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Rosie glances to Becca, worry and fear clouding her judgement. When Becca nods avidly, Rosie quietly agrees and reaches down for her bag.
Standing up, I pull Becca in for a hug, and when I pull back, I give her a warm smile. “When this is all over, we can do dinner at mine. We’ll order pizza or something.”
She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, sounds good.”
“It’s lovely to see you again,” I tell Rosie, taking a step closer, unsure of what to do. When she throws herself at me, I’m taken aback. Her arms wrap tightly around my body and warm tears leak down my cheeks.
“Thank you. Thank you so much. I… I can never thank you enough. They’d be getting away with this if it wasn’t for you,” she croaks, tears in her voice. I pull away, wiping her tears away and giving her a sad smile.
“You’re doing this too. Your bravery is what will put them both away. Never forget that. You’re one heck of a woman,” I tell her, and lean forward to whisper in her ear, so no one else can hear. “I like her.” When I pull back, Rosie gives me a small smile, one that shows off her dimples, giving her an entirely new look. One I’m sure she carried all the time before everything happened to her.
“Me too,” she whispers shyly, and I grin.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promise and wave goodbye, but not before thanking Jordan for everything she’s doing for us.
When they’ve all left, I sit back down at the table, noticing Allie and Alex are no longer with us. I don’t need to scan the room to confirm they’re together because the murderous look on CJ’s face tells me they are.
Turning to see what they’re doing, I frown. They’re literally laughing and joking as they fight over the books they’re picking up from the floor. When Allie shoves Alex, sending him on his arse, I’m sure CJ is about two seconds away from grabbing her caveman style out of here and away from Alex.
“I don’t like him. He’s shifty,” CJ growls, his gaze never leaving Allie once.
Cole grunts, and I have to fight back a smile. CJ pulls his gaze away from Allie for a second to see what Cole and I are doing. He rolls his eyes at us.
“I’m being fucking serious. It’s not right. Look at him,” he states, his lips pressing together. “Like he has a chance.” He stares at me pointedly. “He doesn’t, right?”
Wanting to tease him, I put on an innocent expression and shrug, grinning when he turns back to Allie, his eyebrows pulled down.
“You’re evil,” Cole whispers in my ear, sending goosebumps down my neck.
“Get over it,” I whisper back, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
With everything planned and mapped out, there’s been nothing for me to do but worry non-stop all week. At first, I used my assignment as a distraction, and even managed to proofread with my mind elsewhere. Then I handed it in on Wednesday and I had nothing else to take my mind off everything.
Cole and the others monopolised the rest of my time, and sometimes, their distraction worked. Now, with only a week left, I’m feeling twitchy. I hate that the waiting is giving me so much more time to think, to overanalyse everything to the point I’m doubting myself. What if the chest isn’t there? What if they don’t keep any scores? It’s all running through my mind, and I hate that there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s like having something so close, right in front of you, yet it’s still an inch out of reach. It’s driving me freaking nuts.
Allie passes over some popcorn. “What are you thinking about?”
“Everything,” I reply, and I can feel the scrutiny coming from Cole. I turn my head to focus on him. “What?”
He smirks, and it takes my breath away. You’d think I’d be immune to him by now, what with the amount of time we spend together. Yet no matter how many times he grins, laughs, or smiles at me, it’s like seeing it for the first time all over again, stealing my breath away.
“Let’s go out,” he blurts out and glances at the others. “All four of us. I’m starving, and if I’m reading CJ’s perky ears right, then he’s hungry too. So let’s grab something to eat and go bowling. What do you think?”
CJ slaps his hands down on his thighs. “Night time bowling? I’m in.”
Itwouldtake my mind off everything. I arch a brow at Allie. “What about you, Allie? Do you want to go?” I ask, noticing that she’s tapping away on her phone.
“Yeah. I just texted Alex to see if he wanted to do something, but he’s busy with his nan at the moment.” She pauses to glare at CJ when he scoffs. “What is your problem?” Allie snaps at him.
I have to hold back a snort. How can she not see how jealous he is? It’s plainly obvious to everyone but her.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he mutters, unable to meet her gaze.
“Yeah, you do. Every time I’ve mentioned his name, you’ve made some animalistic noise in the back of your throat,” she barks, calling him out.
He has, in fact, been doing that a lot. I’ve been too amused by it to worry over it. I don’t think he’d physically harm Alex. He’s not a bully by any means. But something tells me he’d fight for Allie if he felt threatened, or if she was threatened in any way.