SARAH His pupils dilate, something in those warm hazel eyes of his soften. Yet, his jaw is sharp with resolve even as he shakes his head. Why in the world is he shaking his head? Has he just sworn not to take anything I say seriously? “No.” There it is. The word I know has been lingering on his tongue. Great. So I’m just going to be dismissed like I don’t matter. Of course I don’t. Stubborn, I raise a brow. This would have been the perfect time to fold my arms, but here we are. “No?” I gulp hard on the lump in my throat as my breath quivers. Is this it? Is he ready to fight? Do I even want him to? He repeats the word again, “No”, straight faced as he takes two steps closer to me, reducing the distance between us to almost nothing. His cologne conquers the air that drifts into my lungs. I can see him, smell him, fucking feel him. “You’re so wrong, baby. This is what we’re going to do,” his right hand reaches for my face. My feet are glued to the ground, even though my head is screaming at me to back away. He cups my cheek, his thumb gently caressing my soft skin. With a slight shudder, my body betrays me and leans into his hold. What the fuck is wrong with me? “I’m going to scold my brothers for the shit they tried to pull, best believe. But I’m not letting you pull the plug on our relationship. We’ve gone through so much to get here. So take all the time you need, however long. These arms would be open when you’re ready.” Just like that, after dropping the speech that leaves me torn between slapping him across the face, and kissing him silly like he’s the air I breathe—because he and his brothers might just be—he turns his back to me and walks away. My jaw clenches, rage simmers at the bottom of my stomach. “That was quite the speech,” Julian says, cutting into my thoughts. “I'd be moved if I didn’t know the kind of snakes they were.” Snakes. That’s the exact word. How dare he act like the boss with some kind of final say over what happens between us? What gives him the audacity to say those words after what they’ve done to me? SNAKES Over and over again, I repeat the word in my head as I watch him walk away. The rage flows from my stomach into my veins, until I feel it burning the tip of my fingers. It pushes me forward, picks me from my feet. Next thing I know, I’m running down the hospital corridor with a scowl on my face. I want to push him to the ground, watch him fall face flat so I can stand over his head and remind him who’s in charge. I was the one who set the rules for us at first. Just fuck, no love. They have no right to take my heart without my permission, break it the way they did, and still demand for it. With that thought, I shove him as hard as I can with my left hand. Jaxon HawkThorne doesn’t budge, not even by an inch. I can hear the heartbeat ringing in my ears. He turns around, seizes my left wrist, and pulls me into his arms. I crash against his chest, heart racing as I breathe in the minty scent of his mouthwash. His lips are parted to suck in air, like he can’t breathe from his nose, like I leave him breathless. His orbs stare deep into mine, reading the very depths of my soul. Can he see it? That I hate him as I much as I fucking want him. I spit it out, just in case he doesn’t see it. He needs to hear it from my mouth. “I hate you.” Jaxon’s lips thin into a wide smile. When he opens his mouth to speak, it’s Ronan’s voice I hear. “You’ve used that one before, kitten. Try again.” Eyes wide, I pull away from Jason’s grip and spin around as fast as my body lets me. My head all but falls into his rock hard chest. Just like his brother, he’s smiling down at me. Heartbeat spikes; ten per fucking second, even as my lips twist into a frown. It’s hard to ignore the goosebumps that flood the surface of my skin. Being so close to him after so long, in between both brothers, it takes me on a short trip down the memory lane. Fuck it, Sarah. Stay focused. When did they get here? Where’s Julian? “Let go of me you sick bastard!” He screams. I blink, breaking the hold of Ronan’s gaze on me. Behind him, Malachi has Julian’s both hands at his back, bundled by his left, while his right presses Julian’s face against the brick wall. “Shut your bitch ass up.” Malachi snarls at him, pressing him even further, bruising him no doubt. Speechless. That’s what I am. “You might want to say something, kitten. He’s going to lose his pretty face if you don’t.” Ronan’s whisper grazes the skin of my neck. Without turning to him, I snap, matching towards Malachi. “What are you doing? Let go of him!” He pulls away, tucks those fingers of his into his pockets as he watches me closely. My eyes dart from one brother to another. It’s almost amusing. Now that they have nothing to hide anymore, they can finally be themselves around me: plain evil bullies. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. You knew I was right beside you, but you never stopped by. Now you want to bully the one person in this world who actually cares about me? How selfish could you three possibly be?” “We did stop by, Sarah.” Malachi replies. “Oh yeah? With an invisibility cloak I’m guessing, because I sure as hell didn’t see any of you. Not once.” “They watched you while you slept. Every night for the last four,” Kevin’s voice breaks the silence. I catch him standing beside Jaxon. “Besides Jaxon who had to rest.” He continues. “We didn’t want you seeing each other like…this. We didn’t think any of you would want that.” Ronan says, eyes glued on no one else but me. You know what’s worse? I believe them. It’s not impossible that they watched me in the darkness and disappeared once it was bright enough for me to see them. They’re weird like that. And I feel so fucking stupid for it. They’re not getting out of this so easily. I won’t let them. “I don’t care.” I let words flow through me with sheer determination, wanting…no, needing to hurt them as much as they’ve hurt me. “I don’t care whether or not you sat beside me all night. It sure as hell doesn’t change the fact that I almost fucking died, and all because you three…” I catch Kevin’s gaze. “…the four of you are fucking liars.”I storm away, past them, into the room. My shaking hands bang the door shut behind me. The way my knees buckle forces me to the ground, just beside the door. There, I let the tears flow from the bottom of my heart. All of the pain and confusion I had battled with in the last four days comes rushing out of me. So, I won't stop it. I pour it all out, until I feel empty. The knock on the door comes a little later. I slowly pick myself up and open it to find Kevin. Shoulders slouched, eyes fixed on me…filled with remorse. “Hell no.” I push the door close, but he holds it open from the outside. His grip on it is hard, too hard for me to move it. “Berry, please.” “Go away.” “You can’t continue to avoid me.” “I can. And I will.” “I’m begging you, Berry,” he pleads. “It’s been awful. Yell at me, hit me, anything. Just please talk to me, Berry. You’re…you’re all I have. I miss you.” I miss you. The sentence that brings me undone completely. How can I fight against that? I miss him too. I really do. My hands slip off the door, and when he opens it, I helplessly fall into his arms.