Antidote by LC Lehesaho

24

We spent hours on the bed, and even Wolf eventually laid there with the rest of us. Then everyone started to get hungry, others had classes, and whatever, they all scattered to the four winds from my, now lockless, apartment.

Only Puma and Tiger stayed, but then Puma informed Tiger that he needed to speak with me privately. Tiger scowled at him for a while, before getting dressed and leaving. His eyes told me that he wanted to kiss me before leaving, but thanks to fuck, he didn't. Puma would've lost his wits if we kissed in front of him. Part of me still wants to hit the brakes with all force, but... there's another part that wants to believe in happy endings.

That we could have our own. Together.

Puma jumps to sit on my kitchen table as I make us pieces of Nutella bread with sliced banana on top. I don't like that he smokes, but he gets the munchies and wants to eat junk when he is high, which makes us a great pair. I don't need to be high to want to eat junk, and you can tell that by looking at my ass.

"Now," I hand him the plate and jump onto the counter to feast on my snack. "What did you wanna talk about?"

He already has his mouth full, which doesn't surprise me at all. "Like you know, I was at the uni this morning." He swallows until his mouth is empty and then gulps his iced tea. "You know who I bumped into?"

"Oh, don't say." His fucking face says it all. I let out a long exhale. "What did you say to him?"

"Well, Lucky Luke is really into you, I can tell." He smirks like it's a good thing. It's everything but.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, and?"

"He said that he was planning to ask you out today." Puma licks the Nutella off of his fingers while speaking, and I want to shove the goddamn jar into his throat because I have a hunch where this is going. "I helped the man out. You're seeing him today at the arcade."

I feel smoke coming out of my ears. "You gotta be fucking kidding me. I don't want to see Luke!"

Puma lifts his index finger. "No, no. You're seeing him because that shit over there." He points at my bedroom. "Was a close call. If there hadn’t been the rest of us there, and Wolf walked in first, instead of me... you know he would've lost it."

"We didn't do anything!" Ah, these lies.

"I might be high, but I'm not fucking blind." He scowls at me. "Tiger's dick was up to the sky like Katniss fucking Everdeen's hand when he was volunteering as tribute, and your lips looked like y’all had been eating each other for breakfast. I didn't say anything because I'm not in the mood to fight with him, but don't think you can sneak behind my back."

I lean back, hitting my head hard against the cabinets. This is a fucking catastrophe. "I'm trying, Puma. I really am." I sigh, wiping my face.

"I know you have problems, like all of us, but please, I'm begging you. Don't hit it with Tiger. Nothing good will come out of it."

He is right, absolutely, undeniably right.

I shouldn't, but I want to do just that. Fuck everything else.

But...

We need to find a fucking solution. Hiding is not an option in this family. Especially when Dad has decided to put me on probation.

"I don't want to go out with Luke." I look at him, clenching my jaw. "I'm not going to go."

"Oh, yes, you are." He swallows with a gulp. "Bear asked me if Tiger has been sleeping here with you. So, thanks to fuck, I had these dates planned already, and I could make the situation look a little less dubious."

Cold shivers run down my spine. If Bear found out...

"What time?" I close my eyes and hope that I'll just drop dead.

"Luke?"

"No, fucking Jesus."

Puma snorts. "At five. He'll pick you up again."

I blink my eyes open, looking at him and shaking my head. "No, he is not coming here again—"

"Then why the hell would you be doing this in the first place, huh? They need to see you two together, so they don't focus on half-naked Tiger in your bedroom." Puma gives me a look which tells me that he thinks I'm a little slow.

Maybe I am.

"Oh, fuck me sideways." I wipe my face again, distressed. "I don't want to rub it in Tiger's face. I need to explain this—"

"Let me take care of it," Puma assures me. "He'll be fine, sis."

"I hate my life."

"You and me both."

Can this even be real?

How in the name of fuck am I going to handle another date with Luke?

Puma promised to explain everything to Tiger because he already had to leave for class before I had a chance to talk to him privately. But it doesn't help me at all. I really fucking don't want to do this.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror, taking in my image: the ripped jeans, and a loose, white T-shirt, low top Chucks. It's casual, not hot, not even in the slightest like I don't want it to be. I don't want him to be into me; I don't want to give him signals that this is something it's not.

I grab a scrunchie from the makeup table, gathering my hair on top of my head into a messy bun. I managed to cover all the bruises with makeup, but my nose is still very much broken. It's swollen and looks like someone hit me in the face with a baseball bat.

Yeah, Luke is going on a date with the bachelorette of the year.

But whatever.

Stuffing my phone in the back pocket of my jeans, I leave my apartment, not bothering to take keys. Why should I? I don't have a fucking lock on the door.

Jesus Christ.

I jog downstairs and prepare myself to fake smile my ass off.

"Let's have a quick word before you go."

Dad's voice stops me when I walk past his office. I should've known that he was stalking me. Taking a deep breath, I straighten my spine and turn back to look at him from the open door. It should've been a sign since it's ajar—stupid me.

"I'm listening," I say, watching him sitting behind the large wooden desk. He runs his fingers through his blond hair and leans back in his chair, placing his hands on the armrests.

"This is the same guy as yesterday?" he asks softly.

I nod. "Yeah, so?"

I hate how he studies me like he can read all my darkest secrets by looking at me—all I want to do is run back to my apartment and drown myself in the bathtub.

"Did he have something to do with your reckless behavior?" his eyes drill into my fucking soul.

"No, of course not. Besides, I wasn't reckless. I made a mistake." I cock an eyebrow, trying to pull his attention in another direction. "Which I haven't yet been reminded of, right?"

He mimics my facial expression. "You want to be reminded?"

Oh, do I? Right now, that's all I fucking need, and maybe a session with Tiger tomorrow.

"I fucked-up." I point my thumb up, starting to count my mistakes. "I put everyone else in jeopardy." A second finger up. "I took a hit I could avoid." A third finger up. "What else, hmm, let me think."

I tap my chin with my finger, overdoing it. Then I look at Dad. "Anything else you want to add?"

He lets out a sigh. "No, that was all." He glances at the batshit expensive watch in his hand. "It's almost five, you should go on your date. Tomorrow night, meet me at the gym at eight. Your face will have time to heal a little. And by the way, you're off duty until then."

I have plenty of time to fuck up even more until tomorrow night.

"Alrighty, then." I turned to leave, like it could be that easy. Please, who was I kidding?

"Cobra." His low, full voice stops me in my tracks.

I look at him over my shoulder, waiting.

"Why are you dating this kid?"

Suddenly, Imagine Dragons are playing in my head, and they are telling the truth—I'm a bad liar. I shrug it off as fast as I can. "Because I like him."

Ah, these lies.

Okay, Luke is sweet, it's not him, it's me.

Look at me, already preparing myself for dumping his cute ass.

Dad's face is unreadable while he keeps me on my toes for a good time before speaking. "Okay, then. Have fun, and try to relax a little bit."

I can't help it; I laugh out loud. "Did you just say to me that I should relax? When is the last time you relaxed?"

"Cobra, now is the time." He makes his fingers walk in the air and then points toward the front door. "For you to leave."

Yeah, well, I didn't expect him to answer that. I take off before he changes his mind again and asks me something I don't want to answer. Luke is probably here already because I'm late, so I jog through the foyer, and Pietro, one of our guards, opens the door for me.

My blood goes cold the second my eyes take in the view.

"Ah, there she is," Tiger says cheerily, but there isn't a hint of happiness in his voice. Nope. It sounds like a threat, a very fucking vicious one. He sits on the hood of Luke's car, Puma standing next to him, he gives me an apologetic look. Luke stands beside them, one hand at his side and the other one taps his thigh, nervous as fuck.

"What's going on here?" I ask, warily, as I approach them slowly.

"We are keeping Luke company, so he doesn't have to wait for you all by himself," Tiger answers, tilting his head to the side as he stares at me. No, glares at me. "You shouldn't keep such a nice guy as him waiting, don't you think?"

Fuck me sideways, and ten times on Sunday. Clearly, Puma hasn't been doing his fucking job. I turn my eyes to Luke, looking for signs of any physical damage. "You okay?"

"Sure am." His eyes take in my broken nose, and his eyes widen. "What happened to you?"

I shrug it off. "Just a training accident, no big deal. Shall we go?"

"We should go too, c'mon, man." Puma pokes Tiger's shoulder, who doesn't even budge. His eyes drilling into me like he’s ready to shoot all of us. I bet he is.

I will shoot Puma after this, that's for sure. He fucking promised to handle Tiger. Ass-fucking-hole.

Luke walks to the passenger's side and opens the door for me, and I can see from his face that he really wants to leave. I'm not sure if I should say something to Tiger or not, but before I can decide, he gets up and walks to me with a couple of long strides. His broad form blocks the view from others as he stares down at me with blazing eyes.

I feel my stomach churn, and my chest aches because I don't want to do this. I want to go in and sleep in Tiger's arms. Is that too much to fucking ask?

He leans lower, so no one can hear him. "Ask me."

Please, don't touch anyone else.

Please, don't touch anyone else.

I try to make myself say it; I want to fucking beg him not to touch anyone else ever again. Only me.

Only me.

I open my mouth, but Puma appears beside us, slapping his palm on Tiger's shoulder, leaning closer. "This is not the time for this."

I let out the breath I was holding and bite my cheek, distress taking over my cells. Tiger straightens, his jaw clenching as he watches me, and I feel my agony suffocating me as if his hand were around my throat. From the corner of my eye, I see Puma giving me signs with his eyes that I should get the fuck out of here.

But it's not me who storms away. Tiger shoves Puma's hand off his shoulder and strides away, running his fingers through his hair, body tensed to the limits.

"Tiger, wait!" I start to bolt after him, but Puma grabs my arm, jerking me back, while Tiger just throws me a middle finger over his shoulder without stopping.

"No, sis, you're letting him go and do as we agreed," Puma whispers, leaning closer so Luke won't hear us. "You'll go out with that dude, and that's it."

I give Puma a murderous glare. "You fucking asshole. You promised to explain this to him!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't have a chance. Then he overheard us talking about this, and Luke was already here," he whispers, nodding toward Luke, who is watching us sharply from the car. "Go, I'll find Tiger and keep him on the leash."

"Tell him that this wasn't my idea, and nothing is going to happen. Fix it, or I'll kill you," I murmur back and then turn to the car, pulling on a glorious fake smile.

Fuck my life.