Page 56

Swinging my legs over the side of the mattress before sunrise, I tug on a hoodie, shove my feet into sneakers, and head to the only coffee kiosk on campus that’s self-serve. The frat house is cloaked in darkness, not a single light on or person paying attention as I stroll straight up to the front door. I have a spare key which Everest insisted is for emergencies only, and that’s exactly what I’m deeming the buttcrack of dawn today to be. Balancing two coffees in one hand, I slip inside, a ghost amongst the shadows as I creep up the stairs.

The front room reeks of stale beer and bad choices. Someone is passed out across the sofa with a shoe missing. Another body snores under a pile of jackets near the fireplace. I’ve never fully decided whether Nicholas has impressed upon Everest that his frat house should be constantly swarming with people to keep him in character or to simply keep me out. Probably both. Dodging the floorboards that I know creak, I let myself into Everest’s room and lock the door behind me.

Like the rest of the house, his room is dim, curtains half-drawn, the air heavy with sleep, rain-soaked uniform, and the expensive scent that clings to everything he owns. Everest is sprawled on top of the covers in joggers and nothing else, one arm thrown over his face, the other hanging off the side of the bed.

Even half in shadow, I see the damage yesterday’s fight had on him. A split across his lower lip, bruising along a cheekbone, his knuckles scraped raw. There’s a dark mark near his ribs that makes my stomach tighten before I can decide whether I’m angry at whichever fuck from Radley dared to hurt him or Everest himself. He knows most of what I’ve been through on his behalf so that he can avoid petty scraps. If I find out he was fighting over Meg, I’ll be livid, which reminds me of why I’m here in the first place.

Setting the takeaway cups on his bedside table, I press my still warm hand to his bare stomach. Everest jolts awake with a strangled curse, his hand snapping down around my wrist before his eyes even open.

“Relax,” I say. “If I wanted to murder you, I wouldn’t bring coffee.” His grip loosens the second he recognizes me, green eyes blinking through sleep, pain, and relief.

“Code?” Everest murmurs, blinking around the darkened room. “What time is it?”

“Too early for anyone respectable,” I smirk lightly. “Luckily, we’ve never had that problem.” My hand falls away as Everest pushes himself up on one elbow, immediately wincing at the pull on his ribs. I don’t even have to open my mouth before he raises a hand to silence me.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” A snort lodges itself in my throat. I have no doubt this is a fight Everest went looking for. He’s been a mess lately, almost as much as me.

“At least tell me he swung first,” I raise my pierced brow. No answer comes and I curse under my breath. Reaching out for the neckline of my hoodie, Everest tugs me to lie down with him. I kick off my shoes as I recline at his side.

“I finished it,” he tells the ceiling as if it’s the mantra he’s been repeating to himself all night long. We lie there, allowing Everest to wake up enough for the gruffness to fade from his tone. “I was defending Meg, but if it makes you feel any better, her knee nailed my fucking nuts for it. I don’t think she believes in chivalry.”

The faintest laugh escapes me before I can stop it.

“No, she just doesn’t like anyone fighting her battles for her.” I sober as quickly as Everest does, his green eyes glinting from the corner of mine. Swallowing, I keep my face up towards the ceiling and try not to fidget under his scrutiny. Since when did I have any opinion on Meg’s character that wasn’t venomous and fueled by jealousy?

The pause that follows is loaded, pressing heavier on my chest with each passing second. I came here with the intention to be honest, to tell Everest everything. The party, Laura, my intentions, my misbeliefs, my regret. But I know as soon as I open my mouth, my entire world is going to come crashing down.

When that weight becomes suffocating, I sit upright against his headboard and sip my coffee, cradling the cup between both hands.

“Everest, I need to tell you something.” Stiffening beside me, Everest goes into full fight or flight mode. I see it warring between his eyes, in the defensive tension rippling through his muscles. Torn between dragging the truth out of me with his bare hands, and shoving his fingers in his ears to block me out, he finally draws himself up to sit by my side.

“What have you done, Cody?” I hate that question. I hate that he presumes I’ve fucked up, that I’ve done something inconceivable. I hate that he’s right. Sparing him a glance, I take in his split lip, bruised knuckles, wild golden hair and cautious stare. How has it come to this? Everest doesn’t get into fights. At least, he’s never attempted to on my behalf. He’s been content to hide me, not to fight for me.

Shaking my head at myself, I tilt my head back against the wall. We’ve both done things we can’t explain, so I’m not going to try.

“I spent time with Meg yesterday,” I exhale, my voice smaller than expected. In my peripheral vision, Everest frowns and plucks the coffee from my hands to take a measured sip.

“What does, ‘spent time’ mean?” he asks, suddenly awake and far too aware.

“I showered with her, washed her hair, massaged her shoulders and then later on, she was at my bedroom door, so I let her in and let her paint my tattoos on my bed.” The words rush out of me, as if I need to eradicate them from my soul as quickly as possible. At my side, Everest doesn’t move. I can’t even look at him, my skin prickling and mind conspiring against me. Hypocrite. Hypocrite. Hypocrite.

Dragging a hand through my hair, I stand when sitting beside him becomes too much. I stride towards the door, maybe intent on just leaving and jumping off the nearest rooftop, then circle back because I need to see this through. After all the shit I’ve given Everest for getting close to her, I deserve his anger at me doing the exact damn same. Dropping back onto the bed, at the foot of it and facing him this time, Everest watches in silence, the coffee forgotten in his hand.

“Don’t look at me like that. It makes sense in context,” I shift my gaze towards the window. Placing the cup aside, Everest’s arms fold over his bare chest.

“I’m struggling to find the context in anything you just said.”

“It was an accident. You know all about those,” I quickly glare in his direction. Yes, I’m being a dick, but I can’t help being defensive. He brought her into our lives after all, and now I’m the one on the receiving end of his judgemental stare.

“She accidently fell into the shower where you were massaging thin air, and then accidently dropped into your bed with a paint palette?”

“You don’t get it,” I huff, biting down on the inside of my cheek. My eyes prick, and the red blotches that appear across my face when I’m trying to withhold emotion must give me away. Everest’s foot knocks against my leg, his expression shifting for concern to cut through the jealousy.

“Explain it to me.” This time, he means it with earnestness and a note of curiosity. Scratching the back of my neck, I search for the words I’ve been practicing over and over in my head all night, but are now nowhere to be found.

“I don’t really have an excuse for the shower. She came back from the match furious, and I was my pigheaded self. I couldn’t give her time to decompress or the luxury of the hot water when she’s already taken so much from me.” Everest’s jaw tics. “But once we were in there, curiosity got the better of me, I suppose. I’ve never…been with anyone except you. I wanted to know what you see in her.”

Licking my lips, I scrub a hand over my face now. I’m fidgeting, uncomfortable in my own skin, struggling beneath the weight of Everest’s gaze, as patient as it is.