LOGIN“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ell snapped, dumping a box of the streamers onto Kara’s dresser with a thud. “Not only have you ignored five hundred calls, Lukas, you thought sneaking around the house like a burglar was a better idea than walking in like a normal person?”Lukas peeled the stuffed animal off his face and blinked up at her. “Yes. Yes I did.”Ell glared. “I’m so not in the mood for your shit today. I need you to do some work.”“I see myself more in a managerial position,” Lukas said, stretching one arm lazily behind his head. “Delegating tasks. Supervising. You know, keeping morale up.”Ell’s eyes narrowed. “You make one more joke about this baby shower and I’ll wipe breastmilk on you.”Lukas wrinkled his nose. “You have that already?”“Kind of. There’s this watery, yellow-colored—”“Oh god, please, lalalalalala—” Lukas slapped his free hand over his ear and sat up, face twisted. “I’m leaving.”Before he could stand, Ell caught his good arm and shoved a box of decorations
Morning crept in slow and gray, seeping through the blinds in Mac’s spare room.Lukas woke to the unfamiliar quiet of the empty house, his head thick, his body heavy like he’d been wrestling with dreams all night. For a long moment he lay still, staring at the ceiling, the events of last night pressing down on him like a weight.The sheets smelled faintly of laundry detergent and dust, unused unless their teammates got drunk here, which they hadn't done since the start of the season.He shifted and groaned, his shoulder twinging, a dull reminder that even sleep didn’t give him peace. The silence wasn’t comforting, it was oppressive, every buzz of memory filling it. Nathan’s smirk. Aiden’s fury. His own hollow voice agreeing to something he didn’t even want.Rolling out of bed, Lukas rubbed a hand over his face. His mouth was dry, his head pounding, and his stomach turned at the thought of the peanut butter still sitting on Mac’s counter. He shoved his hoodie back on, padding barefoot
Lukas dug around in the dark until his fingers closed over the fake rock tucked beside the steps. This idiot never changed his hiding place. He popped the key free, shoved it into the lock, and shouldered his way inside. His phone buzzed nonstop in his pocket. By the time the door clicked shut behind him, the screen was lit with another round of missed calls. He stood there for a long moment, numb. Hollowed out. Moving on autopilot, like his body hadn’t caught up to the wreck in his head.Lukas made his way to the dark kitchen, tossing the phone onto the counter, not bothering with the lights.But then it rang again, a different name flashing across the screen and Lukas swiped it up.“Why the hell did my front door camera just give me a shot of your ugly ass breaking into my house at 1 a.m.?” Mac’s voice came sharp, but the bar noise around him bled through. Music thumping, glasses clinking, a girl giggling against the speaker.Lukas didn't answer, yanking open Mac’s fridge, and bat
“No.”Aiden's voice ripped through the tension, savage and unyielding. His hands were fists at his sides, knuckles white, every line of his body pulled taut with fury.“Absolutely not,” he said again, louder this time, each syllable vibrating with restraint. “You don’t walk in here, after everything you’ve done, and suggest something so vile.”Nathan blinked, startled for the first time all night, but quickly covered it with a smirk. “Vile? Please. You’re angry because you know it makes sense. Keep what we’ve built, have some fun—”“Get out. Or I swear I’ll drag you out myself.” Aiden’s voice dropped, low and dangerous, as he stalked a step closer. His shoulders were squared, chest heaving, every muscle coiled tight. “You’ve got a hell of a lot of nerve. I don’t know what happened between you and Lukas, but I know you didn’t treat him well enough to ask him any favors.” His eyes never left Nathan’s face, fury burning hot. “And if you actually believe you’ve got a shot at arranging som
Nathan was taller than Lukas remembered, broader in the shoulders, his hair shorter now and flecked with gray at the temples. The shadows in the hall softened nothing. His eyes still carried that same sharp edge, the one that used to cut Lukas wide open when he was younger and stupid enough to think it meant something. His smile was easy, practiced, but it only made Lukas’s chest tighten more.The shock hit him like a body check, a rush of old hurt slamming back. For a moment, his mouth went dry. He managed to croak, “What do you want?”Nathan’s smile widened. “I was just passing by, thought it might be nice to catch up.”“At midnight?” Lukas snapped, disbelief cracking through the fog of memory.Nathan only smirked, leaning casually against the doorframe like he belonged there.And then Aiden’s footsteps approached behind him. Lukas felt the shift before he heard the voice.“Nate?” Aiden’s voice was low and sharp. “Why are you here?”Lukas’s head whipped back, his stomach dropping. “
The hall outside the medical room was quiet, the muffled noise of voices and laughter fading behind them as the door swung shut. Mac leaned against the wall, arms folded, giving Lukas a once-over like he was about to check him into the boards.“You getting along with the doc any better?” Mac asked, tone casual but curious.Lukas snorted. “Yeah, thanks to you, meddling piece of shit.”Mac chuckled, unbothered. “You’re welcome. I figured he’d cut you a little more slack once you gave him something to sympathize with.”Lukas’s grin turned sharp. “Well, he was certainly a better fuck after a little bit of pity.”Mac rolled his eyes. “Great. Didn’t ask, but great.” He let the moment hang before asking, “You staying here tonight, or heading back to Crestwick?”Lukas shrugged. “Guess that’s up to the doc since he’s driving.”“Well, if you do stay, leave early,” Mac said. “You’ve got Ell’s baby shower tomorrow.”Lukas groaned loud enough to echo down the hall. “Oh, I see. She sent you to remi







