Page 100 of Twisted Heathens
“How’d it go?” Phoenix asks.
“Alright. Kade’s tutoring this past week has helped, I think.”
“I’m sure you nailed it.” He bumps my shoulder with a wink, playfully ruffling my blonde hair. “Come on, let’s get out of here. It’s celebrating time.”
We gather our bags and prepare to go, the two guys sandwiching me between them. Phoenix casually slings his arm around my shoulders and Eli grabs my hand, neither saying a word about casually touching me in public. My cheeks burn hot as we pass several staring patients, and I stuff my embarrassment down.
I have no idea what they’re both playing at, but I’m not going to complain. Ever since Kade apparently had a ‘little chat’ with them last Sunday, after the humiliating incident with Hudson, things have been different.
“Where are we meeting the other two?”
Phoenix and Eli share a look as we head downstairs, inching through the crowd of patients leaving their afternoon classes. “They’ve got a meeting or something, it’s just us for now. Think they’ll join us after.”
I shrug, adjusting the heavy bag on my shoulder. “Sure, whatever. I know how I want to celebrate.” Smiling sweetly at Phoenix, I give him a heated wink. “You’ve been promising me a go on that game of yours all week. Time to pay up.”
He snorts, clearly expecting me to say something else entirely. “I see. Fine, video games it is. But don’t cry when I beat your ass.”
We head back to the dorms to escape the cold, making a beeline for Phoenix’s and Kade’s shared room. Once inside, I ditch my heavy bag laden with books and flop on the neatly made bed. Kade’s scent immediately invades my nose, peppermint and expensive aftershave clinging to his soft bed sheets.
Phoenix ditches his coat and scuffed Chucks, smiling as his eyes travel over me sprawled out on the bed. “I’ll get the game loaded. Eli, you sort snacks.”
While the two boys prepare for our evening entertainment, I subtly press my nose into the pillow and breathe deeply, my eyes falling shut. Kade’s gruff words come back to me from last week, having plagued me ever since. I’m offering you a chance to belong.
This is wrong. I’m pretending like I fit in here, that I accept his offer, when really my desperate need to self-destruct is growing by the day. I should push them all away and break their hearts, at least that would offer them some protection from inevitable pain.
“Yo Brooke, shift your ass and get over here.”
I will walk away, but not yet. Let me pretend just a little longer. Shoving the darkness to the back of my mind, I turn to Phoenix who has set up two bean bags in front of their large screen. He pats the spot next to him and I shake my head to clear the haze, trying not to think too deeply.
Taking my place, he passes me a controller and begins to load the game. I can hear Eli shuffling about in their mini fridge as he returns with snacks, spreading bags of chips and sweets around.
“What are we, twelve years old?” I gesture towards the binge foods.
Eli offers me a shrug while silently nudging me to move closer to Phoenix. He’s been even more isolated than usual for a while now, and I long to ask what’s going on in his messy little head. Unfortunately, it’s a slippery slope and I need to keep my own cards close to my chest.
Soon I’m trapped between them both, my breath hitching as the scheming assholes sandwich me impossibly tight. I’m not sure what the plan is here, but I’m certain there is one.
“Want to make this interesting?” Phoenix smirks.
“What are you thinking?”
“Best of three?”
I shrug, examining the buttons on the sleek controller. “Hardly seems fair, I’ve never played. Plus, you’ll probably cheat.”
He chuckles, his leg brushing against mine teasingly. “Scout’s honour! Promise I won’t cheat. Hell, Eli can even help you. I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”
Yeah, right.
I lose the first game within minutes, my little pixelated head blown to pieces as Phoenix whoops in victory. Eli ignores him completely and tugs my sleeve, spreading his legs wide with a lifted eyebrow. As the next game loads, I hop into his lap and relax against his body.
“Behave,” I admonish, feeling his lips against my ear.
Slim but muscular arms wrap around my torso, and he holds the controller over my own hands. With his help, I beat Phoenix easily at the next round and he’s left pouting, muttering under his breath about cheating.
I grin at him. “It’s best of three. You could still win.”
“Game on.”
