I don’t know how, but he managed to fit onto my bed and tuck me into his arms. I was more or less lying on top of him. Not that I was complaining. Not in the slightest.
“Are you comfortable? Are you in pain?” he murmured softly, his woodsy scent hitting my senses.
“No,” I whispered. “Not in the slightest.” Thank you, painkillers. They gave me the chance to spend the night smashed into my twin-sized bed with Brock Taylor.
“Don’t worry, Firefly. You’ll get back on track,” he assured softly with such conviction anyone would have believed him. “The guys and I will make sure of it.”
Snuggling deeper into him, I finally let my heavy eyes drift closed, the steady beat of his heart pulsing under my cheek. I had just fallen asleep when something woke me back up. My gaze lifted to see Brock’s eyes already open.
A tiny ping hit the glass pane. And then another. “Is someone throwing rocks at my window?” I groaned, annoyed that I’d been woken up. I was far too comfortable to fucking move.
Brock ran his knuckles along my underarm. “Don’t tell me. Old boyfriend?”
I yawned and followed it up with a hissing wince, the cut on my mouth protesting against being stretched. “Not funny. What if it’s Carter?” Ribbons of unease wove through me, banishing the last remnants of sleep.
“I hope it is. I’ll kill him.” Brock’s temper flared to the surface as he untangled himself from the bedsheets and me. He did so carefully.
Was that anticipation I saw in his eyes? I put a hand on his arm, halting him from getting out of the bed. “Maybe you shouldn’t look.”
His dark brows bunched together. “I’m not scared of Carter.”
“I never said you were.” But maybe he should be. Besides, I was suddenly plenty worried for the both of us.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Brock went to the window, brushing aside the curtain. From where I lay on the bed, I could only see the darkness of night, but the visible relaxing of the muscles in his back told me it wasn’t Carter.
I couldn’t think of a single person who would use my window other than Ainsley, but she’d definitely call first or text. We had talked briefly. She had been worried and pissed, all the appropriate responses to your best friend getting jumped by a gang of mean girls. She’d gotten a new phone, so I didn’t bother to tell her what happened to her old one. Knowing Ainsley, she’d harbor guilt that it was her phone that drew me to the alley.
Brock muttered a curse. “I should have guessed.”
“Who is it?” I inquired from the bed, hardly able to stand the suspense.
A devilishly handsome blond stuck his head through the window, shooting me a dimpled grin. “Hey, Josie Jo.”
I blinked from where I lay on the bed. “Micah?”
“They’re all here,” Brock said, looking anything but pleased. He tousled his dark hair, fluffing up any bedhead.
“All?” I echoed.
Brock’s lips twitched.
“We had to see you for ourselves,” Fynn’s said from somewhere behind Micah.
The next thing I knew, Micah, Fynn, and Grayson had climbed through my window. My bedroom was not big enough for four guys, especially four high school football players. Not to mention, my dad was down the hall. It was one thing to sneak a guy into my room. It was a fucking other level to sneak in four.
But a part of me was touched they cared enough to show up. Their concern squeezed my heart. How the hell had the Elite manage to weasel so quickly not just into my life but my heart as well?
Grayson jerked his head in greeting to Brock. “Figured you’d be here.” A look passed between them.
I maneuvered myself into a sitting position on the bed, eyes glancing warily at my locked bedroom door. Hopefully, Dad was fast asleep. He tended to be one of those people who not even a bomb going off would wake up.
Fynn whistled as he got a look at me. “Damn, JJ, you took a beating.”
“She didn’t hold back, did she,” Micah added. “Stupid bitch. She should know better than to mess with ours.”
Grayson's jaw hardened. “No one messes with family.”
Tonight, for the first time, I felt like part of the Elite. I almost didn’t care that it took getting my ass beat to get here. Feeling like I belonged like I was family, and it made me want to tear up and cry.