Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“What?”
“Whatever it was that was bothering youare you over it?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m not going to kill myself,” I tell him. “Ever.”
I surprise myself when the words come out of my mouth; it must have been the orgasmsthey weakened my resolve, and I said the quiet part out loud.
“What?” Declan shifts onto his side, propping his head up with his elbow. He drapes his arm over me and looks into my eyes, which I quickly avert. “Teagan, I don’t want that. Why would you think that?”
Someone pounds against the door from outside.
“Don’t move,” he says. He gets up, steps back into his pants, and walks toward the door. The person on the other side pounds their fist on it again, harder this time.
Declan looks through the peephole.
“Hey! Open the fucking door!” Luca says. “I hear you there.”
He opens it just a few inches.
“I think I’m in fucking trouble,” Luca says.
Declan steps out into the hallway, closing the door behind him, and I scramble to get dressed.
I miss Luca.
Their tone is hushed but harsh when I reach the door. I step out into the hallway and lock eyes with Luca.
“Hey,” I say. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
I reach for Luca, but Declan holds me back, stepping between us.
“And you’re going to fucking do it to me, too, aren’t you?! You’re all the fucking same,” Luca shouts.
“What?” I ask. “Why are you”
“Go back in the room, Teagan,” Declan says. “It’s not a good time.”
“I don’t want to. I can helpjust tell me what’s wrong.”
“No,” Declan says.
“No, I think she can help,” Luca says. And I see it in his eyeswhat Declan meant. It’s not a good time. “Come here, Teagan. I wanna make you cry again.”
“Everything good?”
I look over and see Eli standing in the doorway of a room a few doors down.
“Nope,” Declan says.
Eli rolls his eyes. “Fucking hell.”
He steps out of the room, and they both charge at Luca at the same time. The two of them almost don’t get ahold of him, but Rhett steps out of the elevator just in time and runs down the hallway to help. Declan gets his arm around his neck, and they drag him into Eli’s room.
“What the fuck happened?” Hazel asks.
“I have no idea,” I tell her. “He just he came back and said he was in trouble; he was angry. You guys are back early.”
“It started raining,” Hazel says.
“Yeah, and good fucking thing,” Brady adds.
“River?” Rhett calls from the doorway of Eli’s room.
“I’ll get my bag,” she tells him.
“He’s okay,” Hazel says, taking my hand in hers. “Don’t worry; whatever it is, Declan will take care of it.”
River rushes over to Eli’s room. Rhett opens it just enough for her to slip inside, and Hazel and I wait in the hallway.
About five minutes later, Rhett and River leave the room.
“Pack up and come downstairs; the bus will be here in fifteen minutes,” Rhett says.
“Is Luca okay?” I call after him.
“He’s fine; just stay away from him for now,” Rhett says. “I mean it, Teagan.”
“ Okay. I’ll just go pack our stuff ”
Confused, I go into our shared hotel room and pack both of our bags.
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Fifteen minutes later, I’m eating pizza on the bus as we leave Portland. I don’t see Luca, but I’m told he’s sleeping in the back room where I stayed with River and Hazel that first night, that Rhett and Eli are watching him, and to leave him alone.
It’s tense; I can tell they all know something I don’t, and I hate it.
Declan goes in and out of the room several times, disappearing upstairs with his face buried in his phone in between, which he never does.
River flips through Netflix until she settles on a romcom while Brady works on a crossword puzzle.
Once it gets dark and everyone goes upstairs to sleep, I find Declan in bed, reading under a small, dim light, and lie down beside him.
“Do you want to read with me?” he asks. “I can move the light.”
I shake my head. “I finished my book. I’ll just watch you. Declan?”
“Hmm?”
“Is he mad at me?”
“No, he’s not mad at you, Teagan. We need to talk about what you said, though.”
“I’d rather not.”
“No shit,” he says. “I don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I’m sorry you had to see what happened at home last week. I’m sorry that my reaction wasn’t what you wanted and that you have this idea about me and what I want now, but it isn’t accurate.”
“Alana told me that’s what you want. She said that’s why she left.”
Declan shakes his head. “She’s wrong, Teagan. I love my family. And I miss Laylaa lot. She was special to me.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.