Page 50 of Puck My Life

I follow her into the kitchen and hug her from behind.

“Get off me!” she snarls.

I’m so shocked, I drop my arms and step back.

“Vae? Are you mad at me? Have I done something wrong?”

She huffs a bitter laugh. “Look at the mess I have to clean up, I’m behind on my schoolwork. I can’t sleep because the three of you are fucking whatever omega you bring home.”

“We bought you the headphones.”

She turns and gives me a look of such disgust that I’m stunned.

Vae turns away, sweeping her long black hair into a loose bun. She goes to her room and slams the door in my face.

I blink hard at the door.

“What the?”

“MAL!”

I turn my head and spot Deacon, who flies at me.

“I GOT IT!”

I pick him up and swing him around, instantly forgetting Vae.

“I’m a Scorpion.”

He shoves Vae’s door open. She’s standing there in the middle of the room, her fists clenched at her side.

“Vae, I made it. I’m a Scorpion. Just like we always dreamed.”

“Congratulations,” she says flatly.

“Come celebrate with us.”

She hesitates. “I can't, I have to get this essay done.”

She does look exhausted. Is she sick?

Deacon shrugs. “All right. Next time. I need to text Tessa and see if she’s available.”

Deacon walks away, but I’m still standing here when she whirls around and slams the door in my face again.

PRESENT

I slam my hand on the washing machine. How can something that is supposed to be this simple be this hard? Water is pouring out of it. Not soapsuds, this isn’t a cutesy foaming room of bubbles. No, this is fountains of water, rising like a bubbling well and drowning everything in sight.

I turn the taps off and finally get the water to stop. But I just close my eyes and try to calm everything.

Deacon and I broke up with Indy again last night. She seems to think we’re breaking up means in this moment, but we don’t mean it. Vae’s face last night at the game said everything. She was going to go off with Sloan, and then we hurt her feelings again, and she just had this face…tired, sick of it all, beyond angry. Her expression terrified me.

“I’m losing her,” I whisper and press my lips together so the thought doesn’t come true.

I’ll be lucky if we ever see heragain.

“Um…”