it. “Fine,” she says with a sigh, giving up on the hope of learning exactly how devilish Cruz Danforth really is. “Where should I start?”