How Sinners Fight - Eva Ashwood Page 0,48

it. I haven’t dreamed since the night I woke up and painted it, and that was several nights ago.

“You okay there, Blue?” Elias asks, concern in his voice. He dips his head in front of mine so that he’s in my line of vision, and I snap out of my reverie, realizing that Declan and Max are also looking at me.

“You okay?” Max asks, repeating Elias’s question.

“Oh. Yeah,” I say quietly. “I’m good. Just thinking, that’s all.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of that lately.” Declan’s gaze is also tinged with worry.

“Yeah, well.” I shrug and paste on a lame half-smile. “I’ve got a lot to think about.”

Declan wraps an arm around my waist, tugging me toward him as he reaches up to tuck a small lock of hair behind my ear. “Don’t think about things that aren’t worth it,” he murmurs softly.

I know what he’s talking about. Or rather, who he’s talking about. Declan has turned out to be surprisingly protective for someone who’s generally pretty easy going. Maybe I should’ve expected it though. Even all those weeks ago, when he came back to my dorm to check on me after Gray kicked him and Elias out, wasn’t that what he was doing, whether either of us were ready to admit it or not? He was looking out for me.

“I won’t,” I promise him, leaning forward to kiss his full lips.

I don’t know quite what it is about him, but kissing Declan always feels like coming home. Like he could ground me in even the most turbulent storm.

When Declan and I break apart, Elias kisses me too, dipping me a little and making me laugh. Max pretends not to think it’s adorable, but she raises her eyebrows at me before we all split up to head our separate ways.

Lately, the four of us have been meeting at a quiet little spot on campus between our separate morning classes. I’ve asked Max how she feels about hanging out with the guys, and I think now that she’s seen how serious they’re being, she trusts them enough to be chill with them.

I’m glad. I don’t know what I would do if Max hated Declan and Elias and there was another division between friends. I’m sick and tired of having to choose.

Declan was right. I’ve been caught up in my thoughts a lot lately, and they continue to swirl as I head into Wyman Hall for my next class.

I’ve done my best not to think about Gray at all, but it’s hard as hell. Even without managing to chase me off campus, he’s still haunting my thoughts.

I haven’t seen him since the fight between him and Declan. He hasn’t even shown up to the one class we share for the past few days, and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s avoiding me or he just hates me so much that he doesn’t want to look at me.

“Fuck.” I stop in my tracks as I reach the usual door to my fourth-floor classroom.

I was so distracted, I totally forgot that the professor said we’re meeting in a different room today. Dammit.

Spinning around, I stride back down the empty corridor, retracing my steps. I’ll be late, but hopefully I won’t be the only one who forgot.

I took the elevator up to this floor, but I figure the stairs will be faster, so I push into the stairwell at the end of the hall. The small space is quiet as I head downward, and as I turn onto the second floor landing, voices carry and echo up from below, making me stop in my tracks so fast I clutch onto the handrail to keep from tumbling forward.

A jolt of shock makes my heart beat harder. It’s not the voices themselves that made me stop so suddenly, but the fact that I recognize them. I know exactly who’s below me.

My jaw clenches, anger twisting in my chest like a brutally sharp knife.

“Look, I’m doing what I can,” Gray says. He’s speaking in a hushed voice, but I can still fucking hear him, and it hurts more than I want to admit. “I’ve been trying my best, but I—”

“You’re fucking useless, Eastwood. You’re not holding up your end of the bargain like you fucking promised,” the second voice says, and if I thought hearing Gray speak made anger burn through me like a wildfire, this one is hell compared to that.

Cliff.

Fucking Cliff. Of course Gray is talking to Cliff, which means—

“Just give me a little more time,”