“That’s not fucking funny,” the queen of drama chided.
Micah chuckled beside me, and Grayson rolled his eyes. “You have a twisted sense of humor,” my cousin mumbled, shaking his head.
They started to head out of the room.
“Kenna,” I called.
She halted at the door and half turned toward me, brow lifting. Grayson and Fynn looked back as well, but my eyes were on Kenna’s.
My expression turned grim, the events of the night hitting me like a truck. “I’m sorry. I never should have let you come with me,” I told her, voice pained.
She lowered the questioning brow, her features softening. “As if I would have ever let you go alone. You’re my best friend, Mads. I’d follow you into Hell every time. No questions asked.”
Micah wiped at the corner of his eye and sniffled. “Stop. You’re going to make me cry.”
Kenna grinned. “We’re going to be all right.”
I smiled back. “We always are.”
Grayson shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, because of us. Imagine what would happen if we weren’t around.”
“There would be no trouble, that’s what,” Kenna bit back.
Fynn, Grayson, and Micah all snorted in unison. Fynn hooked an arm around Kenna’s shoulders, holding the door open with his large foot. “Come on, brat. Let’s go before you blow up the hospital.”
Kenna rolled her eyes. “Me?” she shrieked as Fynn steered her into the hallway. “You’re in the Elite of Destruction.”
“Cute,” Fynn retorted, ruffling her hair again, something Kenna despised.
Grayson lingered another minute in the doorway. “I’m sure this doesn’t have to be said, but don’t tell your mom.”
I shot him a disparaging look. “What do you take me for, an amateur?”
He came back with one of his usual smartass remarks. “Does that deem a response?”
Amusement danced in Micah’s eyes, but he was smart enough not to laugh.
I wanted to toss something at my cousin, but I wasn’t going to give up my pillow, and the only other thing within reach was the bed remote, which was attached to the fucking bed. “Get out of here before I have my doctor cast the broken leg I’m about to give you.”
Grayson looked more relaxed now. “I’m glad you’re still in there.”
Both a chilling and warm stream washed through me, colliding like the ocean meeting the sea. I was still me, but also, I wasn’t. “Where would I have gone?”
“Don’t fuck this up,” he told Micah.
EPILOGUE
MADS
Iheld the mascara wand between my fingers, carefully coating my lashes as I arched over the bathroom sink, wary of the wound that was mostly healed. It only gave me problems if I bumped it, something I was cautious of not doing.
My recovery hadn’t been easy, but I’d been surrounded by people who cared about me. I didn’t have to lift a finger for shit. Hell, the first two weeks I rarely left my bed. Micah remained at my side day and night, waiting on me. After that, I insisted he resume going to class. I stayed at his house during my recovery. My roommates helped make sure I didn’t fall behind on my classes, bringing me my assignments and speaking with my professors. The school allowed me to complete my work online.
Keeping my injuries from my parents had been difficult. Too many times I wanted to hear my mom’s voice, have her nurse me back to health as she had with all those bouts of colds and touches of flu I’d had growing up. I would have given up a night of sleep for a bowl of my dad’s creamy tomato soup. The homesickness hit hard during the early days of being stuck in a bed. But slowly, it passed, and my friends were a big part of easing the loneliness. Not that I was ever really alone, but there was such a thing as feeling empty even when surrounded by people.
In the weeks that passed, not a stitch of news was released about Sterling. No body had been recovered. No remains had been discovered in the ashes. He was just gone. And whether the police found that suspicious or not, his disappearance remained an open case. I’d been questioned more than once by the detectives, as had the Elite. The fire itself had been ruled an accident, and as much as I wanted to believe Sterling perished in that warehouse, I couldn’t fully believe he was dead until proof was discovered. Until then, I needed to move on with my life, regardless of how hard it was.
Tonight was the homecoming football game, and the first time I’d be going out in public without my bandages. Nervous didn’t begin to describe the butterflies fluttering inside me. It was enough to make me sick, climb back into bed, and tell my friends I couldn’t go.