Page 172

“Sounds serious.” Ryder chuckled, giving me a smile. “You two doing okay? I heard you made it official and got rid of that idiot permanently. Good for you.”

“He won’t be back. Another thing we can thank Ander for,” Riley said with a dark smirk, and Ryder let out a huff.

“You can’t just make people vanish because you hate them, Riley.” If only he knew the truth. That was also something we didn’t want to throw at him any time soon.

“I need to pee,” Riley announced, waggling a finger at us. “You two behave while I’m gone. Don’t run off together.”

“I’ll try really hard not to bust him out of here,” I joked, knowing this place was like Fort Knox. There was no way in hell anyone was breaking out or getting in this place.

Once she was gone, Ryder motioned to the patio. “Want to sit outside? It’s really nice out there at this time of day.”

I nodded, following him into the sun where we got comfortable on some chairs around a table. The windows surrounded the building here, so Riley would see us when she came back.

“You doing okay?” I asked, leaning back in my chair to study him. “I hate that you’re stuck here, but I’m also glad that you are. It’s helping?”

He gave me his playboy smile, relaxing me slightly. He was going to be okay.

“Yeah, Luney. I’m doing good. It’s not too bad here, actually. The group sessions suck, but we do a heap of fun shit when we don’t have addict shit to do. It’s not the same as being at the track or having movie nights at home with your guys though. Then again, there’s one girl in here who’s hot as fuck. She blew me last week and I swear, it’s been so long I only lasted seconds.”

I screwed my nose up, giving him a disgusted look. “Ew, asshole. When do you get out?”

“I only have a month left. Didn’t Tempest tell you?” he asked with confusion, my eyebrows flying up to my hairline.

“My sister’s visited you?”

“Well, yeah. She’s stopped by a handful of times now. You didn’t know?”

I shook my head, cringing. “What do you guys talk about?”

Tempest wouldn’t give a shit about keeping things a secret from him, but if she’d told him about the chaos we’d been dealing with at home, he sure wasn’t acting like it.

“Jealous?” He grinned. “We mainly talk about my recovery, and that she’s dealing with some shit. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, I was just wondering. I’m worried about her a little because she’s rarely home and parties a lot. She doesn’t have you looking out for her now either.” I frowned, a sigh leaving him.

“Look, I don’t spend as much time with her as you think. We aren’t even at the same parties most of the time. Don’t tell her I told you, but she’s trying to sort herself out. She’s just not at home because it triggers her. I won’t tell you the exact things she tells me, because as much as I love you, she’s confided in me and trusted that I’d keep it between us. I hope you know that.”

He looked torn, so I quickly smiled. “I totally understand. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad she’s telling someone. I really am grateful that you let her open up so much. Make sure you put yourself first though. You’re in here to focus on yourself, so don’t get caught up in her problems. If she needs more help, convince her to get professional help. It’s not up to you to save her, Ry.”

“You think too highly of me if you think I’m trying to save her.” He laughed lightly, but it sounded sad. “If anything, I’m everything she should stay away from.”

“You mean a lot to her.”

He held my gaze, his voice quiet. “I know, but drugs mean a lot to me, and look where I ended up. Some types of love are toxic, Luney, and it can be easy to drown in another person's misery when you can relate to it.”

He went quiet, and I knew I had to change the subject. I didn’t want to upset him.

“Want to see a picture of my new car? Riley bought me a new one since my old one got blown up.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket, finding a photo to show him. “It’s pretty, right?”

He took the phone, running his eyes over it with a small smile. “Did you choose it? Or did Riley pick it out?”

“She surprised me with it. Why?”

“It’s the same color as her eyes.” He chuckled, handing the phone back. “I bet that was on purpose.”

“She’s way too possessive,” I grumbled, putting it back in my pocket, and making him snicker.