Page 22 of Shattered Saint
Thank goodness Easton thought this through because I might have been screwed otherwise.
I walked over to the door that would lead me to the rest of the apartment and took a deep breath before I twisted the doorknob.
This was it, the moment of truth.
I hesitated for a moment before I left the bedroom and walked into the living area. I was greeted by the sight of Nash sitting on the couch, quietly watching television. He looked up when he noticed I walked into the room.
“Hey, Bianca. Did you have a good night last night?”
It took everything in me to school my face so I didn’t have a strange reaction to his comment. I made my way into the kitchen to get something from the fridge because it served as an excuse to avoid eye contact with Nash. “Yeah, it was a pretty quiet night. Missed hanging out with you though.”
He exhaled loudly. “Yeah, I’m sorry about all of that. If I could have skipped it, I would have.”
“And you’re still not going to tell me what was up or why it was so important?” I closed the fridge after realizing there was nothing in there that I wanted.
“Nope. And it’s not because I don’t want to. It’s because I can’t.”
I turned to look at him, this time feeling more confident because the focus wasn’t on me. He returned my stare and then something clicked within me. “This isn’t about the Chevaliers, is it?”
While I knew very little about the secret society that both my father and grandfather had been a part of, I did know that they both joined during their freshman year at Brentson University, meaning that the timing would be right for Nash to be looking into joining too.
“Easton should be here any second and then we—”
His words were cut off by a knock on the door. Nash had been saved from my questions by Easton’s arrival, but now I felt as if I was being thrown into the gauntlet. If what Nash was saying was true, why couldn’t it be anyone else at the door?
Part of me wanted to run back into the guest bedroom and close the door behind me, but if that didn’t raise red flags, nothing would.
A feeling of unease tossed together with excitement flew through my body as I watched Nash stand up from his seat. I steadied myself as I watched him walk over to the door and open it without another thought. In walked Easton with a gym bag thrown over his shoulder. I watched as he smiled warmly at Nash before his gaze landed on me.
For a split-second Easton's gaze softened, and I saw a glimpse of the tenderness he'd done his best to show me last night. But that moment didn’t last.
The shift in his body language was subtle, but it hit me like a hammer to the face. I could see the hesitancy in his eyes that quickly grew more intense. The tension in the air was thick and it wouldn’t take much for it to be set ablaze.
I tried to convince myself that I was overthinking this, but deep down, I knew I wasn’t. Something was very wrong.
“Hi, Bianca.”
Even the way he said my name was strange. There was no trace of the intimacy from the night before. There was nothing there in his voice but stoicism.
As my hope vanished, I couldn’t stop my heart from shattering into a million and one pieces.
Without so much as a second glance, Easton turned to Nash and said, “We need to head to the field now to prepare for today’s game.”
I didn’t want to think that he’d casually dismissed me, but the feeling was there. I refused to give anything away and kept my face blank.
Nash nodded his head slowly before he replied, “Okay, let me just throw a couple more things into my bag and then I’ll be good to go.”
With that, he left the room, leaving Easton and me alone. I knew I needed to work fast to get to the bottom of this.
“So about last night…”
My voice trailed off as I waited with bated breath. It wasn’t the best way to start this conversation, but it was the only way I could think of doing it.
“It didn’t happen.”
I licked my lips as I tried to control my emotions. I'd been transported to an alternate dimension because there was no way that this was happening. My hands shook slightly from the rage and hurt that was growing. I couldn’t yell or scream right now and that’s all I wanted to do.
“It most definitely did, Easton. There is no need to be an asshole about this.”
