The reminder of Jules weighs down on my shoulders, making me feel like a fucking prick, but I don’t regret it. She’ll pull away from me and it will probably kill me, but I’ll get over it, and eventually it won’t hurt so bad.
“Let me guess,” Riley says, catching his phone as I throw it back at him. “You don’t want her, but nobody else can have her either?” I glance away and he shakes his head, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. “She’s not going to like that.”
“No,” I agree. “She sure as fuck won’t.”
Riley stands and his stomach growls. “Shit, I’m raiding your fridge,” he says, walking to the door. “You hungry?”
“I could eat.”
We make our way downstairs and Riley doesn’t waste any time heading for the fridge. He pulls the doors open and his brows furrow, scanning over the contents before him. “Fuck, man. Where’s all the good shit?” he groans. “Your mom always has something good in here.”
The fuck?
I move in beside him and glance over the fridge before letting out a sigh, a heaviness sinking into my chest. “She must have been at the hospital all day again,” I murmur. “She hasn’t taken a fucking break in weeks, but she usually heads home during the day to sleep and make sure the house is in order before heading back for the night, but the last few days …”
I don’t need to continue, he knows. He always just knows.
“Why don’t you head over there, spend the night with Addie, and send your mom home. She could probably use her own bed.”
A scoff tears from the back of my throat. “She could, but there’s no way in hell she’ll actually leave. She’s terrified something will happen and she won’t be there to hold her hand. We’ll both end up crashing there and that’s not helping anyone. Besides, every time I suggest staying, she gives me the, you need your rest for football speech.”
“Shit, man,” Riley says, closing the fridge and pulling out his phone to order in. He drops down in front of the breakfast bar and props his elbows on the counter as he scrolls through his options. “You know,” he says. “All you have to do is say the word and you and I will go and deal with Jacobs ourselves. Plus, you know the boys have our backs too.”
I shake my head, desperately wishing we could go right fucking now. “Thanks, man,” I say, giving him a tight smile, “but no. As much as I hate to admit it, Mom’s right. We have to let the law handle this, otherwise all we’re doing is throwing away the futures we worked so hard for. Trust me, if there were a way, we’d already have fucked him up.”
Riley nods in understanding. “You should talk to Bri about it. She—”
“The fuck?” I demand, cutting him off. “Why the hell would I talk to her about it?”
“She went to Hope Falls,” he explains, making something Jules said flash in my head. “She mentioned something today at lunch and it didn’t seem as though she had high opinions of the football team. I don’t know, this is your business to deal with however you’re comfortable. I just think she could probably offer some insight.”
“Right,” I say, shaking my head. “Like she’ll want to sit down and chat with me about the good old days at Hope Falls after what I just did to her.”
Riley shrugs his shoulders. “Worth a shot for Addie’s sake.”
I fucking hate it when he’s right.
Not wanting to discuss it any further, I point toward his eyes. “We good?”
He grins and holds out his fist. “Solid,” he says as I bump his fist with my own. “But for the record, I fucking smashed you. You’re losing your edge.”
“Yeah?” I ask, holding my hands out wide. “I’m ready for round two if you want another black eye to match the first. Call it a two for one deal.”
Riley laughs and glances up at me, his lips pulling into a wide grin. “Speaking of two for one deals,” he says, his brows bouncing, letting me know exactly where this is going. “I swung by Mikenna’s place last night and Shantel was there.”
“Fucking hell, Riley. Tell me you didn’t.”
He laughs, looking at me with pride flashing in his eyes. “What the hell was I supposed to do? Say no? Fuck off,” he laughs. “Just because Bri has you by the balls doesn’t mean I’m not free to swing my cock around, and damn it, bro, I had them on their knees and came on both their faces like a fucking super-soaker 2000.”
A grin cracks across my face but he’s not nearly done. “Now, if you really want to put Bri behind you, I’m down to swing by Mikenna’s again. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind adding you to the mix. Just say the word and I’ll make it happen.” His eyes spring wide with excitement. “Wanna gangbang? I’m sure Jax and Huddy would be down. Trust me, they could handle it, maybe even bring a few of their friends and it can be a party.”
“Riley, dude … You’re my best friend and I’ll always have your back, but I’m not hosting a fucking orgy with you.”
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “What happened to you, bro?” he sighs dramatically. “The girl showed up and next minute, you’re plucking those big-ass balls from between your legs and handing them over. I hope you’re happy because now I have to ask Jax, and that fucker always gets way too handsy with me.”
Chapter 17
BRIELLE
Erica stumbles out of my car, already wasted before we’ve even made it to the party. I hastily climb out and lock the car behind me, and I’m left to scurry after her, making sure she doesn’t get lost in the crowd and accidentally offer herself up as the lead performer in an orgy porno.
Who knows what could happen tonight. It’s the first public party these assholes have thrown since the night that girl was hurt. Nobody really knows what happened or who was involved, just that someone attacked a girl and basically left her for dead. Nobody knows who she was or where she came from, so I can only assume that she was from out of town. Either way, it left every single girl terrified of going out.
You hear stories all the time of what could happen on a night out, and you keep yourself alert, but in the back of your head, you’re telling yourself that the chances are so slim, that it’ll never happen to you. Then BAM, the very thing you’ve been warned about happened in the very next room while you were sipping on vodka sunrises and dancing as though you didn’t have a care in the world. Just the thought of that night makes me sick.
I spent the rest of my summer being the designated driver, watching over my friends’ drinks, and opting for a movie night over going out—not that there were many options after the attack. If there was even a whisper of a gathering, the cops would knock on the door and shut that shit down, but I don’t blame them. It was certainly frustrating for some, but I was grateful. I didn’t want to see any of my friends get hurt.
School has been back for a week, and while Ilaria, Arizona, and Chanel wanted me to go out with them, when Erica told me the first public party since the attack was going down, I couldn’t resist coming to clear my name. I’ve spent the last five days insisting Colby’s bullshit comments and lies haven’t bothered me, but now that I’m about to see the people he’s been talking to, the idea of clearing my name is just too important. Hell, if I get the chance to sucker punch the asshole in the process, then even better.