Page 95 of The Lies We Steal

I jam my pencil behind my ear, pushing my sketchpad away. Crossing my arms in front of my chest and staring at the ceiling. Biting at the skin on the inside of my cheek.

“I would have let Greg kill me before I was the reason one of my daughters wound up dead.”

The product of a family who’d chosen early on which son they loved. Not just a small line of favoritism, but I wasn’t even in the running for most loved child. I questioned my existence from my youth. If they hated me so much from the second I came into the world, why would they even have me?

If Dorian was so perfect, why would they even have another kid? They got it right the first time, right?

Secrets have a way of creeping up on you in this town and the answer to that, was no different.

Even as the person who is depicted as evil in everyone’s story. I’d still sacrifice myself before harming someone I cared about.

A knock at the door stopped this conversation before it could even get started.

“It’s probably Silas.” Rook announces, hopping out of the bed to open the door.

Why would he knock though? Wouldn’t he just walk in?

The door opens slowly, Rook’s stature blocking the hallway from my vision so all I hear is his voice.

“Well, well, well, I knew you’d come knocking on the devil’s door eventually.” I can practically see the smirk on his face from here.

Briar’s snarky voice drifts into the room, making me that much more aware of my surroundings.

Rook turns to face me, jerking his thumb behind him, “That’s all you, dude.”

I take a breath, pushing myself out of the chair and walking to the cracked door. I wrap my fingers around the top, pulling it open and leaning on the frame as I stare down at Briar.

Her eyes are glued to my naked chest, taking me all in, the tattoos she hadn’t seen before, all of it, and I let her.

This allows me to watch her openly, the straight legged jeans she wears all the time, her long sleeve striped shirt that’s cut at the navel exposing the flesh of her stomach. I wonder how many guys in this dorm hall looked at that exact piece of skin as she made her way to my room.

My fingers tighten on the door, “Finished staring?” It comes out harsher than I intended, but oh well.

“Yeah, Um, Yeah, I just…cool tattoos.” She tries to cover her blatant eye fucking, failing, miserably.

I peer down at my chest piece, really the only thing on my front half, besides the coin on lower abdomen. The ram skull and thorns were something I designed myself, Shade got the honors of holding me down for the seven hours it took.

“Thanks,” I grunt, “Is there a reason you’re here? Or do you just enjoy ending up in places you shouldn’t be?” I raise my eyebrow, watching her rock back and forth on her heels.

She looks up and down the hallway making sure there is no one around, “I just wanted to say thank you.” The shit lighting in the dorm makes her eyes look dull.

I knew what she was saying thank you for, but I decided to be an asshole anyway.

“For making you come? No thanks needed,” I don’t bother fighting the smile off my face when she starts turning pink. Her round cheeks tinted and flushed.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She hisses, “I’m thanking you for Ada.”

I sigh, stepping out into the hall, shutting the door behind me and resting my back on it. My arms crossed in front of me. After we bolted from Greg’s office I had the privilege of explaining to her that before we fucked in the closet, I texted Rook to do something so we could get out of there.

I didn’t know he would burn down a courtyard tree, but it did the trick. Poor Lyra had become an accomplice to arson all because she was trying to wrestle the match out of Rook’s hand, only to knock the flame onto the gas that ignited it. This was also the reason I felt so confident giving away our position while I was buried inside of her. I couldn’t have planned for any better timing, but even if we had of gotten caught, I wasn’t worried.

Greg West was dead in my book, what was he going to do to either me or Briar if he was six feet under?

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“But it is…you know what,” She holds her hands up, like she’s stopping herself from talking by doing that, reaching into her pocket, “It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to return this, a truce of sorts,”The light catches my ring in her palm as she holds it out for me to take.

I fucking knew she had it.