Page 73 of Their Cruel Play
“We should get it checked.” Nico looks like he’s going to stand up but I wave him back.
“If he says he doesn’t have one, he doesn’t.” It’s something we’re careful with in football. They’ll make him take weeks off school and football to recover if he has one. That means missing potential scouts and potentially dropping his grades, which if we don’t want to be tied to our fathers, we’ll need other ways to pay for college.
I have a trust fund from my grandpa, but Luke doesn’t.
“I don’t.” He lowers his arm and meets my eyes. “Just a fucking migraine.”
I study his eyes and nod. “Harper.”
He lets out a breath. “Tell her I’m sick.”
“Can’t do that.” I shake my head. This is a non-negotiable. We agreed to let her in. That means all the way in.
“Why the fuck not?” He narrows his eyes on me.
“Because she’ll want to come take care of you. You know her.” I run a hand through my hair. “We’ll be lucky if we can keep her from calling child protective services on your ass. She cares. She doesn’t understand how family can be like ours. Neglectful, abusive. She may only have her mother, but that woman is worth her weight in gold.”
Luke closes his eyes. “I don’t want her here.”
“How can you say—” Nico says.
“Not here. Not where he can come back. Give me a minute, and I’ll get dressed. We’ll go to the party and act like everything is okay.” Luke blows out a breath.
This won’t be good, but there’s no talking Death down.
He takes the ice off the bruise forming on his ribs. I jerk forward and hold out my hand to lift him to sitting. His face pales, and his head hangs as he sits on the side of the bed.
“Get the painkillers, Nico. Top drawer. There should be a glass in there.” I drop to a knee beside the bed and look into Luke’s pain-filled eyes. “I’ll keep you blocked, but you’re going to have to let Harper in.”
Luke nods. His blond hair falls over his eyes. His voice is low and tired when he says, “I can’t keep doing this, Caden.”
Grabbing the back of his neck, I draw his forehead down against mine. “I know. We’ll find a way out.”
Nico sits beside Luke on the bed and hands him the pills. Luke tosses them in his mouth and receives the water to wash them down. “Thanks.”
“Good?” Nico takes the glass back and sets it on the nightstand.
Luke nods, but doesn’t move.
“This might be a group effort.” I meet Nico’s eyes, and he nods. Not all of us have assholes for parents. Most of our parents let us do what we want when we want. But Luke’s dad being gone on business is always a blessing.
I get him a fresh shirt and socks from his dresser, while Nico goes into the bathroom and gets a washcloth. We get him presentable and by the time we’re ready to leave, the pain meds have kicked in.
CHAPTER 21
The Foxhole
Harper
We’ve been at the party for a while now. Eli walks away with the girls a few times, and I can see them talking with some football players. Penny flirts with the guys they’re talking to. That knot of worry eases at seeing she wants them and not Eli.
Jack keeps me close as people come over to talk to him. We sit side by side. The guys and girls who come over rarely look at me. If they do, it’s just a curious glance.
When Caden texted to say they found Luke, a different knot eased inside me. Not knowing where he was or what was happening to him made me nervous. He can handle himself but even he can be taken down. Much as I want to believe Death is invincible, Luke is still very much human.
My phone buzzes.
War (Caden):
