“See?” I grated out to the girl. “We don’t chat in this house. My brother fucks and forgets. That’s what you are to him. You’re a forgotten. Now, get out.”

“Asshole!” she seethed.

I nodded. I’d take it.

She swept down the stairs and jerked around Logan, shoving out the door in the next second.

I scowled at my brother. “We just brought Nate home.”

“I know.” He cringed. His hand lifted and grabbed a handful of his hair. He pulled at it, making it stick up, before his hand dropped back to his side. “She called me at two. It was a booty call. I thought she left, and I got distracted by Nate yelling.” He frowned to himself. “Where the hell did she sleep last night?”

“In your bed?” I grated out. “Just a guess.”

“Huh.” He grinned, shaking his head. “I thought that was just a really big pile of blankets, even though I couldn’t remember having that many. Makes sense now.”

“You gave her earplugs to sleep.”

He waved that off, smirking. “That was right after I came on her. I was feeling friendly. I came back from the bathroom, and I thought she was gone.”

“Mason?”

I groaned. This shit was too much. “Go to class. I’ll take care of him.”

“Oh, hey.” Logan stopped me before I went into Nate’s room. “The school called his parents. They’re heading here.”

Fucking déjà vu. Nate gets hurt. His parents get called. They sweep in and take him away from us.

I sighed. Maybe this time, that would be for the best. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Mase!”

I opened Nate’s door. It was time to deal with my best friend.

His arm jerked in the air, and I ducked back. I just saw the motion. I didn’t see the book that he’d chucked at me, but it hit the wall by me. Catching it off the bounce, I tossed it back at him. Nate didn’t duck, and it clipped him on the shoulder.

“Fuck you.” He grabbed the book and hurled it as hard as he could toward his closet. The doors were shut, and the book went right through one of them, splitting a hole in the door.

I pointed at the hole. “You’re paying for that.”

“Fuck you!” One arm lifted, and his other arm clapped down on the opposite forearm. He gave me the fist and the middle finger. He collapsed against his headboard and groaned, cradling his head with his hands. “I hate this. I hate being like this. I hate being in pain. My parents are coming, Mase. You know what a headache they’re going to be?”

He seemed calmer, so I eased farther into the room and perched against his dresser. I started to fold my arms over my chest, but I caught myself and let them hang at my side. I needed to be ready in case anything else was sent soaring my way. Nate had a right to be pissed, but I didn’t want to get injured.

“My parents. My fucking uptight and self-righteous parents.” Nate continued to grumble, “I feel like I’m in high school, and I’m going to be chastised. They’re going to want me to move out. I’m going to have to fight them on that and screw that. They don’t remember me until they get some phone call from the hospital, you guys, or jail. I’m an adult now.”

If Logan had been in the room, he would’ve pounded his fist in the air, cheering Nate on. I did nothing. I waited for him to be done.

“They can’t come in here and threaten me. That’s what they always do.” He lifted pained eyes to me. “If they cut me off, you’re sharing your trust fund with me.”

“Fuck that.”

“Mason.”

“That’s my trust fund. No way. Stand up to your parents. If they cut you off, get a job.”

“Right. Because that’s what you’d do,” he retorted.

“I can tell you one thing I wouldn’t do,” I grated out. My jaw clenched. “I wouldn’t buckle under any threat. The only one that’s come close was Sam’s mom, and she could’ve screwed my entire future if she wanted. If my dad threatened to take away my trust fund, I’d go to the bank and put a bag of shit in his safety deposit box.” I thought about that. “Or I’d have Logan do it. He’d do it.”

“You don’t get it.”

“Yes, I do. Your parents are assholes. So are mine. Deal with them, or they’ll do this to you all your life.”

He ran a hand over his face, letting it drop, and he looked even more haggard afterward. “They’ve not been the same since my sister…”

I quieted. Nate never talked about his sister. An incident happened years ago, and she was shipped to a boarding school in Europe. He’d mentioned her one other time, but no details were shared. I wasn’t certain what happened, but I could guess, and if that were my sister, I would’ve been seeing red.

He shrugged, slumping farther down in his bed. “Okay. You’re right. Deal with them. That’s the plan. I’ll get it done.” He started to look around and pointed beside me. “Can you throw me that robe?”

I tossed it his way.

It landed on his lap, and he shrugged it on. “Sorry I was a bitch before. I was mad. Just tell me you’re going to get that fucker.”

I nodded. “Somehow, he’ll get taken care of. I promise, Nate.”

“The asshole had his guys, my former friends, jump me while he was doing a standoff with you guys in public.” Nate’s eyes hardened. I heard the pain from him. He added, “I want him to fry.”

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