Courage (Mark of Nexus) Page 13

  “Cole,” Rena said. “You really don’t have to stay here. I’m okay now.”

  He shot her a disbelieving look and made another slash at his forearm. “Yeah, you look okay.”

  That got him a glare.

  I started to say something about the cut he’d just inflicted when the strangest thing happened—it faded. Seriously. It went from red to pink, and then the skin knit itself back together. Just like that. “How did…?”

  Cole turned to face me with the knife pointed in my direction. “Something on your mind, Aiden Ross?”

  I leaned back. “N-No.”

  “Cole,” Rena warned. “You know I can’t deal with this today.”

  “Fine, fine.” He dropped the knife and held both hands up, scooting to the end of the booth. “I have to go check on a listing, anyway.” When he stood, he fixed her with a stare that seemed to imply more than a farewell. “You know how to get a hold of me, if you need me.”

  “I know.” Rena’s lips pulled up, but her heart wasn’t in it. “Thank you.”

  He grunted and threw a wave over his shoulder. “Yep. Later.”

  “Bye,” I said, with a shudder as he made his way to the door. Thank God.

  A minute or so slipped by in relative silence. Music and conversation drifted around us, but we sat in an awkward bubble. Rena had tears streaking down her face, but she wasn’t crying anymore. It was like she couldn’t stop them.

  “Sooo,” Gabby began. “You guys had a fight?”

  Rena nodded.

  “And you were the one who ended up calling things off?”

  Another nod.

  Gabby gave me a weird look, and then leaned over to her. “You want to run the why part past me one more time?”

  Rena lowered her head and mumbled, “We’re just not as compatible as we thought we were.”

  My heart squeezed. I’d never seen her more defeated—like she’d been owned by a boss on the very last level. I mean, her eyes were glazed over, and even now, her lip was quivering. The girl was just…broken.

  “I heard you were waitin’ on a check over here,” Sam’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Didn’t want you to…” His brow crumpled when he saw Rena. “Hey, what’s wrong, kiddo?”

  She looked up with another one of those fake smiles and shook her head. “Nothing. I’m okay.”

  “You don’t look okay,” Sam said. “Not that you ain’t your usual pretty self, but I think you know what I mean.”

  Rena rubbed her neck. “It’s just…Wallace and I broke up.”

  I inhaled a little too sharply at her words. There was something about hearing the confession straight from her lips that sent me reeling. Rena was single. After three long months, she was single. Sure, it was a horrible way to think, but I couldn’t help it. This was the opportunity I’d been waiting for.

  Now what?

  Sam’s gaze turned deadly as he shifted his weight from one side to the other. “That boy been runnin’ around on you?”

  “No,” Rena answered without flinching.

  He shook a meaty fist. “What about hittin’ you? Did he smack you around?”

  Her lip curled in disgust. “God, no.”

  Sam gave us the eye, like we were holding back on him.

  “He didn’t do anything, Sam,” she said. “Honestly. It was just…time.”

  “Time, huh? Well, I don’t know nothin’ about this time business, but I’ll leave it at that.” He wiped his hands on his apron and leaned in. “Just know this. Next time ol’ Wally boy comes in, he and I are gonna have a little chat.”

  Rena looked like she was going to be sick.

  Gabby smiled up at him. “How about that check, Sam?”

  He snorted, rummaged around for the slip, and then tore it into pieces. “How ‘bout it?”

  Did that just happen?

  As he turned to walk into the kitchen, Gabby stammered a quick thank you that I was quick to repeat. I don’t think either of us was expecting the gesture, but it felt kind of nice. Maybe my kneecaps were safe, after all.

  “Can we go now?” Rena asked, running her hands through her hair. The blonde strands were all knotted in tangles, and she had raccoon eyes from where her makeup had run. If she was this bad off, I couldn’t imagine how Wallace was holding up. Did the big guy cry when she told him? I almost wanted to see it, in a sick kind of way.

  “Sure thing.” Gabby stood up and pulled Rena out of the booth. “Let’s get you home.”

  I got up and threw a dollar on the table. Sam might’ve cleared our beverage tab, but Lexie still worked on tips. The last thing I needed was a spitified burger next time we came in. Yuck.

  “You coming back to the room, Aiden?” Rena asked in a tired voice.

  I shook my head. “Nah, I’ve got stuff to do.” Meaning, I needed to go think. After the talk Gabby and I had last night, this felt like a push from the universe. What was a guy supposed to do with this kind of pressure? I swallowed. “Take care of yourself, though. Come get me if you need anything.”

  She gave a weak smile. “I will.”

  I couldn’t help but smile back. For the first time in months, I actually believed her.

  CHAPTER 21

  What hurts more than giving up the love of your life? Taking the last few steps to ensure his happiness.

  I sat on the bench outside of Foster Hall for an hour, trying to get my shit together, and what did I end up doing? Going through a pint of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from the gas station and memorizing two study guides. This chat wasn't going to happen.

  It wasn't that I didn't need to discuss things with Corynn. It had been almost a week, and from what I'd seen, she had yet to make a move on Wallace. The whole point of my sacrifice was for her to neutralize his strength and give him a normal life. Otherwise, what did I turn myself into a moody, stress-eating insomniac for?

  No, we needed to talk. The problem was I didn't want to.

  Giving her my blessing was bound to provoke one of two emotions in me, and either way, I'd end up crying. I licked the inside of the ice cream lid. Then she'd perceive me as weak, and I'd resent her. If there was one thing I hated, it was—

  “What a sad, sticky girl,” a familiar voice quipped from behind me.

  I froze, put my tongue back in my mouth, and lowered the lid to my lap. “Excuse me?”

  “What're you doing out here?” Cole gripped the back of the bench and hopped over. “Besides stalking the Nullari girl and ingesting 270 calories. You know that'll go straight to your ass, right?”

  I flicked him off and went back to getting my money's worth. “None of your business.”

  “Oh, my beloved sister from another mister,” he chided, shaking his head. “Everything you do is my business.”

  The wind flapped the study sheets under my leg, and I leaned over to throw my carton in the trash. “Cut the crap, AssCole. Why are you here?”

  “Can't I stop by to check on you?”

  “Not when it takes over two hours to get here.”

  “Maybe I wanted to see you before your semester ends.”

  “Maybe you have ulterior motives.”

  “Rena.” He put a hand to his chest. “I'm hurt.”

  I wiped my hands on my pants, gathered my study guides, and folded them down to fit into my pocket. “And I'm not in the mood to play games.”

  “Fine.” Cole crossed his arms and gave my body a once-over. “No games. What do you want to do? Trash Corynn's room? Key her car?” A second ticked by. “Rough her up a little?”

  Gotta love friends without scruples.

  “She and I need to talk,” I explained with a sigh, standing up. “But that's not going to happen with you here, so if you'll excuse me…”

  “About Wallace?”

  I flinched and tried to mask it by glaring at some random dude on the sidewalk. “Maybe.”

  Cole's brows furrowed. “But…”

  “But what?”

  He looked like he wanted to say one thing b
ut settled for another. “Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Maybe this chick doesn't even want to be with him. I mean, hell, she's an ERA plant. Maybe you shouldn't want her to be with him.”

  Like I needed doubt right now. “I want what's best for him.”

  “So, ripping out his heart and thrusting him into the arms of the enemy is best for him?” He patted his pockets and shook his head. “Shit's sake, Sis. You give me anxiety.”

  I watched with narrowed eyes as he produced a pack of Lucky Strikes and fumbled for his lighter. Half of me wanted to join him, if only to distract myself from the dickwad thing he'd he just said.

  “Here's the deal,” he said, popping the cigarette into his mouth. “Your last class gets out at 2:50 on Fridays. Her last class isn't over until 4:10. She works in the lab on weekends, but Maverick won't be by to pick her up until 7:30 tomorrow morning.”

  I didn't want to know how he knew that. “So?”

  “So, we only have fifteen minutes to kill until our time window.” He cupped the end and sparked a flame. Three seconds later, he was in full-on dragon mode—smoke curling between us. “What do you want to do?”

  Ugh. I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt. “I want to throw up.”

  “Gimme a break,” he mumbled. “It's not that bad.”

  “It's gross.” My cotton barrier grew warm as I tried to breath against my chest. “Your lungs probably hate you.”

  He lifted his shoulders and let them drop in one big movement. “Fast healer.”

  “Well, my lungs hate you,” I ground out. “Did you consider that?”

  “Actually…” His jaw went slack as he stared at my chest, like he was trying to develop x-ray vision. “No.”

  “Shocker.” I started to walk off, but he caught my arm.

  “Listen,” he said, wisps of smoke spilling from his lips. “I'll put this out and wait with you, if you give me that redhead's phone number.”

  I let go of my collar, and the shirt snapped down around my neck. “You seriously came all this way to con me out of Rachel's phone number?” Obsessive, much?

  He dropped his cigarette in a grand gesture and smashed it with his boot. “There. Are you happy?”

  I stared at the sidewalk after he lifted his foot. “No.”

  Cole ran an exasperated hand over his head. “Why? Do your lungs still hate me?”

  “No, but Captain Planet does. That's litter.”

  He growled as he bent to pick up the discarded remains, and then tossed them in a tray atop the trashcan. “There.”

  “Good,” I praised him, using the tone of voice I typically reserved for Wolfie. “Now explain to me why you want Rachel's number so badly.”

  His lethal gaze rolled toward the sky. “You want an essay? Because she's got great legs, and she's nice and shit.”

  “Oh, well, when you put it that way…” It was my turn to roll my eyes. “You know she's not going to sleep with you, right? In case you didn't notice, she’s churchy.”

  He stared at me like he had a right to be disgusted. “I didn't say I wanted to sleep with her.”

  “But you do, don't you?” I put my hands on my hips. “I'm warning you, Cole. If you convince Rachel to go out with you, and you hurt her, Wallace is going to be pissed. They're close.”

  “Are you sure it's Wallace who's going to be pissed?”

  I scoffed. “Rachel and I aren't even friends.”

  “Good,” he said. “Then give me her number.”

  Was my…? Yes, my eye was twitching.

  He took my arm, and before I realized what was happening, we were behind the building. Great. Shady and secluded. Hadn't I learned my lesson at the garage in Columbus? “Cole.”

  “Look, I'm serious. I swear to God, I'm not going to touch her.”

  I backed away in case lightning chose that moment to make a not-so-subtle objection. “Right.”

  “She's just so,” he went on. “I don't know. She makes me feel good.”

  “You talked to her for thirty seconds.”

  “And she made me feel good for thirty seconds!” His lips formed a tight line. “Now are we going to argue out here, or are you going to give me her number so we can go inside and wait?”

  I eyed the back door. “You know they keep this locked, right? And we can only enter through the front entrance if a resident lets us in.”

  “Sure.” He turned to a numbered panel I'd never noticed before and punched in an access code. There was a click, and the little light turned green. “Any other pressing issues?”

  Of course.

  We hurried inside before anyone noticed us. Technically, we weren't breaking in—more like, we'd shown up uninvited—but I didn't think security would be happy, either way. Was I really doing this?

  “Now,” he said, climbing the stairs to the second floor. “Do I have your blessing or not?”

  I scampered to keep up with him. “Why do you care if you have my blessing? I thought you just wanted her number.”

  “I have her number,” he snapped, and opened the door marked with a giant two. “I just want you to say it's okay.”

  How did he…? No, I didn't want to know that, either.

  I edged around him and started down the hallway, frustration weighting my steps. “I don't care, Cole. Call her if you want to. Just don't hurt her.”

  He put a palm against my back and urged me forward. “You honestly think I'd hurt someone without provocation or necessity?”

  I started to cite myself as an example, but thought better of it. In his mind, that was probably a necessity—regardless of the nightmares it still gave me. “No,” I admitted, “but that doesn't mean I'm not worried.”

  “So, you are friends.” He grinned, coming to a halt in front of 216. “That's cool, because I want you to like my future girlfriend.”

  God help her.

  “And now that we have that out of the way.” He looked both ways before producing a small can with a straw. “Nobody ever said no to a little lube…”

  I probably should've stopped him, but I didn't. His prowess for illegal activity was oddly fascinating, and he obviously came looking to do something along these lines. Why else would he have WD-40 on him?

  Cole crammed the straw in place and squirted the hole above the door handle. “And then we'll acquaint Ms. Lock with Mr. Tension Wrench.”

  His hands blurred, exchanging the can and straw for a small metal stick. He stuck it inside the lock, reached into his other pocket, and produced a small silver instrument of torture. “Now for the pick gun.”

  “The what?”

  Click, click, click, click, click!

  “Geez.” I looked up and down the hallway. “Are you trying to get caught?”

  “Think I can't get away?” Cole squeezed the trigger a few more times, and then removed the gun. A second later, he had the metal stick pointed the other way. “Here we go.”

  “That's it?” I twisted the door handle and stepped inside, making myself an instant accomplice. Crap.

  He smirked, reset the lock, and the tools disappeared from view. “Now for some snoop—”

  “What are you two doing here?” a distinctly English voice asked from behind him.

  Cole didn't miss a beat as he held his hands up and entered the darkened room. “Rena did it.”

  I shot him a look.

  Corynn glanced around before coming inside. The door closed behind her. “All right. What's this, then?”

  “U-Um,” I stammered. “Shouldn't you be in class?”

  Slick.

  “Funny thing about observing a class for no credit,” she said, tossing her backpack on the floor and flicking the lights on. “No one cares if you leave early.”

  “Oh.”

  She didn't seem too bothered by the fact that we'd broken into her new dorm room. “Well?”

  “Rena wants to tell you something,” Cole explained, jabbing me in the side with his elbow. “Isn't that right, Sis?”

  “Ow,” I grumbled. �
�Right. I just wanted to say you and Wallace…well, you can go ahead and…he's not my…”

  She crossed her arms and leaned her hip against the dresser. “Are you giving me your boyfriend?”

  “Ex-boyfriend,” I corrected, though the word tasted bitter.

  A few seconds ticked by as she studied me. “Why?”

  I gave her the same speech I gave myself every night. “Because he deserves a normal life. Because I want my friend to be happy.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “A normal life. That's what you think he wants?”

  “Deep down,” I whispered. “So we're going to make it happen.”

  Cole snorted, but didn't say anything.

  “I'm going to give you his number,” I told her, pressing on before I lost my nerve. “Get things rolling, so we can all move on with our lives. I don't want to hear another thing about it.”

  I looked around until I spotted some blank paper and jotted down ten heartbreakingly familiar numbers. Talk about déjà vu.

  “So, that's it?” she asked. “You're going along with the arrangement?”

  “Yes.” God, did she have to grind the whole thing into the ground? The room was getting cramped. “He's yours now, so take care of him.”

  “He's still hung up on you, you know.”

  My heart squeezed, suspended for the slightest moment with possibility.

  “But whatever,” she continued. “We all have our parts to play, and it's not like he's bad to look at.”

  “R-Right.” I made for the door, Cole hot on my heels.

  “He might even appreciate a good roll in the sheets.”

  I paused with my hand on the door handle. “I should probably make one thing clear.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know your reasons for consenting to this arrangement,” I began, lowering my voice, “and I don’t know what you left behind to be here, but I trust you. I have to. Because you’re what’s best for Wallace.”

  My grip tightened. “But if you cross him, if you endanger that man in even the slightest way, I will find you, Corynn. England, America—I don’t care. I will track you to the farthest ends of the earth, and I will make you beg for death. Do you understand me?”

  Her lips twisted in evident amusement, and it took all of my power to stay glued to the door. “Got it.”