Bombshells ~ Complete

Chapter Eight: Alarm Bells

Two days passed by. Kas and I were always hanging around each other, checking each other for new bruises but not verbally asking about anything other than homework. But I knew she knew that I cared.

It was just hard talking about it.

"Ari!" Zander came sprinting into my room, without a shirt and smiling. I confusedly smiled back at him, but then raised an eyebrow.

Yeah, they came up with their own nickname for me. It wasn't all that unique or strange, but it was mine and that was all that mattered.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked calmly, looking him up and down for injuries. I slipped my bookmark into my book and set it beside me on the bed when he opened his mouth to start talking.

"So, me and the boys are all having a prank war. Want to join?" He asked. My lips parted in confusion. What on God's green earth was a prank war? And did the boys only include the brothers or did it include their friends who had been hanging around all week?

"What is a prank war?" I asked incredulously, only thinking of the horrors it could include. My father pranked me once. I ended up with a broken nose and a cracked tooth. What was this?

Zander's face fell into his hands as he shook his head. One of his friends, Jake, I think, ran into my room. His eyes widened when he caught sight of me. I guess he wasn't quite expecting such a small and fragile looking girl to be living in this house.

"Jake, please explain to my dearly deprived little sister exactly what a prank war is." Zander said, his voice muffled.

I cocked my head and sat up more attentively, willing to learn.

"Guys, come on! Carter is a mastermind and we're kinda dying out here!" Nathaniel yelled from downstairs.

Who the heck was Carter?

"Do you think we could use the idiot princess over here as a truce?" Jake asked, his voice harsh and cold.

Okay, when did he become a jerk?

Zander's head snapped towards him.

"Watch your mouth. But, yeah, I think we could." Zander tapped his chin in thought. I was still very confused.

"What am I doing, exactly?" I asked. Zander smiled at me softly before running towards the door. Jake has already left.

"Sit there and look adorable, like always. Nate, calm down! We have to explain the rules to Ari!" Zander then took off down the stairs. I followed him at a much slower, and cautious pace.

Then, suddenly, there was someone racing upstairs, looking behind them. I felt whoever it was crush into my front, then I felt my feet slip from out from under me.

Then I felt the floor. But it was softer than I imagined. Not exactly soft, not really. Just... Muscular?

I looked down into a pair of bright greenish-blue, ocean eyes. Wow. Black, floppy hair with goldenish blond tips that curled over his eyes. A perfect nose, perfect pink lips, and a jawline that could cut diamond.

Okay. Perfect people really did exist.

"I'm so sorry." He laughed, picking himself off the floor. I dumbly nodded and winced as I stood up. My ankle had caught on something when he rammed into me and had snapped into an awkward position.

"It's alright. Basically no harm done." I whispered with a slight laugh while looking at my ankle.

It looked sorta broken.

"Oh my God!" He whispered, and next thing I knew I was in his arms. Bridal style.

This had never happened before. Where did I put my arms? I didn't even know his name, so I couldn't very well put my arms around his neck. I'll just keep them in my lap.

"Um, guys! I think I might have broken your little sister!" The guy, whom I still didn't know the name of, yelled into the living room as we got closer.

I was not expecting a flurry of activity. All of the Steel boys were suddenly surrounding me, checking and worrying.

I wiggled out of the guys arms and relaxed when I could finally put my own two feet on the ground.

"It looks broken!" Jaydon gasped, staring down at my ankle. I rolled my eyes. Yes, my ankle may have been pointing a weird way and was quickly turning black and purple, but that didn't mean it was broken.

Who was I kidding? It was definitely broken. I'd felt the pain enough to know that.

"It'll be fine in a couple days. Anyways, there are three people in the room who I haven't met. Now, introduce me, you Neanderthals." I shocked myself with my new levels of confidence.

"This is Peggy, Jake's little sister who hangs out with us a bunch." Gabriel said, pointing at a gorgeous girl with brown hair and bright blue eyes. "This is Liam." He then pointed at a rather attractive black boy who was taller than almost anyone I'd ever met before. And then Gabriel pointed at the amazingly hot boy who carried me. "And that's Carter."

Oh, okay. Carter. That's... Somehow innocent compared to his mischievous eyes.

"I'm Ariel." I whispered, going straight back to shy. Peggy awed over me.

"She's so cute! Except that ankle, girl. I've seen enough broken bones from the boys to know when something's broken. That's broken." Peggy told me, grimacing at the sight.

Lila walked into the room, saw everyone, and hung up her call. She sighed and pushed through the people who were swarming me to get a closer look. She looked like she was dying on the inside when she finally noticed my ankle.

"To the hospital, again. When is this going to stop?" She asked. I laughed a little at her exasperation.

Wait.

Hospital?

Oh, God, I'm gonna die. When you go to hospitals when you break bones, you get x-rays. When you get x-rays, they see all the former breaks and fractures.

Then they tell people that you've had several other broken bones, but you have no record of other hospital visits. Oh, God. I'm gonna die!

"Seriously, no thanks. I'll be fine in a couple hours." I sounded frantic to my own ears. I couldn't even imagine how I sounded to other people.

Lila picked up her keys.

"I'm not budging. Come on." Lila said and walked out the door.

I was picked up into someone's arms, bridal style, and was taken to the car. I looked behind me, and my arms unintentionally wrapped around Carter's neck.

The car started and I could I could hear alarm bells ringing in the back of my head.