CHAPTER 052: No Cream
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~~SLOANE~N
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I walk into the room slowly, my feet soft on the linoleum. My eyes are fixed on Knox’s hand as it releases Finn’s casted arm. Neither of them answers my question.
Not with words.
But the silence is loud enough to fill the space between them.
Finn’s perched on the very edge of the bed now, his body angled like he was trying to get away. His uninjured hand clutches the edge of the mattress. Knox is standing above him, jaw set, eyes unreadable, his hand just now slipping back into his pocket like nothing happened.
But I know what I saw.
Knox had been bent forward when I walked in, squeezing Finn’s injured arm. At some point, one of them will have to spill what history lies between them. Because this–whatever it is–doesn’t seem like it has anything to do with Finn taking Delilah from Knox, which had been my initial guess.
You can feel it–that one of them hurt the other a long time ago, and they’ve both been carrying it ever since. But whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to make them stop caring for each other entirely.
I used to think I missed out, not growing up with a sibling.
I’d always wondered what it would’ve been like to yell at a teenage Serena. Push. Cry with. Sneak snacks with. Fight and forgive.
But looking at Finn and Knox’s relationship situation now, I’m not so sure anymore. At least I and Serena are on good terms. Maybe having just an emotionally constipated dad who left me to figure out life by myself wasn’t the worst deal. Maybe bonding with my elder sister when we’d both grown up was the better option.
Because this?
I’m not all about that life.
Knox is the first to break the staring contest.
With his hands still tucked in his pockets and in the calmest voice, he says, “No cream, Bunny. Black is fine.”
I glance at Finn, who’s adjusting himself back toward the center of the bed with stiff, jerky movements.
“Don’t worry about me,” he says, avoiding my eyes. “I’ll just have Jell–O.”
I look between them–Knox with his unreadable expression and Finn hanging his slinged arm at a new angle, like it hurts more than it did before I stepped out.
“So everything’s alright?” I ask slowly.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Knox says, already walking toward me, his voice as smooth as ever. “Come on. I’ll walk with you.”
His fingers find mine and gently hook around them, leading me to the door. Just as we reach the frame, I give Finn one last glance over my shoulder. He’s watching us–his mouth tight, his jaw locked, and his eyes burning with something that isn’t pain.
We walk in silence down the hall.
Knox’s hand finds the curve of my waist as we go, guiding me, possessive without even trying. His fingers press just enough to make me feel tethered. Owned.
I wait until we’re past the nurses‘ station. Past the vending machine. Past any prying ears.
“Were you seriously going to break his arm?” I ask.
“How do you break something that’s already broken?” he says, as if that logic makes it okay.
“I know what I saw, Knox. You were squeezing it.”
“That was just the two of us having a conversation”
He stops.
Turns to me.
Successfully unlocked!
The hand that’s on my waist pulls me toward him until my body meets his. Chest to chest. Hip to hip.
The feel of him–solid, warm, grounding–sends a current up my spine. I hate that it calms me. That it makes me ache,
CHAPTER 052 No Cream
which I’m certain was his plan. The hallway is empty, save for one nurse who walks by and glances at us but doesn’t stop. Knox doesn’t even flinch. His eyes are on me, steady, quiet, dangerous.
His hand comes up to tilt my chin. “Bunny.”
I swallow hard, the words caught somewhere between my chest and throat.
“Knox… your brother just got knocked down.”
“And?”
“I know he can be annoying, but can you two just cool off the heat until this is over?”
His gaze hardens just slightly. “You know this broken arm wasn’t coincidental, right?”
“What are you talking about? You think he walked into a moving car?”
“That’s the story he fed you so you’d feel bad for him. But his hospital records say he fell down a flight of stairs. And if I had to bet, I’d say he had Delilah push him.”
I blink, heart tripping over itself. “Why the hell would he do that?”
“The same reason he snuck into your house, installed hidden cameras, and sat in your closet watching you get fucked. He wants what I have.” His voice doesn’t rise. It doesn’t need to. The words hit with enough weight.
I stare at him, lips parting, scrambling to keep up with his words. Only one phrase sticks out from all the things he said.
“Hidden cameras?” I whisper.
“Don’t worry,” he says, brushing hair off my cheek. “It’s been taken care of. Just go in there, tell him you’ll send flowers, say goodbye. Let’s go.”
But I don’t move.
Not yet.
He waits, standing there like a storm in a black button–down shirt. Waiting for me to comply. To turn. To walk.
But the words in my throat aren’t the ones he wants to hear. And I have to make them go down easier.
I trail my fingers up the center of his chest. The fabric of his shirt is soft, but the muscle underneath is anything but. He tenses the moment I touch him. He always does. Until my hand slips around the back of his neck, and he dips down instinctively, making it easier for me to reach around his neck.
“Are you trying to seduce me in a hospital hallway?” he murmurs.
“…”
He waits, curious and amused.
“So, uh…” I begin and fail again.
“What is it?”
I slide my hand along the side of his neck, my thumb brushing the stubble there. His Adam’s apple bobs. His eyes shift- darker now. Hungry.
“You’re going to have to say what’s on your mind soon,” he says, low. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and find somewhere private to finish what you just started.”
I press my lips together.
And then I say it.
“Don’t you think we’re being too hard on Finn?”
