Cam didn’t come down for dinner. That boy loves his food. I knock on his door and push it open when he doesn’t answer.

Looking around his room and finding nothing, I frown. Where the hell is he?

I go to my room and place the plate of food I brought up for him on the dresser. It’s then I see the bulge in my covers and hear his soft snores. My back straightens and fist clenches. He only ever does this when he’s upset. I should have come up and checked on him when Trevor left, but I got distracted with Rowan.

Taking a seat on the edge of my bed, I nudge his shoulder. When he moves to face me, he’s groggy and there’s a purple bruise forming under his eye. “What the fuck happened?” I demand, wanting his version of events, not the watered down shit Trevor gave me.

He won’t look at me, and I hate it. I left school early today because I hate trig and couldn’t wait to get home to Ro. She wasn’t here, and instead, I had to watch Hayden make a fool out of himself and Suzanne.

I don’t agree with Rowan blaming him for her being willing to fuck him. It takes two and all that fucking jazz, but he was only using her to make a point—a shitty one that made my blood boil. It failed him, though. And for the first time since Eric died, I saw life in Rowan’s eyes. Not for Hayden—no, she was looking at me. A hum vibrates in my chest every time I think about the longing in her eyes. It was pure fucking longing.

Cam shifting under the cover draws my attention back to him.

“Cam, talk to me, bro.”

He shuffles around and sits up, resting his elbows on his knees. “Is that food?” He nods his head toward the dresser. I grin and jump up to get it for him.

“Here. Now, talk.”

“Masters and Grayson got fist happy because Grayson’s girlfriend dumped him and has been following me around like a lost puppy all day.”

He lifts his shoulders and runs a hand through his untamed mane. Kid is a classic chick magnet. There is no working for it or pursuing girls. Cam just has a way about him that attracts most women. Doesn’t matter their age, occupation, intelligence—they all turn to putty when he flashes his smile their way. Boys like Grayson should know better than to fuck with my brother, but it seems a lesson is needed.

My muscles coil and red-hot anger seeps into my pores, saturating my insides.

“Did you hit them back?” I try to keep my voice calm, but I’m angry. Real fucking angry. I want to break things—mainly their faces.

“I’m the brains in the family, not the brawn.” He grins at me, and I relax a little. I rub a hand over his hair to ruffle it, and he bats me away and shovels food into his mouth.

I’ve always given Cam a side of me no one else sees. Rowan is the same. She gets a part of me just for her, because they’re the only two people I haven’t visualized killing before. They need me, and I need them. It’s a sobering thought to actually admit to myself that I give a shit and need people.

“Don’t worry about those assholes. I’ll sort this out.” I stand and go toward the shower room.

“I’ll deal with this myself, Nix,” Cam calls after me. It’s muffled from the food he’s shoveling in his gob. I pause to let him finish. “I may not like using my fists, but I have my ways.” He winks, and I laugh. The little fucker is right. He is the brains of the family.

* * *

“Did you say something?”

I look down at a brunette who’s staring up at me. Is she talking to me?

“You were mumbling to yourself,” she announces.

She stares wide-eyed up at me, like she’s trying to figure me out. Good luck with that.

Slamming my locker door shut, I shift past her, but she grabs my arm.

I don’t recoil, but it does make me want to shove her to the floor. I hate people touching me. People who aren’t my people. People who aren’t her.

Fuck. I hate how fuzzy the lines are becoming with Rowan. We just need to admit the inevitable. She’s mine and I’m hers. End of. It’s how it was always meant to be.

Every instinct I have tells me we’re supposed to be together, but it’s such a complicated fucking mess, it’s murkier than my already overcast thoughts.

My brothers may not be open to the idea, and if there’s one thing I know about Rowan, it’s that she gives a shit what they think. Even Hayden. She blames herself for what her father did and tiptoes around the place like she’s frightened we’re all going to wake up one day and come to that conclusion. She has no idea how much she’s loved by all of us. Their feelings may not be as intense and powerful as mine, but they all love her. We grew up together. And what we’ve been through together forms a bond bigger than anything else.

“Did you hear me?” the girl asks. Shit, she said something?

“No,” I growl, snatching my arm from her grip.

She bites her lip and shyly looks around me. “I was wondering…the dance is coming up and…”

“I don’t do dances.” Fuck, how many of these things do they have a year?

“Oh no,” she says with a laugh, shaking her head like I just told a joke.

“Everyone knows you don’t do dances or anything school related, including high school girls.”

Oh, is that the rumor roaming these halls?

“So, what the fuck you asking for?” I yawn. Damn, I’m bored with this shit. Is it time to go home yet?

I rub a hand across the back of my neck, giving it a squeeze. Why the fuck am I still standing here? Because she’s blocking my escape.

“I was wondering if your brother Camden had asked anyone yet.” Her eyes dart around me again, and curiosity nags at me. I turn to see my brother a few feet down the corridor chatting with some girls, a blonde one especially hanging on his every word. Cam got double dosed in the looks department. That kid got all the best features from both parents, and women, young and old, trip over their jaws wherever the fucker goes. He’s never really shown much interest in girls—too much going on in his head. The kid is stupid clever—numbers, computers, anything. He’s going through a phase where he’s into watching the news, and I’m just waiting on him to announce he’s going to be president one day. I wouldn’t put it past him.

“Do I look like his keeper?” I growl down at the girl who’s robbed me of too much time. I was his keeper, until recently, when Rowan consumed my every fucking waking thought and ounce of spare time. I should make more of an effort to keep an eye on him.

“Well…” She looks a little embarrassed and digs around in her purse. I can’t believe I’m still standing here entertaining this shit. I’m going soft.

“Here.” She hands me a card—a fucking card with her number and social media info.

This is fucking high school. Damn, I hate that I was born into the twenty-first century.

I move past her and chuck her card in the first trashcan I pass.

Pushing the door to the boys’ changing room, I nod my head to a couple of the guys who play basketball with me. They grin and go stand by the door to keep a look out.

I’m not one for following rules, but I haven’t spent years in this shithole to lose my chance at graduating in the final hour.

Grayson is sitting on a bench bending down to tie his laces. Perfect position, asshole.

I rear my foot back and kick it forward, colliding with his chin. His teeth clank together so loud, a boy behind him cringes and jumps back as Grayson’s head moves back with such force, he falls from the bench.

Blood from his mouth creates artwork up the locker.

Masters backs up and tries to flee, but he’s pushed forward by some of the guys who know better than to let him past them.

He swings at me, and I grin. Balls of fucking steel. Dodging his hit, I land a punch to his jaw. Wrapping his arm under my armpit to keep him from falling over too soon, I land a couple more jabs, making sure to get that eye so it gets a nice shine to it. Grabbing a handful of his hair, I smack his head into the locker a couple times before letting him fall to the floor.

He’s out cold. I point my finger to Grayson, whose whimpering and covering his fucked up jaw. “Which one of you blackened Cam’s eye?” I growl. The pussy points to his unconscious friend.

Bending down, I grab the dead weight’s wrist and drag him to the locker in front of Grayson. Opening the locker door, I gesture for Grayson to take Masters’ hand. He does with trembling limbs. “Hold it right there,” I tell him, and then slam the door closed over and over, until his hand resembles a piece of meat put through a meat grinder.

“Fuck,” Grayson mutters through chipped teeth.

“Tell your cunt friend either of you even look in my brother’s direction again, I’ll cut your eyes from your head.”

If they’re brave enough, they’ll get me expelled, but all it will take is a donation to the school to get my slate wiped clean. Swiping the blood spatter from my knuckles, I grin. Worth every fucking penny.

* * *

Hayden is trying to rub Rowan the wrong way. He’s been parading women around the house like they’re paid whores. And they might be for all we know.

Their antics echo through the house tonight where I planned a movie night with Ro. She’s been so tired lately and doesn’t like to go out much. She’s convinced people are talking about her, and they probably are, but who gives a fuck? I’d wipe the world clean of all its inhabitants if it pleased her, but her soul is already too heavy. She blames herself for not seeing what her father was. If she knew I did see it inside him, the pain I’d see in her eyes would kill me.

A giggle erupts from outside the room, and every time Rowan hears them, she flinches. I hate that she used to have a thing for Hayden. He’s just like Eric and not worthy of her infatuation.

Her stomach moves, and she gasps, rubbing a hand against her ribs. There’s not much room in there anymore, and she’s uncomfortable most of the time. She waddles rather than walks, and I hear her get up to piss all through the night. She’s like a water fountain that won’t turn off. A gory scene happens on the screen, but the movie has been shit and doesn’t hold either of our attention.

“She’s active tonight. Was the Mexican too spicy?” I ask. I made it mild because spices give her heartburn, despite her loving them at the moment.

“No, it was amazing. She’s just uncomfortable I think. I know how she feels,”

she groans out, lifting her top to rub her bare stomach. It ripples like an alien is about to burst through her flesh.

I reach over and place my hand on top of hers, and she smiles, moving her hand to rest on mine where the baby kicks my palm. It’s pretty incredible to think of a human growing inside her. “Do you want to talk about this?” she asks, brushing the tips of her fingers over my bruised knuckles.

“Just taking care of what’s mine.” Her brow pinches, but she nods her head and sighs.

“Have you thought about a name for her yet?” I ask, changing the subject.

She groans. “No.”

Giggles screech closer to our space, and then a blonde bitch comes barreling into the room in panties and an open shirt like she fucking owns the place.

Her bra is on display, and she’s covered in little bruises made from someone sucking on her skin. She skids to a stop when she sees us, and her eyes widen.

“Nix,” the girl coos my name like a caress, like it’s personal and she’s knows parts of me she doesn’t. It’s then I realize it’s the girl from school who was all over Cam in the corridor. Just as I think of him, he appears.

Shirtless and his hair in disarray.

“Sorry.” He grins. “She escaped the dungeon.”

A gasp leaves Rowan at his comment. Cam has been using the basement as his own space, and Hayden keeps making jokes about him keeping women down there. It’s a little too close to home for Rowan, and Cam can be a little odd, but harmful he isn’t.

He’s just clever—too fucking clever—and that makes him appear different to people like Hayden, who are what you see. Eric two-point-oh.

“I’m Amanda.” The blonde wiggles her fingers at us like we give a shit what her name is.

“I know who you are.” Rowan rolls her eyes.

“Oh, I forgot you knew Grayson.” The blonde nods.

“Grayson?” I ask, nonchalant, but feeling anything but.

“Yeah, I used to tutor him,” Rowan informs me. “Amanda’s his girlfriend.”

“Was.” Cam grins, and I smirk. Fucking A. So, he really did have a plan to get back at the douche.

Amanda giggles and bites her lip.

“Sorry to interrupt your movie.” Cam grabs Amanda’s arm and tugs her in the direction of the door.

“That’s a new side to Cam.” Rowan nudges me with her knee.

“I’m not going to gossip with you, woman,” I snort.

“Boring.” She pulls her top down over her stomach and plonks her foot in my lap.

“At least rub a girl’s swollen feet if you’re not going to gossip.”