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Pity leaves.
Pity returns.
“What are you talking about?” Maddox asks as he slides closer. “You’re tough, too. Look at you sitting tall after the shit you’ve been through.”
Really should have kept my mouth shut. I don’t want any more pity and I need to quit feeling it myself. My rumbling stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten today, so I use that as an out. “Are you hungry? I’m starving.”
“Sure. I could eat.”
“Pizza at the student center?”
Maddox grabs my thigh and squeezes. “It’s a date.”
Giddiness replaces the hunger pangs inside me and my body flushes with heat. “I guess it is.”
* * *
“So, at this point, Ridge is running through the house naked with his eyes closed. He runs smack-dab into the refrigerator and cuts himself on one of my mom’s magnets.”
My stomach literally aches from laughing so hard. “I guess that’s what he gets for stripping down in your mom’s bathroom.”
“In his defense, he had no idea she was in bed with my dad. At least, that’s what he claims.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if he lied and was actually trying to get with your mom.”
“Nah. I don’t think he’s ever had any interest in my mom; she was like a mom to him. Besides, he claimed his eyes burned for days after that.”
I take another bite of my pizza, thoughts now on Ridge. The guy has been through so much and part of me thinks I should cut him some slack.
“You don’t like him much, do you?”
“Ridge?” My eyebrows perk up. “I don’t know him. The only version he’s ever given me of himself is the obsessive, control-freak version.”
“There’s more to him than meets the eye. Ridge is the most loyal human being to grace this earth.” Maddox lifts his glass of soda in the air. “I can promise you that.”
“Yeah. Well, at what point do I get to see it? Because he’s given me no inclination that inside him is an actual beating heart.”
“Really? Because I’m certain all of his possessive ways are proof that he has one. If anything, it shows how big his heart really is. And it’s full of love for you.”
“Love?” I gag. “He doesn’t love me.”
“Ridge loves you the way Ridge knows how to love. It’s messy and chaotic. A bit distorted and morbid. But I can guarantee you’re the safest in his presence.”
I take a sip of my lemonade, then set it back down while licking my sour lips. “And what about you? Am I safe in your presence?”
“Fuck yeah,” he sings. “I’ll keep you safe.” Maddox reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “Things aren’t always what they seem, Riley. There’s a lot of shit us guys have to go through that we can’t speak on. But believe me when I say, no one is working harder for you than Ridge and me.”
I’m not sure what he means by that, but for some reason, I find comfort in it.
My eyes slide over Maddox’s shoulder, when a dark, shadowy figure appears outside the main doors. They open up, and in steps Lev.
I’m immediately reminded of how awful he was to me at the party last night. “What about him?” I tip my chin and Maddox follows my gaze to where Lev is strutting toward us. “Should I feel safe in his presence?”
Maddox turns his head back around. “No. In fact, it’s best if you just avoid that one. He’s good to some, but not many.”
Lev’s stare never leaves me. Even when I look away for a second, I return to feel the heat of his glowering eyes. They burn into my skin like a branding iron. Leaving an imprint that won’t soon fade.
Once he reaches us, he grabs the chair beside me and spins it around, inviting himself to our table. His hands lock together on top of it and he leans forward slightly, invading my personal space.
