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I smiled through dried blood.

“You’re such an asshole sometimes.”

“Yes, but I’m your asshole.”

“You’re not my anything.”

“Let’s discuss this later,” Asher said, not unkindly. “Addie needs to get to a hospital.”

“Is it safe to use the stairs?” Tam asked. I couldn’t see the state of the room, but, from their cautious expressions, I gathered it was not in the best shape. Shame. I rather liked the half-finished restaurant.

There was a shuffle of footsteps and what sounded like chairs being scraped against the wood flooring. I wanted to crane my neck to see, but I was in too much pain.

The ceiling was much more interesting anyways. All cracks and, well, more cracks. And were those cracks inside of cracks?

“Please stop talking about cracks,” Asher said. “Ronan’s dirty mind is making him giggle like a schoolgirl.” Said schoolgirl began to laugh harder.

“So apparently Ronan is the pervert, not Ryder. Interesting,” I mused. Ryder let out a gleeful whoop while Ronan began to protest. While I listened to the boys argue, a new thought occurred to me.

How much did I really know about these guys? Sure, Ryder came across as a huge flirt, but what was he really like? And Asher, was he really the sweet, charismatic boy he appeared to be, or was there more to him?

“Um...I don’t know how to respond to that,” Asher mumbled, cheeks burning in my peripheral vision.

“And I am most definitely just a flirt,” Ryder insisted. “No character, no substance. Just a pain in the ass.”

“That’s what she said,” I muttered softly.

“A woman after my heart,” sighed Ryder dramatically, and I snorted. I’m pretty sure he didn’t think with that organ whatsoever.

“Entrances are blocked,” Tam said, voice distant. I heard the shuffling of footsteps.

“What about the others down here?” I asked weakly. “Did you check on them yet?”

Ronan rolled his eyes with a huff, but there was a cheeky grin on his face.

“So needy.”

I gave him the finger in response.

“Should we congregate with the others?” Calax asked anxiously. He hadn’t stopped stroking my hair since he’d awoken. I would’ve yelled at him if it hadn’t felt so nice.

I mentally berated myself for the direction of my thoughts. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Calax in that way. Nice wasn’t a word I liked to associate with the beast of a man. Sure, he looked like a ferocious giant, what with his defined muscles, black clothing, and glowering expression, but...

But he was never like that with me. He was always so tender, as if I was precious glass he was afraid would break. Maybe that was why I classified him as public enemy number one. If I were to look at him in any other way, any other light, I would break.

For him? Because of him? Despite of him?

The world may never know.

I shifted my attention away from Calax to Tamson. As if he felt my eyes on him, Tam looked up, blushed, and then quickly glanced back down at his feet.

If there was one thing I noticed about Tamson, it was his inability to make and maintain eye-contact with me. The knowledge didn’t hurt or bother me as it might’ve some. From what I gathered in our brief interactions, Tam was shy and often felt inadequate when compared to his friends. I didn’t agree with his self-assessment, but I understood it. I had lived my entire life under a spotlight while longing to lose myself in the shadows. Every detail, every word, every action constantly analyzed in extensive detail. Despite the amount of effort I put into it, I always came up short. Lacking. I understood Tam, and his need to hide behind his curly hair. There were some points where even my hands didn’t want to be seen.

So, no, I didn’t judge him for his timidity. If anything, I respected him for being who he was, anxiety and all.

I was actuallygratefulwhen his eyes had fluttered away from mine. I didn’t want to make eye-contact with any of the boys. Calax made me feel too much, too deeply, and I understood how dangerous that could be.

“I vote yes to the whole congregating thing,” I said brightly, my attention fixated on a spot above Tam’s shoulder. From this angle, still on the ground, I could just make out the peeling wallpaper and exposed wood-frames. The depressing structure seemed to balance on the precarious few pillars that remained standing.