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“Van sent them to me,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck, actively avoiding their stares.
“Out of the blue?” Callum asks again, scrunching his eyebrows.
“Yeah. Out of the blue.” I shrug, crossing my arms so they can’t see the tremble of my fingers.
“No idea what prompted it?” Callum asks again with more suspicion.
“No, man. I just assumed he wanted to rub it in my face that he was banging her behind our backs. You know how he was back then. He was fucking obsessed with her and following her around everywhere,” I huff, throwing my arms around. “I thought I was doing the right thing!” I shout, pulling at the ends of my hair. “I thought…”
I thought I really was doing what was best for us. She was a distraction. Someone they were willing to stay behind for.
Rad frowns, staring at me. “I get it, man. I guess. But looking back now, I don’t think we did the right thing.” He swallows hard, staring off at the dark house a few feet away from us, housing the girl we intentionally left behind. “We should have talked to her and heard what she had to say. Like now. But…”
“She probably won’t talk to us about it anymore,” Callum mumbles, rubbing his chin.
“I don’t think we did, either,” I sigh, biting into my bottom lip as the guilt tears another piece of my soul into the void of no return. I rub my hand across my aching chest, praying the acid doesn’t bubble up my throat as punishment.
One day soon, I’ll tell them. I just want more time with Lyric before I’m thrown to the side for my atrocious actions. But I don’t blame them. They’ll never forgive me. River will never forgive me. If I have to sit on the sidelines and watch them happy together, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I just need a few more happy memories to cling onto when I’m tossed to the side and forgotten about.
Callum stops, cocking his head to the side. “Did you hear that?” he asks with furrowed brows, looking into the dark shadows surrounding River’s house.
“Hear what?” Rad grunts, picking up his discarded dirt bike.
Callum’s face twists, and he shakes his head. “I thought I heard a click or tap or something.”
“All I hear is the ocean waves,” I offer, looking toward her house with a twist in my gut.
“The monsters coming for you, Cally boy?” Rad taunts, heaving his messed-up bike forward on its damaged wheels.
“Fuck off,” Cal grunts, shoving at Rad’s shoulders.
“What are we going to do about Kieran?” The three of us halt outside the open garage, listening to the silent house. All the windows appear black, hopefully meaning his grumpy ass went to bed.
“You think he knows? Like for real knows?” Callum asks, licking his lips. A deadly expression captures his face, brewing a fire behind his eyes.
Rad’s teeth grind when he throws his bike into the garage without care and growls. “I’ll fucking murder him,” he grunts, kicking the bike one more time. “If he knew…”
“Doesn’t seem like him, though.” I shake my head. “If Gloria could concoct restraining orders, then who’s to say she told him the truth?” I raise a brow when Rad and Cal exchange a look, and they sigh.
“What do we do then?” Rad asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“We don’t say anything yet. The ball is in River’s court.”
“Fine,” Rad agrees. “But if all this turns out to be bullshit, I’m reclaiming what’s mine,” he says, pointing a finger toward her dark house. “And that’s a fucking promise.” With that, Rad walks away, sauntering into the house without another word.
“What do you think?” I ask Callum, who narrows his eyes at me suspiciously.
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out.” With those foreboding words, he turns his back on me, leaving me to stew in my own fucked up mess I made, now with more complications.
The tall buildingsof East Point surround me, shining in the bright morning sunlight. I squint my eyes, taking a deep breath as I psych myself up for my rendezvous with the devil herself. Who knows if I’ll make it out alive to tell the damn tale.
All around me, people bustle by, entering the high-end stores lining the area with bright smiles on their faces and exiting with an armful of bags, giggling about their purchases. Speaking of…two stores down, two brunettes dressed to the nines in expensive clothes and jewelry stop abruptly on the sidewalk with shock splayed on their faces.
“Oh, my God,” one woman squeals ten yards away. Her big eyes widen, and her jaw drops, staring at me with awe like I’m a fucking rare God standing before them. “That’s Asher Montgomery from Whispered Words!” she hisses with excitement to her friend beside her while jumping in place.
“Oh, my God! It is!” her friend shouts, promptly covering her mouth in embarrassment as high-pitched giggles escape from behind her hand. A pinkish tint takes over her cheeks as she stares in my direction with wide eyes.
“I heard they were living closer now.” The first girl says in what she thinks is a whisper, but her voice carries loudly to my ears. Quickly, I hold in the cringe, making me want to melt away from the situation.
