“Oh my God, Harleigh. It’s so good to see you.” Chloe rushed over to me and pulled me into her arms. “I’m sorry about your mom. I know it was a while ago, but I never got to say it.”
“Thank you.” My eyes shuttered as I hugged her back.
When we let go, Celeste caught my eye, smiling. Miles looked less thrilled; a weary expression plastered on his face. But I didn’t blame him. Things were tense around Nix and his friends.
Always had been.
“Looking good, B.” Kye grinned in that easy way of his. “I’d hug you but I’m not sure Wilder will let me get close enough.”
Nix muttered something that sounded like ‘damn right,’ and I rolled my eyes.
“Liar,” I said to Kye. “I look like I had a panic attack and passed out on my… on Nix.” I cleared my throat, hoping no one noticed my slip of the tongue.
But Nix pulled me back into his chest, wrapping his arms around me, oblivious to the strange looks our friends were giving us. “Your what, B?”
I heard the smirk in his voice and elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt in pain.
“Remind me never to get on your wrong side.” Kye chuckled.
“Nate, can we talk a second?” I tried to pull away from Nix, but he tightened his grip on me. Zane and Kye both smirked and I glowered at them.
“Not helpful,” I murmured, peeling Nix’s hands from my stomach.
“It’s okay, Maguire, we can talk another time.”
“You should listen to him, B,” Nix whispered. “The guy talks a lot of sense.”
Celeste and Chloe suppressed their own smiles. I twisted my face to Nix and pinned him with a serious look. “I’ll be right back. But I am going to talk to Nate.”
His jaw ticked but he relented. “Fine. Go. I’ve got my eye on you though, Miller.”
“I would expect nothing less.” Nate jammed his hands in his pockets and flicked his head toward the back door. I followed him outside, aware of the six pairs of eyes watching us.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Like I owe you a huge apology.”
“No, Harleigh. Don’t even think that. I had no idea about the text message. I swear to God… My cousin is a real asshole.”
“You think it was Marc?”
He frowned. “You don’t?”
“I guess it makes sense.” Marc or Angelica.
“I’ll talk to him—”
“No, no. You shouldn’t get in the middle of it, it will only make things worse. I can block the number.”
“Harleigh.” He gave me a sympathetic smile. “You locked yourself in the bathroom and had a panic attack.”
“I know…” Shame pressed in on me. “I … it’s been hard, you know? Trying to pretend I’m okay, putting on a brave face.”
“But you and Wilder figured things out?”
“I think so.”
“That’s good, right?”