AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You okay?” I murmur into his hair after a while.
For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. Eventually, he nods.
Another few minutes pass before he says, “It’s always been too much with you,” in a low voice. “So fucking much.”
His fingertips slide up my chest to my neck.
“You scare the shit out of me,” he says.
A laugh bursts out of me, raw and honest.
“Ditto,” I say.
He nods, head moving up and down against my chest.
“Good. I’d hate to be the only one.”
LAKE
My biggest mistake is I stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Life has teeth sharper than a piranha, and for a decade, I’ve been looking over my shoulder, expecting those motherfuckers to sink into my ass.
But then I got distracted. And the more distracted I got, the more I lowered my defenses, which is not good.
My whole philosophy in life is to expect the worst, because then I’m prepared. If the worst happens, I’m not caught off guard because I already knew it would. I can take the hits if I can see them coming. If I’m given time to put on armor.
But then with Ryker… I let my guard down.
I’m awaken by a loud, shrill noise. It takes me a moment to figure out it’s my phone. It takes me another moment to figure out it won’t stop on its own.
“Tell whoever it is to jump off a cliff,” Ryker mutters, burying his forehead into my back.
“Gladly,” I say, and yawn so widely my jaw cracks and my eyes water. Which is why it takes me a moment to make out the name on the display. I rub the heel of my hand over my eyes.
Mom.
I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks. I tried to call her a few days ago, but she didn’t pick up and never called back. I guess she figured this is as good a time as any to return the call.
I sit up and ignore the warmth that blooms in my chest at Ryker’s mumbled protest.
“Come back,” he mutters, and tries to pull me back down.
I roll my eyes, hide the smile, and drop my pillow over his face. “Go back to sleep.”
I pick up the phone again.
“Hey,” I say quietly. “Give me a sec.”
I go and stand next to the front door, hoping the short wall that separates the living area from the small hallway will muffle my voice at least a little bit.
“Honey!”
Somebody’s jovial for—I pull the phone away from my ear and glance at the time—two in the freaking morning.
I sigh.
“Hey, Mom,” I say, voice down to almost a whisper.
