Tangled

Unshift 279

Unshift 279

279 Ava: Best Friends Together Again

Kellan nods reluctantly, trudging off the porch with slow steps. I shake my head, still smiling, and step inside.

“Lisa?” I call out. "It's safe to come out now. I've banished the big bad wolf."

A muffled curse comes from the direction of my bedroom, followed by the sound of shuffling feet. Lisa appears in the doorway, wrapped in'a towel, her wet hair dripping onto the shoulders.

"Is he really gone?" she asks, peering around me suspiciously.

I nod. "He's outside. I told him to give you some space."

Lisa's shoulders relax, and she pads over to the couch, sinking into it with a heavy sigh. "Thank God. I thought he was going to break down the bathroom door. I had to kick him out because he kept peeking in to make sure I was okay. While showering"

"Yes, I'm not surprised." I toss a few things at her to wear. Shirt, pants, underwear. "These aren't fancy, but none of us got to bring our wardrobe."

"I never realized what a luxury clothes are," Lisa agrees, unperturbed by the mismatched and style-less choices, hopping into the bathroom to get dressed. "Do you happen to have a hair dryer?" "Nope."

"Damn. Oh, well."

Lisa emerges from the bathroom, striking an exaggerated pose in the oversized clothes I've given her. The baggy fabric hangs off her frame, accentuating how thin she's become.

"How do I look?" she asks, her voice playful but strained.

My heart clenches painfully in my chest. "Fabulous as always," I manage, forcing a smile. "You could make a potato sack look good."

I join her, our shoulders touching. For a

focus on the fact that

Lisa interrupts, her voice gentle.

spilling out, raw and painful. "There was no way to get to you. We didn't know where you were, and then we did, but we were powerless to save

11:30

<

Best

had to be there. I felt like I was

brought all this tragedy to Westwood. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. I was with you every step

much I want to say, so

hands clasped, lost in our

least until Lisa says, "So, do you have any coffee

quirk. "I think so, but we'd have to let Kellan in. He's been feeding

that." A grin flashes across her face. "Though the

"Still, he orders it."

that

"And olives."

and adds

you aren't too unhappy with how

comes out of nowhere growling and ready to tear us apart. All the other wolves don't

lowers her voice to hiss, "He kissed me, Ava. Not a peck. Not a smooch. He just grabbed me like this-" she moves her arms in the air around an imaginary figure, "-and just

resting my chin on my hand. "Was it

mind-blowing. Like sex, but with only mouths. But everyone was watching. And then he picked me up

desperately to hide my amusement, I ask, “Did he tell

life if I was ever kidnapped again. Oh, and then he threatened to cut off all my hair