Page 75 of Bound By Fury

Lexie should be here, too.

“Um, you know, I’ve been thinking about what your dad said before, and if you want to, we can study together sometime. You know I’m in the café most afternoons, so if you want to join me, or…,” I trail off, and want to kick myself. Why am I so fucking awkward all the time?

He barks out a laugh. “Please, no, it’s fine, I swear. I’m used to it. Kai is the perfect Matsoukas, and I’ll always be second best to some people. I’m starting to accept that maybe there’s nothing I can do about it. But like I said, no more living in his shadow.”

I nod, even though my heart squeezes for him. His emotions are written all over his face. Embarrassment and frustration.

“My dad, it’s like he wants me to be something I’m not. Someone I’m not—that I’ll never be.”

There are layers to what he’s saying.

“Oh,” I sigh, finally understanding. This school, this history, it belongs to Lucas in name alone. Growing up, it just wasn’t something we thought about. Lucas was Lucas. It didn’t make a difference that he didn’t look like Malachi or Alastair.

The first time Lucas’s mom got cancer, the treatments took away her ability to conceive. So when she went into remission and married Alastair, they decided to adopt. Lucas never talked about it, but it wasn’t a secret. And it never seemed to matter anyway. But now that Malachi’s parents are gone, and Alastair has custody of both boys…

“I like that you’re different,” I offer softly.

“Thanks,” he says, some of the tension finally leaving his face as he shrugs. “It is what it is. I’m just grateful to have a family. But I guess sometimes I wonder where I come from, who I would be if I’d stayed with my bio parents. If I would be somewhere I wasn’t always going to be the wrong fit, like I am now.”

That last part stings with familiarity.

“Don’t say that. You know that’s not true. Have you thought about looking for them? Your bio parents?”

“Nah, not really. Dad says there’s no point. He said someone dropped me off at a fire station. There’s no trail to follow.”

All those summers it was me and him and Malachi. A unit equally split. But here, now, I realize that he’s a drop of blood in the snow, too. And I’ve been stupid to ignore that.

“I didn’t know… You never mentioned feeling this way.”

He smiles grimly. “Didn’t feel worth mentioning.”

I hate seeing him like this. All I want is to make whatever cloud has drifted over us go away. I run my hands up his arms and pull him into a hug. We stand there for a moment, holding each other, until I finally feel the rest of the tension along his back dissipate. He leans into me harder, his nose tilting into my hair.

When we part, my chest flutters at the intensity of his look. The hunger there is incongruent to the boy I once knew. His hands drift lower, his fingers curling though the belt loops of my pleated skirt. “What am I going to do with you?” he whispers. “You’re dangerous.”

I try to resist the grin that tugs at my lips, but I can’t. There’s something so infectious about being wanted. About knowing every person in this hallway is wondering why. Why would a guy like him want to be with a girl like me?

Sometimes it’s hard, fighting off the doubt that creeps in. Especially when every douchebag with a podcast has something to say about women’s bodies. Or when every hot girl on socials and TV and in movies has a skinny BBL.

But I know I’m fucking hot, too. Even if I have to remind myself of that sometimes.

Sparks dance across my shoulders.

Ugh.

I take a step back.

“We should get to class.”

He follows me, spinning us around.

“I mean, if you insist,” he murmurs—and then stumbles to the side as broad shoulders crash against his, an oomf falling from his lips.

Malachi chuckles, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. “Excuse you.” His gaze slides to mine. “Class is starting.”

The tips of my ears heat.

I look at the two of them, veritable brothers even before Malachi’s parents died. But the only thing between them now is hatred.