Chapter 160
I smiled at him and stood on my tiptoes to press a brief kiss on his cheek.
My lips lingered for a second too long and the sound of a car horn blaring finally pulled me away.
I rolled my eyes at Preston's impatience but Adam's eyes were a fraction wider as he looked at me.
"What was that for?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"A gesture of gratitude," I smiled at him before leading the way out of the house.
I felt my duffel bag being tugged at and turned to look at Adam pulling at the strap of the bag. A year ago, I would've held onto the bag. I would've feared that letting someone else carry it may induce dependency in me.
Dependency was something that I denied myself since Bryant died.
I didn't want to depend on anyone else; I didn't want to make anyone my pillar; in fear that they'd be snatched away from me and leave me crumbling into a helpless heap on the ground.
But as I looked at Adam's face, I found myself letting go of the duffel bag and I watched him sling it over his broad shoulder.
I shook myself out of the trance and continued my way down the stairs, onto the porch.
I put on a pair of shoes and hopped into Preston's car with Adam following closely behind.
The brothers sat on the front seats of the car while I lounged on the back seat, enjoying the space I had to myself.
"What took you so long?" Preston grumbled, putting the car on reverse and pulling out of my driveway.
I didn't bother answering and it seemed like Adam had the same idea as silence filled the car. Preston and Adam insisted that they picked me up and drive me to the fight tonight since it was the
fight. I would be lying if I claimed that I didn't appreciate their support.
As Adam tried to put on a good song in the car, Preston glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
"How're you feeling, Case?"
I averted my eyes from the blurred scenery outside the car window to the mirror and gave Preston a small smile.
"Thanks for coming with, guys." I told them, knowing fully well that I wasn't subtle in avoiding Preston's question.
Fortunately, Preston dropped the subject.
"It's not too late to back out, Case." Preston uttered so lowly that I barely caught it and I shook my head as Adam whacked his brother on the chest lightly.
"Dude! Have you not heard of not hitting the driver?!" Preston exclaimed in mock outrage as he gave Adam a brief glare before looking back at the road.
"I'm doing this, Pres." I told Preston, making sure my voice didn't waver.
Adam turned to his brother and glared at him pointedly, "And she's going to kick ass too."
The edges of my lips pulled up into a smile at Adam's input.
"Well I'm glad you guys made up," Preston teased. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I looked out the window once more to avoid any confrontation regarding what Preston almost witnessed earlier.
"Shut up," Adam mumbled.
"I know you don't remember this, little brother, so I'm going to repeat what I told you when you first brought Case home. Don't forget the con-" Luckily, Adam cut him off before he could finish that word with a threat that shut Preston up for good.
"Finish that sentence and I will tell Maddison that you pissed your bed two nights ago."
That was all it took to shut Preston up and I pursed my lips together to hold in the laugh that was trying to escape.
Oh, that's such a priceless blackmail material.
Preston was already turning into a bright red. I was scared he'd crash the car into a tree or something if I started guffawing, so I tried my best to stay quiet and cover up my amusement with coughs that made me sound like I was losing my soul.
The rest of the car ride was silent and it gave me time to sort out my thoughts.
I needed to be Pixie tonight. I needed to be extra Pixie. I scoffed mentally at myself.
What was I making myself out to be? A metahuman?
When we finally reached the big tent where the competition's basecamp, I got out of the car and made my way to the back entrance where a burly guy stood guard. The boys followed closely behind me.
I flashed the guard my ID and he opened the door for us, letting all three of us walk through as the door shut close behind us.
