Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Worth it,” Bishop said, taking a step forward.
“It’s really not,” I said.
Bishop didn’t even seem to hear me. He was too stuck in his head. Draco looked up at me, his eyebrows raised, waiting for me to do something.
So, like an idiot, I leaped from the second stair and clung like a monkey to Bishop’s back. To say he hadn’t been expecting me to do it would be the understatement of the century.
He staggered in surprise, and I started to slide downward, unable to get a grip on anything.
“Jesus, he’s going to drop you,” Kara screeched in panic, like I was dangling off a cliff instead of being able to reach the floor if I’d just put my feet down.
“I’m going down!” I yelled, digging my fingers into Bishop’s shoulders as I slid. Apparently, Kara’s panic was contagious.
“For Christ’s sake,” Draco muttered as Bishop reached under my legs and boosted me up on his back.
“The hell are you doin’ up there?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me.
“Um.” I glanced at Kara and then back at Bishop. “Stopping you from doing something epically stupid?”
“She was in your room,” he said, lowering me to the floor.
“I know that,” I replied, circling him until we were face to face. “But don’t make it worse by going over there half-cocked—”
Kara snorted.
“I don’t need you to defend me,” I said, reaching up to put my hands on Bishop’s cheeks. “But I love that you want to.”
“You don’t need me to defend you,” he said with a smirk, glancing at the top of the stairs.
“Okay, when I think there’s a crazy person in the house, feel free to let your protective instincts run wild,” I replied. “But not when we know she’s not here and you’re just pissed.”
“I’m just supposed to do nothin’?” he asked me in disbelief.
“Not tonight, okay?” I said, leaning against him. “Let’s just eat whatever Draco brought home and then go to bed. I’m tired, aren’t you tired?” I was rambling, but it seemed to work.
He let me drag him into the kitchen after he made sure the deadbolt on the front door was locked, and we all just kind of sat staring at each other around the table. I met Kara’s eyes and quickly looked away. But she was like a magnet, and within seconds I was looking at her again and we were both trying to hold back laughter.
“What?” Bishop asked, looking between us.
I looked at Kara and she stared back at me. Then I looked at the table. The ceiling. The bag of food. The kitchen sink. Nothing worked. My eyes met hers again and we couldn’t stop the explosion of giggles that burst out of our mouths.
“Nervous laughter,” Draco said, smiling.
“What?” Bishop asked in confusion.
“It’s nervous laughter. The scare is over.” He looked at Bishop’s blank face. “It’s like a pressure cooker. Someone hit the valve and now the pressure’s escapin’.”
Bishop looked at us, still giggling. “Okay.”
“Just be glad they’re not throwin’ shit,” Draco said with a shrug as he started handing out meals to each of us.
The laughter eventually tapered off and the four of us dug into our meals, nothing breaking the quiet until Bishop spoke.
“I fuckin’ read her wrong,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “How the hell did I miss it?”
“She’s been like that for years,” Kara replied before I had a chance to. “And she’s always been good at hiding it, at least for a while. You would’ve noticed it eventually.”
“I’ve been readin’ people since I was old enough to talk,” Bishop said with a grimace. “I should’ve seen it.”
“People are always on their best behavior at the beginning,” Draco said around a mouthful of food.
“Except me,” I said with a shrug. “What you see is what you get.”
“Puhlease,” Kara said, tossing a french fry at me. “You act all tough.”
“I am tough,” I said, throwing the french fry back.
“I’m gonna check all the locks,” Bishop announced abruptly, getting up from the table.
“He feels bad,” Kara said, tilting her head to the side as she watched him walk away. “He should.”
“He didn’t know,” I replied quietly. As soon as I said it, the words sunk in like talons, all the way to the bone. “Thanks for dinner, guys.”
I got up and followed Bishop and found him checking the window locks in the living room.
“I don’t even think we’ve opened those since we moved in,” I told his back as he pulled to make sure they were secure.
“Just wanna be sure,” he said, turning to face me. “I can’t find how she got in.”
“Maybe one of us left a door unlocked,” I said with a shrug. “It happens.”
“I can’t believe she came in our house,” he said in disgust. “What the fuck is wrong with her?”
“She feels like I’ve won,” I said simply, shrugging my shoulders.