“Come on, then.” I take his hand and tug him toward the house. He’s a mess, blood trickling from his lip, a cut in his brow. But Cole barely seems to notice, his head hanging low, anger rippling off him as we make our way inside.
“Do you know where the first aid kit is?”
He shrugs.
“Go up to your room and get cleaned up. I’ll find something to work with.”
Cole takes off, but not before grabbing a bottle of liquor off the drinks cabinet.
Just what he doesn’t need—more alcohol.
I root around in some of the kitchen cabinets before trying the downstairs bathroom, where I find a small first aid kit. Steeling myself, I go in search of Cole.
I know the Jagger brothers are a force to be reckoned with, especially Cole and Ace, but seeing them fight like that was like nothing I’ve seen before. They were both so angry, so lost and desperate. Whatever is going on between them has been brewing for a while, and something tells me Ace is feeling a whole lot worse than Cole is right now. He cares, that much is obvious. It’s why he pushed Cole.
As I finally move down the hall, a voice stops me in my tracks. “Hadley?”
I turn to find Remi standing there.
“Where is he?”
“I sent him up to his room.”
Her lips curve, and I realize how that probably sounded.
“You know what I mean.”
“Are you okay?” she asks, coming closer.
“Are you?” I can see the tears streaking down her face.
“Ace is... I’ve never seen him like that before. He’s worried about Cole, we all are.”
“I know.”
“You’d tell me, right? If you knew something about what’s going on with him, you’d tell me?”
“Remi, don’t do this...” I release a shaky breath.
“So you do know something?” Betrayal flashes in her eyes, but it quickly dissipates. “Sorry, that isn’t fair. I’d protect Ace no matter the cost too, always.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to end up in the middle of all this. But Cole is...”
“Yeah,” she gives me a sad smile, “I know. But he’ll be okay?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like he’s finally letting me in, and then, other times, the walls feel so reinforced it’s like I’ll never break through.”
“You will...” She reaches for me, squeezing my hand. “You already are. I saw the jealousy in his eyes when you were with Conner. He hates the easy friendship the two of you have.”
“I’m not sure me and Conner are friends, Rem.” I let out a strained chuckle.
“Sure you are. These Jagger boys don’t let just anyone into their inner circle, but here we are. Both of us.”
Her words affect me far more than they should. I don’t want to get too used to this, to being one of them. Because when the truth comes out, and it will eventually, the shit will really hit the fan.
And I might lose Cole for good.
My stomach twists at that thought.