All Chapters of The Rogue Next Door: Chapter 81 - Chapter 88

88 Chapters

Chapter 81

ColeSomething’s wrong.I know it instantly.One second Maya is smiling at me on the Sigma Two back porch—The next all the color drains from her face.Completely.My stomach tightens immediately.“Maya.”She keeps staring at her phone silently.And suddenly every protective instinct in my body goes on high alert.“What happened?”Her throat moves slightly before she finally looks up at me.“It’s my dad.”Ah.The fear in her voice hits me hard.Because Maya never sounds scared like this unless it matters.I step closer immediately.“What’s going on?”She shakes her head quickly.“I don’t know yet.”But her fingers are trembling around the phone.And that tells me enough.The porch suddenly feels colder somehow.I gently touch her arm.“Call him.”Her eyes flick up to mine nervously.“I hate when he says something’s important.”The quiet honesty in that sentence hurts more than it should.Because nobody should sound afraid of their parent calling.“Maya.”She exhales shakily before pre

Chapter 82

MayaI don’t realize we left the party until we’re already in Cole’s truck.Everything after the phone call feels blurry.The music.The people.Bree asking if I was okay.Jake offering to fight my father for me.I barely remember any of it.All I really remember is Cole’s arms around me on the Sigma Two porch while I cried into his chest like my entire life wasn’t quietly falling apart.Humiliating.And somehow—He never made me feel ashamed of it.The truck is quiet except for soft music playing low through the speakers while campus lights blur past outside the windows.Cole drives with one hand on the wheel.The other resting on my thigh.Grounding me.Keeping me here.My eyes drift down to his hand.Big.Warm.Steady.And suddenly emotion rises painfully into my throat again.Because nobody has ever felt steady to me before.“You’re thinking too hard again.”His voice is soft.Gentle.I wipe quickly beneath my eyes.“Sorry.”Cole immediately looks over sharply at a stoplight.“The

Chapter 83

ColeI don’t want to take her home.That’s the problem.Maya’s still curled up in my lap in the truck parking lot overlooking campus, half hidden against my chest while I slowly run my hand through her hair.And honestly?I could stay like this all night.The emotional weight from earlier still lingers between us, but softer now.Quieter.Like she finally stopped bracing for impact long enough to breathe.My chin rests lightly against the top of her head while city lights reflect across the lake outside the windshield.“Maya?”“Mhm?”“You falling asleep again?”A tiny laugh vibrates against my chest.“Maybe.”Cute.Dangerously cute.I smile into her hair before glancing at the clock.Almost one in the morning.“Baby, you’ve got work in like seven hours.”She groans softly without moving.“Don’t remind me.”I laugh quietly.“Come on. Let’s get you home.”Maya tightens her arms around me instead.“No.”That instantly makes my chest feel weirdly warm.“No?”“No.”I look down at her.Maya

Chapter 84

MayaThe house is quiet when we get back.Well—Mostly quiet.Bree’s bedroom door is closed upstairs, which means she either crashed the second she got home or she’s pretending not to wait up for details.But the kitchen light is on.And Logan is sitting at the counter.Waiting.The second Cole and I walk through the front door, Logan’s eyes lift immediately.And instantly guilt twists in my stomach again.Because Logan looks exhausted.Gray sweatpants.Black hoodie.Messy hair.Like he’s been sitting there awhile.Cole notices too beside me.The tension shifts instantly.Not aggressive.Just…complicated.Logan’s eyes move over me carefully first.Checking.“You okay?”There it is again.That quiet concern that somehow makes me feel worse because he never stops being good to me, even when I’m hurting him.I nod softly.“Yeah.”Logan’s shoulders loosen slightly.Only then does he look toward Cole.“You get her home okay?”Something about the question affects me unexpectedly.Because i

Chapter 85

MayaI wake up to screaming.Actual screaming.Followed by:“LOGAN YOU CHEATING ASSHOLE!”My eyes snap open instantly.What the hell?I sit upright in bed completely disoriented while more yelling echoes from downstairs.“Oh my God,” Bree cackles from the hallway. “This is better than Netflix.”I throw my blanket off and rush out of my room still half asleep.The second I reach the stairs—I freeze.Because Logan and Bree are standing in the living room in full argument mode.Over…Mario Kart.I blink slowly.Seriously?Logan points aggressively at the TV screen.“You hit me with a shell on purpose!”“That is literally the point of the game!” Bree yells back.I stare at them.“What is happening?”Neither of them answer because Logan gasps dramatically at the television.“Oh absolutely not, you little cheater!”“I’m better than you!”“You’re using Baby Peach!”“That’s strategy!”I hear laughter from the kitchen.And suddenly I realize—Cole’s here too.Of course he is.I turn toward th

Chapter 86

MayaI should have left.That’s the first mistake.The second mistake?Accepting a controller from Bree.The third?Thinking Mario Kart couldn’t possibly be that serious.I was wrong.Terribly wrong.“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”Logan points at the television like he’s presenting evidence in court.“She hit me with another blue shell!”Bree nearly falls off the couch laughing.“That’s because you were winning!”“That’s the point!”“Not in this house!”I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts.Somehow I ended up squeezed between Cole and Bree on the couch while Logan paces dramatically in front of the TV.“You’re all terrible people.”“You lost to Baby Peach seven times,” Bree reminds him.“Stop bringing up Baby Peach!”Cole loses it beside me.The sound of his laughter instantly makes me smile.And apparently he notices.Because when I glance over—He’s already looking at me.Of course he is.Heat immediately crawls into my cheeks.The idiot actually winks.I kick his leg.He just grins wider.Dang

Chapter 87

MayaI should have known ice cream wasn’t actually about ice cream.The first clue?Logan insisted on driving.The second clue?Cole immediately called shotgun.The third clue?The two of them spent the entire drive arguing like children.“I called it first.”“You were still in the kitchen.”“I was walking toward the truck.”“You were emotionally walking toward the truck.”I sit in the backseat with Bree trying not to laugh.Bree isn’t trying.She’s openly encouraging them.“Fight.”“Don’t encourage them,” I tell her.“Why? It’s entertaining.”Fair point.Logan glances into the rearview mirror.“Tell your boyfriend he’s being dramatic.”My entire body freezes.The truck immediately goes silent.Oh no.Oh absolutely no.Because Logan clearly didn’t mean anything by it.But suddenly everyone is looking at me.Even Cole.My heart starts pounding.Bree’s eyes get huge.Then slowly—A grin spreads across her face.Dangerous.Very dangerous.“Boyfriend?” she repeats.Logan immediately reali

Chapter 88

LoganI hate football.Not really.But right now?Absolutely.“Football is overrated.”Cole nearly chokes on his drink.We’d ended up outside after ice cream while Maya and Bree disappeared inside the house.The Florida sun was starting to dip lower.For once, things were quiet.No hockey practice.No classes.No chaos.Just me and Ryder standing in the backyard.Cole looks over.“Excuse me?”I shrug.“Hockey is clearly superior.”“Hockey players skate around on knives.”“We call those skates.”“You carry sticks.”“You wear tights.”Cole immediately points at me.“They are compression pants.”“Tights.”“They are not tights.”“Tights.”Cole shakes his head.“Hockey players get punched in the face for entertainment.”“We call that passion.”“We call it assault.”I grin.“See? Football guys are soft.”Cole laughs.“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”The conversation settles for a moment.Easy.Comfortable.The way things had become lately.Which honestly surprised me.A month ago I prob

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