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I pushed Fisher out of the bathroom and turned to Ella. “Tell me his last name and I’ll leave enough knots on his face that you’ll never have to cry again.”
“Have you ever cried, Vaughn? Jeez. You really don’t understand how it works, do you?” She gave me one of those watery smiles then and gently pressed her hands to my chest. “Get out, please.”
I fought the urge to touch the spots on my chest where her hands had been. “Fine. If you die in here, though, I’m going to be pissed.”
Booth stepped into the bathroom as soon as I was out of the way. I instantly grabbed his shoulder but he shrugged me off and held a bottle of water out to Ella. “Drink this. I ordered some ice cream to be delivered if you want to venture out for some later.”
She took it and then moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you, Booth.”
I swore under my breath and dragged him out of the bathroom. Nodding to Ella like everything was fine, I pulled the bathroom door shut and pushed both of my best friends out of Ella’s bedroom. Once we were in the hallway, I glared at both of them. “Fuck off with all of your shit. I told you she’s off-limits. Out of bounds. Whatever else I need to call it to get it through your heads. She’s like a little sister. Remember that.”
Fisher just grinned back at me. “You sure about that?”
I shoved him. “Don’t be disgusting, Fish.”
Booth had a smile on his face that I didn’t like. “I’m just saying… I think I helped the most. I got a hug.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. We were the same height but he probably had fifty pounds on me. He would undoubtedly kick my ass if we fought, but I was sure I’d put up a damn good fight. “Booth. Leave her alone.”
He held up his hands and backed away. “Relax, V. You’re acting like a freak right now.”
I felt like a freak. Ella had walked back into my life less than three hours earlier and I already felt like I’d aged a decade. I wasn’t sure getting the house cleaned was going to be worth it.
“Maybe diamonds would make her feel better.” Fisher walked down the hallway with his head tilted as he thought. “A set of diamond encrusted brass knuckles would go real nice with her feelings towards that prick.”
I couldn’t even be mad at that thought. “That’s actually a pretty sick idea.”
Booth nodded. “That fucking trumps ice cream any day.”
We were all quiet as we made our way downstairs. Naturally we moved towards the kitchen and I grabbed a water from the fridge for myself. Glancing at Fisher, I frowned. “Don’t actually buy her diamonds, Fisher. That’s fucking weird.”
He shrugged. “I do what I want, V. You know that. Shit doesn’t change just because your little sister moved in.”
“She’s not my…” I threw up my hands. “Forget it.”
7
***Ella***
Hours later, when my stomach made it clear that I wasn’t going to be able to hide out for any longer, I washed my face and ventured out of my room. I couldn’t get the thought of the ice cream Booth ordered for me out of my head. I took my time navigating down the hallway so I could look at what I was going to be cleaning. There was only one other room on my side of the hallway and I knew it was Fisher’s from what he’d mentioned earlier. The door to his room was shut tight but I wasn’t sure I was going to be expected to clean their actual bedrooms. I was hoping not because guys were gross in their personal spaces. I’d learned that the hard way from living with Vaughn the first time around.
I held onto the banister as I made my way downstairs, the plush runner on the steps making my descent silent. The second I stepped onto the hardwood floor and made a sound, Fisher stuck his head out of a room to the left of the entrance and grinned at me.
“We were starting to worry that you’d actually cried yourself to death.” He motioned for me to follow him. “Hungry?”
Walking into a massive kitchen with an island big enough to use as a dance floor, I zoned in on the sink full of dishes right away. Bowls and plates spilled over onto the counters on either side and most of them looked disgusting with leftover food caked on. My hunger dimmed and I slowly moved my gaze to Fisher.
He looked back at me with a curious look on his face. “You’re not seriously going to clean up after us, right? We have a maid service.”
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “I don’t remember Vaughn being all that funny and I didn’t get the impression he was joking. It’s just more of the same stuff he pulled when we lived together before. Honestly, I’m desperate and I don’t care, though. My options for housing weren’t great.”
“I get the impression you two weren’t close.”
I laughed and pointed at the fridge. “Did the ice cream come? And no, we were not close. He called me Cinderella and bullied me constantly.”
“Maybe he had a crush on you. Boys aren’t always all that smart.” He opened the fridge and pulled out multiple tubs of ice cream. “Booth got a little excited to help you, I think. We had to put some of the flavors in the fridge in the garage.”
I made a face. “We were step siblings. He was just an ass. I would say he still seems to be one, but he brought me here, so… Can I have the Moose Tracks?”
