Chapter 70 Caught in the Worst Way Posibble
Phoebe
My heart was about to jump out of my chest. Hayden’s words were still echoing in the room like some kind of death sentence. Boyfriend. He actually said it. Out loud. In front of Phoenix.
I opened my mouth, ready to explain—or maybe fake a seizure and escape through the window—but then…
“Actually,” Zion’s voice sliced through the tension like a knife, calm and steady, “that’s not exactly true.”
I blinked at him. What?
Hayden turned to him, brows furrowed, and even Phoenix shifted his glare from Hayden to Zion.
“She’s not his girlfriend,” Zion continued, sounding way too chill for someone dropping a bomb in the middle of a war zone. “They broke up a while ago. Hayden’s just being… nostalgic.”
I almost choked on my own spit. Holy Moon Goddess, thank you Zion. Bless your beautiful face.
“That’s not—” Hayden started, clearly ready to bite Zion’s head off, but Adonis, who’d been silent until now, cut him off in his usual calm, brainiac tone.
“Hayden, think logically,” Adonis said, folding his arms. “Right now isn’t the time to start a fight over titles. This environment is sensitive. There’s a patient recovering, family present, and high emotional tension. Drawing attention to past relationships only complicates things unnecessarily.”
Hayden stared at him, his jaw clenching so hard I thought his teeth might crack. He wanted to argue. I could see it in his eyes—the same stubborn fire that made me fall for him in the first place. But then, with a low growl under his breath, he backed down.
Finley, who’d been leaning against the wall, finally chimed in with his usual peacemaker tone. “Guys, chill. Zion’s just trying to keep things simple, okay? We don’t want to give Phoenix a heart attack after he just woke up.”
Exactly, I screamed in my head. My eyes darted nervously to Phoenix, who still looked like he wanted to throw someone out the window.
Hayden ran a hand through his hair, muttering something that sounded a lot like “this is stupid” but didn’t push further. He glanced at me, and that look… ugh, the guilt stabbed me right in the chest.
I gave him a tiny smile, silently mouthing, thank you.
He didn’t smile back, but he didn’t blow everything up either. So… I’d take it.
Relief washed over me so hard I almost melted into the bed. Maybe—just maybe—I’d survive this day without losing a brother or a boyfriend. Or, well… boyfriends. Plural.
The door creaked open and a nurse walked in, breaking the tension. “Visiting hours end in an hour,” she said politely before handing Phoenix a cup with pills and a bottle of water.
Phoenix took them without a word, still eyeing Hayden like he was a ticking bomb. After a few minutes, the meds started working and Phoenix’s eyelids grew heavy. Within seconds, he was out cold, breathing slow and steady.
Thank. Goddess.
Mom still hadn’t come back yet, and Zion offered to grab some snacks. Adonis followed him, leaving me alone with Hayden and Finley.
Big mistake.
The second the door clicked shut behind them, Hayden crossed the room in two strides and grabbed my wrist. His touch sent shivers up my arm.
“Hayden—” I started, but his lips crashed into mine before I could finish.
My breath hitched. His kiss was deep, hungry, like he’d been holding back since the second he walked in. I melted against him without thinking, my fingers tangling in his hair as his other hand slid to my waist.
And then—oh Goddess—Finley moved in from the side, brushing his lips along my jaw before catching my mouth in a softer, sweeter kiss when Hayden finally let me breathe.
I gasped against Finley’s lips, my head spinning. “W-What are you guys doing?!”
Hayden smirked, his thumb brushing my cheek as he whispered, “Making up for lost time.”
I blinked at him, completely dazed. “How… how do you even—”
“Zion taught me,” he said, dead serious, like that was the most normal sentence in the world.
My brain short-circuited. Zion… taught him… how to kiss?!
Finley chuckled against my neck, his warm breath making me shiver. “Figures. Hayden used to kiss like a robot.”
Hayden shot him a death glare. “Shut up, pretty boy.”
“Oh, I’m pretty?” Finley teased, grinning like a devil. “Thanks, man. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Hayden scoffed. “Don’t get cocky. You’re not half as good as me.”
“Oh really?” Finley leaned in, kissing the side of my throat just to prove a point. “She doesn’t seem to think so.”
I groaned, pushing at both of them weakly. “Guys! Stop fighting like I’m some… some prize in a video game!”
“Not fighting,” Hayden said smoothly, capturing my lips again in another fierce kiss. “Just proving a point.”
“Unbelievable,” I muttered, but the words got swallowed when Finley kissed me again, this time gentle, slow—like he was trying to erase Hayden’s roughness with tenderness.
Hayden growled low in his throat. “Show-off.”
“And you’re a caveman,” Finley shot back with a grin.
Their bickering was driving me insane. “Enough!” I snapped, shoving them both an inch away, my cheeks flaming. “You’re giving me whiplash!”
Finley just laughed softly and cupped my face, his voice dropping to a soothing murmur. “Breathe, baby. We’re not gonna hurt you.”
My heart skipped a beat at the softness in his tone. I hated how much that calmed me.
Hayden muttered something under his breath—probably another insult—but didn’t back off. Instead, he slid his arm around my waist and kissed me again, slower this time, his lips coaxing mine open like he was apologizing through the kiss.
I didn’t even have time to catch my breath before Finley claimed the other side of my neck, his tongue tracing a line that made me shiver down to my toes.
And that’s exactly when the door burst open.
Zion walked in first, holding a soda can, and froze mid-step. “Whoa. Okay. Not what I expected.”
Adonis came right behind him, and his expression shifted. One second calm, the next… dark. His eyes burned with something primal, and before I could even react, he was there, pulling me from Hayden and crushing his mouth to mine.
I gasped, my mind blanking completely as his kiss consumed me, all heat and dominance, nothing like Hayden’s fire or Finley’s tenderness.
Hayden swore under his breath. Finley just muttered, “Here we go…”
And then Zion—sweet, goofy Zion—actually turned red. “Seriously? In a hospital? Guys, there are children here! Probably. Somewhere.”
No one listened. Not even me, and I hated myself for it. My hands clutched Adonis’s shirt as his lips devoured mine, until—
“Phoebe?”
That voice. That one voice that could freeze my soul in an instant.
I ripped away from Adonis and turned toward the door.
Mom stood there, a bag of clothes dangling from her hand, her eyes wide as dinner plates.
I swear my heart stopped.
The room went dead silent. Four guys. One me. All of us looking like we just got caught committing a felony.
“Oh… my… Goddess,” I whispered.