AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You have to bear with me for a few more days until Lila comes back,” I tell her grumpily.
“I don’t need a damn babysitter.”
She’s being a brat now. I roll my eyes. “I’m no babysitter, Little Wallflower.”
Riley peeks out from under her blanket. Her hair is disheveled, the loose strands falling over her face, obscuring my view of her. “Then what are you doing?”
That’s a good question. Because I…don’t know. Well, shit.
“Why are you here?” she asks tiredly, her eyes red and swollen.
“Because Lila asked me to be here.”
Her chest rattles with a shaky breath. “Go home.”
“I can’t,” I grumble. “Because if I leave, Lila will be mad. And if she gets mad, Maddox will beat my ass.”
Her pale face tightens in a grimace. “I don’t want you here out of pity, Bennett,” she says tiredly. “If you’re even capable of that.”
Suddenly, I feel irked.
I lean forward, taking her by surprise. Her mouth parts with a silent gasp when my hands settle on either side of her head. Caging her in. Like the broken-winged sparrow I captured once.
Thud. The last time we were this close, it was the night of my party. When Grayson punched me. Thud. She swallows, her delicate throat bobbing.
I’m suddenly filled with the urge to nibble on the skin of her throat, to taste her. To tease. To see what my bitemarks look like on her pale skin. Goddamn it, Riley Johnson is trouble.
“Is this what pity looks like to you?” My head lowers, bringing our faces closer. My breath fans over her pink lips. Lips that I remember tasted of clementines. “My heart is too bitter for pity, Johnson. I’m not about to go soft on you just because your precious boyfriend broke your heart. Oh wait, sorry. I mean, ex-boyfriend.”
Her eyes grow dark.“Shut up,” Riley spits out, her chin wobbling.
I don’t. Because I see it in her gaze now. The burning fire and the unmasked fury. There you are, Riley. I see you.
“You know what your problem is?” I chuckle dryly. “You were too lonely and desperate to be loved, so you held onto the first guy who was nice to you. He was gentle and you thought— there’s the perfect man for me. Now you’re nursing your broken heart, all depressed and oh poor, Riley. I don’t pity gullible girls.”
Her hands land on my chest and she shoves me with all her strength. It’s not enough to push me away, but I pull back, anyway.
She jerks up into a sitting position. “You have no right to judge me and my love,” Riley hisses, her cheeks flushing with anger.
“Oh, I’m not judging.” I flash her a brittle smile. “I’m just telling you how it is. You’re willfully blind. But that ain’t my problem.”
Riley points at the door, her finger shaking. “Get out.”
“I will, after you eat your food.” I cross my arms over my chest, waiting stubbornly.
Her chest heaves, and when she realizes I’m not budging, Riley makes a sound of indignation in the back of her throat. Something close to the snarl of a fragile cub. She reaches for the plate I made her and takes a big angry bite of her sandwich.
She chews aggressively, her eyes on me. Beautiful, dark, and frustrated.
Riley finishes the sandwich in just a few bites, and then shoves the plate at me. “Done, now leave!” she says through a mouthful.
I simply point at the water bottle on her nightstand. “Water.”
“Ugh!” She snatches the bottle and takes two sips.
Finally satisfied, I rise to my feet, straightening to my full height. There we go, job done.
Wait—
