Court Kept (Court High 3)

My friends were literally freaking the hell out. I was fine, and I told them that when I finally started to feel my toes. I really hadn’t been out there for that long, and despite that, they all decided to stay at my house that night. They all stayed, even December, which gratefully I hadn’t had to explain to my parents since they were out of town on business. They didn’t keep up with much in my life, but a couple dozen guys and girls parking it at my house for an evening, yeah, they might have a little issue with that. My friends worked in shifts while I shivered under heating blankets and in front of space heaters. The girls had been in charge of food duty. I had soup and chicken broth literally coming out of my ears by the end of it. I couldn’t sleep I’d been so full, and eventually, the majority of my friends bailed out about daybreak. They needed to get home and ready for school, and I needed to crash the hell in after a night slash weekend of freaking hell. The Court hadn’t gone easy on me, and it wasn’t expected. I needed to be a little uncomfortable to join their ranks, and truth be told, if they’d tried anything light on me, I would have fought for more. I had to make a statement.

I think I made it.

Nothing was sweeter than the look on Prinze’s face when I not only rose to the challenge but literally did everything they said all weekend. The guy had made me his bitch, and I acted like I enjoyed every moment. I wasn’t weak and showed no weaknesses. I went into those woods and put that bag on myself when it was all said and done. I sat there, not expecting the worse but ready for it. One would have had to pull me out of those woods before I walked out on my own.

I guess in the end that’s how it turned out.

I think it was around mid-morning the next day I finally found myself coherent enough to talk to people again. Like I said, the friends had left around dawn, and they all checked in as they did. I’d been in and out of it then, but I recalled pounding a fist or two. The guys had given me props while the girls looked like they’d wanted to kill me. I’d scared them and even more so when I refused to go to the hospital.

I almost regretted that a little bit now as I stirred in my bed, sunlight a bit too much for the day. I folded hands over my eyes, rubbing the sleep out. My arms still a bit weak, I returned them both to my sides. I found warmth there.

I found December.

I shifted, then froze… December on my bed and a lot closer than I recalled her being last night. True, she’d been the one in and out the most, looking after me the most. I thought she’d read me the riot act like most of the girls had about trying to join Court, but not only had December held her opinions about my decisions, she’d helped me. She’d directed all the girls and even some of the guys last night, making sure they stayed out and gave me anything I asked for or needed. She’d listened to me.

She’d been a friend.

This friendship was why our current position was so awkward now, the girl literally up on me, and with where my proximity to her had been, maybe something I hadn’t fought in the night. I settled an arm around her slowly, December really that close. She lay on top of my sheets but she was with me.

I shifted, staring down at her. She was fully clothed, the only thing missing her coat, and I turned completely, just looking at her for a second. She slept sou

ndly, looking like last night hadn’t even happened with her little arms tucked in and her face on my pillow.

Don’t do that. Don’t…

I gave myself only a few moments before coming back to my goddamn senses. In the end, I put space between us, retreating over to my side of the bed. Before I lay back down, I grabbed the shrug my grandma made me one Christmas located at the foot of my bed. I made sure it was around December tight before grabbing my phone. I had a couple calls to make.

Things were going to change when we were both awake.

Seven

December

Warmth radiated around me, undisturbed and subtle. It’d reminded me of a place I’d been in the middle of the woods, so much cold around me but there was one place where it wasn’t. It was under my coat with Ramses when I’d been trying to get some heat into him. He’d scared the shit out of me.

The bastard.

I only couldn’t yell at him because I’d been scared, and that fear I took into the night. Only when he was out of the worst of it did I finally get some sleep.

Poke.

Something touched my nose, something rubbery, and I opened my eyes to see messy brown hair, a grin, and a fucking pencil in Ramses Mallick’s fingers.

He pulled it back. “It’s morning, sleeping beauty. You can wake up now.”

Morning…

I launched up, a blanket sliding off me. I didn’t remember putting that on, but maybe I had. In any sense, I was too busy freaking out to think about that. I fished around the bed for my phone, but when I pulled it out, I found no messages from Rosanna.

“Don’t worry. I texted her you were staying at a friend’s house,” came beside me, Ramses when he sat up and dropped his pencil. He stretched long arms, that wingspan of his cutting across his entire king bed. His comforter had dropped to his lap, pooling in a heap at surprisingly chiseled hips. The guys had put him to bed basically the way we brought him in, all of us pretty frickin’ frantic that night and Ramses definitely had made it to the gym a time or two. He had a subtle definition only made out by the golden skin he got from being a mixture of races between his dad and mom. I might have noticed all that he had going on a little more had I not feared for his life last night.

Still pissed about that, I scanned my phone to check out whatever text message exchange had been done between Rosanna and “me.” There actually were a few freak-out texts on her end since my faux response Ramses sent wasn’t received until early this morning. He told her I was fine and sorry I didn’t check in. I was apparently up all night with Birdie studying and fell asleep. He actually managed to convince her to get me out of school for the day too, which was pretty nice. Seeing the time, we were pushing lunch now.

I lowered the phone. “Thanks.” Ramses knew about my living situation, how I wasn’t living with my dad. It’d come up a time or two in casual conversation, and I was happy it had now, since he got me off the hook.

Flashing another grin, Ramses took the next seconds to put a shirt on, one he’d found in his dresser drawers beside the bed. I honestly didn’t think any of his nakedness at all would bother me. I’d seen more than enough last night, but for whatever reason, I definitely noticed when he no longer wasn’t. Things felt a little easier, less awkward? Anyway, I was glad he did it.

He bunched the flannel at the sleeves. “No problem. The least I can do considering you kept me alive last night.”