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I need to have eyes everywhere, but as long as I’m looking from the outside, I’ll never be able to find what I’m looking for. I need to be on the inside.
And I’m finally being given the chance.
Tick tock…
I thought I had more time with Riley.
Tick tock…
I can’t keep my promises.
Tick tock…
Loving her was my dedication. Breaking her is my ruination.
Tick tock…
I’ve run out of time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Riley — 19 years old
The moment my phone rings, I snatch it off my nightstand and answer the call without checking the Caller ID. I don’t have to. I already know who it is.
“Hey, baby.”
“Riley.” My body melts into my bed at the sound of his deep, masculine voice over the phone. The butterflies are back, fluttering in my stomach.
Grayson makes sure to call me every night.
He has never missed a call before and he’s always punctual. We have our little moment together every night, for one hour. Long distance relationships suck. I never realized how important physical intimacy is important in a relationship until now.
And I’m not talking about sex.
I’m talking about hugs. Cuddles. Kisses. Little touches that make you feel loved.
I need those on a daily basis, but I can’t have them. Because he’s there and I’m here. It’s frustrating and depressing most days, but I don’t let that get between us. His calls make up for his absence and the loneliness that pains me.
It’s the one thing I excitedly wait for every day. It doesn’t matter if I’m stressed about school or having a bad day overall, Grayson’s call always calms me. His voice soothes my worries.
“How was your day today?” I sette back against my wall of pillows, pushing my textbook and laptop away, so I can stretch myself out in my bed.
I hear his breathing over the phone, but he’s quiet. Unusually so.
Frowning, I ask him. “Grayson? Everything okay?”
“Goldilocks—” His voice breaks off, but I already heard it in my nickname. In his tone.
Pain.
Torment.
Desolation.
I sit up, my lungs squeezing painfully. “What’s wrong?”
There’s rustling in the background, almost like he’s pacing back and forth. He’s quiet again, but then when he finally speaks… it’s with a voice I barely recognize and hollow words that can’t possibly belong to the man I love. “I can’t do this anymore, Riley.”
