Page 86 of Buckle Up, Buttercup

She calls out after him, but he doesn’t stop. Mouth dropped open, she looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “You had to tell him right now? We knew this is how he’d react, Hay.” She throws both hands on her head, spinning away from me. “Fuuuuuuck.”

Our bond snaps around her utter desolation and fear.

“Bluebell,” I implore, pulling her toward me. “Please. I⁠—”

“I need a minute,” she snaps, eyes wide as she backs away from me and Jack. “Just give me a second to process this, okay?”

“I’ll take Jasper home,” Jack says cautiously. Green eyes flick between us, his expression carefully neutral. “See you guys—well, I’m not sure when.”

She turns and runs toward the Buxom Bodice, disappearing inside without a backward glance.

“Fuck!” I shout into the sky, beyond frustrated.

“This ain’t great timing, friend,” Jack says quietly.

Snarling, I look between him and the Bodice. I fucked up by telling him that way after she and I were on the same page about it.

Shiiiiiiit. What if she can’t forgive me?

Bluebell

Sitting alone in the Bodice storeroom, I’m thinking I overreacted a tiny bit. Jasper was being such an ass. I can hardly blame Hadrian for protecting me—it’s such a gargoyle instinct, he probably couldn’t turn it off even if he wanted to.

In our bond, frustration and regret tinge everything, tension forcing pressure in my chest. Part of me is actually relieved now that the truth is out, despite the drama.

“Little witch?” Hadrian’s voice echoes from somewhere in the front of the building.

The Bodice clatters the display hooks on the wall, leading him to where I’m hiding in a corner of the storeroom.

When Hadrian sees me there, he slides onto his knees and puts his hands on my thighs. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to tell him like that, but the way he was pushing you wasn’t okay.”

I sigh. “I’d have preferred to stick to our timeline, but honestly, it was gonna come out sooner or later. I just hope it doesn’t fuck up his mind for the test tomorrow. He gets so in his head about things…you know how he is.”

Hadrian glances down, stroking my thighs. “He does, and I feel bad about that. But at some point, he and the other Jays have to stop taking advantage of you. That’s what they’re doing…You realize that, right? I’m upset about it, on your behalf, of course.”

He shoots me a half smile. “Maybe it can fuck him just a little bit?”

“It was always going to come to this,” I mutter. “I’ve been so bitter about how much I think I have to help them. Mama even told me I should try trusting them to do this, and she’s right. Maybe not Jasper—he’s not organized—but Jace.”

“Agreed,” Hadrian says quietly. “They could probably do it if you helped teach them. You don’t have to hold them together, baby, even though you’re so very good at it.”

“I am, aren’t I?” I flash him a halfhearted smile.

“You’re soft,” he says in a lower tone. “The opposite of me. There’s a tender side to you, Bluebell, a side that needs support and protection. I’m a winged destroyer, a blunt weapon, hard in every way. And sometimes you need me to be that wall between you and the rest of the world. I want you to actually have time to slow down, baby.” He pats my thigh. “I’ve seen that ridiculous to-do list a time or two.”

“Slowing down sounds really nice,” I whisper. “I think I just held on because I was good at it, and I didn’t trust them to do it well. But they can figure it out, right?”

Hadrian nods. “We can’t talk to Jasper right now…but we’ll talk to him soon, after the test tomorrow.”

I shake my head. “I’m not even sure we should show up to support him.”

“We should,” Hadrian says. “He’s my best friend and your brother, and even though he was a dick tonight, we should still be there for him. Everything will be alright, I promise.”

Petra pops up behind Hadrian, and I scream at her sudden appearance.

Hadrian jerks and spins around, wrapping a wing around me and yanking me close. When he sees it’s his sister, he slumps with a relieved sigh. “Petra, what the hells? I thought you were with Iggy?”

“He flew off with the gnomes,” she says with a shrug. “I heard shouting, and I followed you in here. Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh? Like the humans say?”