Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
I didn’t answer.
Traine started laughing. “She’s trying to figure out the family connection again.”
“Oh.” Steele cringed. “Let it go, Mads. We’re related. Just leave it at that. We got our whole lives to deal with that shit.”
That made me happy because he was right.
The office door opened, and I straightened away from the locker. My heart was thumping in my chest, so hard.
Max came out and stopped, seeing me. He gave me the cutest grin before shaking his head. “I should’ve just known you’d know.”
I launched myself at him.
Max caught me, with ease and that was hot. One of his arms curved around my back, keeping me in place, and he held the other out behind me. “Hey, man.” He was doing his fist-greeting thing he’d started with my friends. “Yo. Hey. How’s it going?” I couldn’t decipher who the last two were for, but it didn’t matter.
I was just so happy.
This was part of the Parental Maddy Watch Program. They’d discussed if I should transfer to Fallen Crest Public, but the general consensus was that I would get in more trouble there considering the students were rougher? I probably would’ve loved going there, but Max agreed with coming here instead. The parentals also sat down with the three guys behind me.
Steele moved into the house. That’d been an automatic, but Beltraine and Axel were given the option if they wanted to also move into our house.
Both agreed immediately.
They were transfixed with my parents. Both of them, which I got too. My mom and dad both fought for them, each one of them. My parents had a special conversation with the twins, making sure both of them were okay with the guys living with us for a year. Though, we all knew it wouldn’t be for just the year.
They’d go away to college, but when they came back, they’d come to our home. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Easter. Draft Day. All the major holidays, they’d be at our house.
I’d been concerned because I didn’t know if I wanted them in the house, not around Nolan and my little brother. But Nash was already the top guy in his class. I didn’t need to be worried about him. It was more Nolan, but my little sister reassured me everything would be fine.
When she gave me the look, I knew not to question it. She knew in the special way she knew things. So if the twins were good, I was good.
We’d unofficially adopted three more kids.
“What’s up, Stevie? How’s it going.”
I tensed, hearing Max greeting another girl. A deep possessive churning swirled in my chest.
Max was mine. He wasn’t allowed to have female friends, or talk to other girls, or look at other girls.
Okay, okay. I needed to bring back the chill.
I eased down to the ground, and Max threw me a frown, but he let me go. Stevie stopped at her locker, which I forgot was in this area. She opened it, casting a wary glance at me and the others behind us. “Hey, Max. How’s it going with you? You headed to Cieran’s this weekend?”
Max stayed by my side, but he answered her. “The fighting shed got shut down.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It burned down last weekend.”
I could feel the looks the guys were giving each other behind me.
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.”
Stevie stared at him, a blank expression on her face. She was caught off guard by the news. “That’s horri—”
“What are you doing here?” Aurelia Avoy’s snide question cut Stevie off, who immediately schooled her features. The momentary surprise was gone and her whole face was blank.
Aurelia put her hands on her hips, facing off against Stevie. Her head angled to the side. “I asked you a question. Answer me.”
Stevie didn’t even blink. She just shut down. “Nothing.” Her gaze met Max’s and her eyebrows furrowed, but she shook her head. “It’s nothing. Cool to see you again, Monroe. See you around.”
Aurelia cast the guys a look, some mean shining from her eyes. Her mouth lifted up in a cocky smirk.
I was moving without thinking about it, but as Stevie shut her locker, she began to turn toward the parking lot. She put her foot forward, and Aurelia tossed her bag in her way. Stevie hit the bag, tripping, and she fell down.
Or she would’ve.
Aurelia tossed her bag, but two things happened before that happened.
I reached for Aurelia’s hair and yanked her backward, and as she let her bag loose, Max plucked it out of the air. He swung it around before he got a better hold of it.
“Damn!” Beltraine whooped behind us.
A few others made sounds of surprise because everything happened so fast, so seamlessly, it was as if Max and I had been doing things like that all the time. Which, I guess we had.
Stevie braked abruptly, blinking a few times because her brain needed to catch up with her body. Nothing happened. She was still standing. She hadn’t tripped. All was good.