Picking up the tiny device, I looked it over, a fragment of the guilt and pressure in my chest easing. It finally felt like I was doing something other than using my fists. “Brilliant. I can’t wait to see his face.”
Grayson pushed a full pint glass toward me. “We got you a drink and ordered some food.”
I tucked the card into my pocket and shifted to unfold myself from the booth. “I’m not—”
“Sit,” Brock clipped, his voice low and deep.
“Fuck,” I cursed under my breath, relaxing back into the lumpy leather that had seen better days. Probably had once smelled better too. “What is this? Some kind of intervention?”
“Do you need it to be?” Grayson challenged, his eyes firm but serious. It was his default.
I didn’t like the way they were looking at me. It made my guard go up, and I resorted to my usual defensive method: sarcasm. “Great. I love the whole deflect-with-a-question tactic.”
“This isn’t a tactic.” Grayson sighed. “We’re worried about you.”
Brock leaned an elbow on the table, angling his head to the side toward me. “You need to be on your A-game. There’s no room for mistakes.”
He didn’t need to tell me the importance of not fucking up. “This isn’t my first takedown. I know what I need to do.”
Fynn shifted forward and kept his voice down as he said, “That’s not what we’re saying. Just don’t do anything that will jeopardize your future. If you get kicked out of school, it’ll make it twice as hard to keep not just Mads safe but the other girls as well.”
“We need you here,” Brock added, his aqua eyes darker than usual.
I stared at the light gold liquid in my cup, my knee bouncing under the table. “I hear what you’re saying, but if it comes down to Mads or KU, you know which one I’m choosing. There’s no point in arguing or convincing me otherwise, because I would do the same for any of you.”
Brock nodded. “And we would do the same for you,” he agreed.
I glanced at Grayson and Fynn. “I need to ask a favor before this begins,” I said, taking this moment to lay it all out. “If something happens and I get banned from school, will one of you think about transferring? I can’t leave Brock here alone to deal with the fallout. I know it’s a lot to ask, but there’s no one I can trust.”
“You don’t even have to ask,” Grayson replied with no hesitation. He and Fynn would uproot their own lives and education for my peace of mind. It wasn’t often you found friends like mine.
“No matter what happens, we take care of our own,” Fynn added.
“All right, then,” Brock stated, grabbing his beer. “Let’s show this fucker what we’re made of.”
“I’ll drink to that.” I raised mine in return and slammed it back a moment later, downing the entire glass before banging the empty pint onto the table.
The other three followed in succession.
I had no intention of staying out and drinking tonight with the guys, but they had a way of pulling me out of the dark hole. It was easier to stay angry and yo-yo between feeling my heart physically ache and wanting to hate the world, but for a few hours, my friends could make me forget all the shit and noise in my head.
The beer helped too.
I needed this.
Needed them.
And they knew it.
I didn’t have to ask. Hell, I hadn’t even known how much I missed this, the camaraderie we shared.
Grabbing another slice of pizza, I took a bite. It wasn’t the best, not like Lazy Ray’s, but the hunger gnawing at my stomach didn’t care.
“The amount of time you guys spend here, you might as well transfer to KU,” I joked to Grayson and Fynn. Partially joked, because in truth, I would have loved it more if they were here with Brock and me.
Fynn devoured a slice of pizza in two bites. “It’s weird being separated, isn’t it? I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but not being in the same school makes me feel like I’ve lost a part of myself.”
“I know what you mean,” Brock muttered, brows drawing together.