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“It’s nothing, Beck.” I sighed, rubbing my tired eyes. “I swear, I’m not in trouble or anything. I don’t demand to know everything in your personal life, so don’t do it to me. Please.”

She assessed me for a second before her shoulders relaxed and she reached out to give my arm a gentle squeeze. “You’d tell me if you needed help, right? No matter what?”

I nodded, not wanting to speak and lie straight to her face. I’d never drag my family into my own drama unless it involved crews. This shit would blow over fast anyway.

ChapterNine

Luna

“Hey!” Riley called out as she jogged towards me in front of the college, confusion in her eyes. “I heard from Ry this morning that you moved out. What happened?”

"Who told him that? I’m just spending a few days at Stan’s house.” I frowned, surprised that she knew. I’d hardly had any sleep, spending most of the night hating myself for upsetting Dad.

Stan had woken me up after a few hours of sleep to tell me I was running late for school, so I was already exhausted.

Riley huffed, raking her fingers through her blonde hair. She looked tired too. “Tempest told him when they were at some party together last night. He told me over breakfast. Why are you avoiding home? Did you and your dad have a huge fight about you driving?”

“It was a last-minute idea for space.” I shrugged, walking towards class and changing the subject. "Why do you look like shit?”

She hesitated, her face tightening as she considered whether or not to tell me. I hated it when she did that because it meant she didn’t trust me enough to keep her secrets. We’d never had secrets until the last few years.

She finally let out a sigh. “I had a long night. Got caught up in some shit in Crestford.”

“Are you alright? What kind of shit?” I asked with concern, running my gaze over her as we walked. She didn’t seem to be hurt, but Riley was good at masking her pain.

“I was hanging out with a friend who has some dodgy jobs,” she answered vaguely, glancing around to make sure no one was too close to hear us. “Some Crestford kids were playing wannabe gangster and followed us. They didn’t know it was me until we’d had a major shootout and a car explosion. Then some of my dads arrived, which meant I got one hell of an interrogation when I got home. I’m fine, but the Supra’s got bullet holes and some dents from the explosion.”

“You sure you didn’t get hurt?” I demanded, grabbing her arm and pushing the sleeve of her hoodie away from her skin to inspect it for damage, doing the same to her other arm.

She chuckled lightly, letting me run my hands over her. “Damn, Lou. I’ll get shot at more often if it means you’ll put your hands on me.”

“This is serious,” I bit out, but she draped her arm around my shoulders to pull me into her side.

“You worry too much. I didn’t get hit. There weren’t even that many bullets that hit my car. They sucked at aiming.” She laughed as if getting shot at was normal. “But it’s adorable that you’re so worried.”

“Who were you hanging out with in the first place?”

“Turbo. Well, his real name’s Ander.”

“Never heard of him.”

“I’m not surprised. Your daddy wouldn’t let you play with someone like him,” she teased.

“How do you know him? You’ve never mentioned him before,” I asked as jealousy sparked inside of me, and I almost scolded myself for being rude. If she was opening up to other people, that was a good thing.

I wouldn’t feel so bad about spending time with Stanley if Riley had other friends to hang out with, so why did I hate the thought so much?

“He’s just some guy. It’s not a big deal,” she said sharply as she walked ahead, sitting down at her desk and pulling her notebook out. She didn’t strike up a conversation again, so I left her alone. It was obviously something that she was going to be secretive about.

She ignored me throughout our lecture, but I couldn’t focus on what the professor was saying anyway. I didn’t know I’d zoned out until hands dropped down onto my shoulders gently, giving me a squeeze as Ryder’s voice reached me.

“Hey, Luney. Is my sister being a bitch again?”

“No. Why?” I mumbled tiredly, glancing at Riley’s desk to find her gone. I hadn’t even noticed her leaving.

I glanced around the room, finding most people had already left and I was one of the only people still sitting here.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked as he dragged a chair closer and sat down backwards on it, resting his forearms on the back of it. “You look sad.”