Page 22 of Selfless

RYDER

I sit behind my desk. I never left as my father told me to. Thankfully, he stayed in his office all day making phone calls and avoided going home like always. Not sure why it’s okay for him to do it but not me. The sun has finally gone down, and I have my lights off as I did earlier. I heard my father leave an hour ago without even saying bye. So maybe he has realized I’m a lost cause.

I hear my door open, and I guess I was wrong. “Go away,” I growl, hugging a bottle of whiskey. My father had said he didn’t care if I spent my entire weekend drowning in a bottle of booze, and that thought sounded appealing.

The light flips on, and I groan as I close my eyes. “Your father said I needed to come pick you up.”

I look up and peel one eye open to see Milton standing there. “Go away,” I repeat.

He shakes his head. “I’m not leaving unless you come with me.”

I sigh but manage to get up, bringing the bottle with me. We make our way downstairs, and I crawl into the back of my Escalade. “I saw your sister tonight,” he tells me.

“Oh, yeah?” I ask. “What’s she up to?” Not really caring but the normal, non-brokenhearted Ryder would care.

“She and Ashlyn needed a ride.”

At the sound of her name, I take another drink from the bottle. “To where?” I ask, already regretting it. I shouldn’t care where she was going.

“They were going to Seven Deadly Sins.”

I know that place. Well, I’ve never been there, but I sold the property to the guy who owns the bar. It’s not in the best part of town. “Just the two of them?” I ask, wondering if they went alone. Maybe Jaycent went with them.

“No,” he answers as he switches lanes. “They had a man with them …” He pauses. “I think his name was—”

“I know who he was.” Bradley. He’s still in town? God, did he just move in with them? I take another drink.

“Nice man …”

“Milton!” I snap, running a hand over my unshaven face. “Can we please just not discuss the girls and their date?”

“Sure thing, boss,” he says, sounding unaffected by my short fuse.

I sit back in the seat and think about calling Jet to ask him to keep an eye on them, but then I talk myself out of it. It’s none of my business. But Becca is my sister. I can check up on her any time I want, and I won’t sound like a stalker. More of an older brother.

I get out of the Escalade before Milton can even open my back door and crawl out, the bottle still tightly in my grip.

“Will you need anything tomorrow, sir?” Milton asks, coming around the front of the car.

I shake my head because I don’t plan to leave my place for the rest of the weekend. “I’ll see you Monday.”

He nods and shuts my door before getting back in the Escalade and pulling away from the curb.

I make my way up the stairs and through the glass doors. Thoughts of the last time I stood here, heavy on my mind. Not sure how long it will take to get her out of my mind, but it won’t be fast enough.

I enter my apartment and walk in, not even bothering to turn my lights on. The Manhattan skyline lights my apartment enough from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Yet it suddenly feels empty. Too big. Strange, I’ve never had that problem before.

I slowly head toward my room and shut the door and then fall onto the bed. The liquor bottle still in my hand. I let out a sigh as I imagine her being here with me. Or there with him. I just want to scream at the thoughts I can’t help but stop.

Conner stands before me. He smiles, and his once white teeth are now stained with red from my punch to his face a moment ago. “So still fucking the whore, are you?” He looks at me and laughs. “You know”—he reaches up and wipes the blood from his chin—“I used to share a room with Becca right beside Ashlyn.” He leans in closer and whispers, “I used to lie awake and listen to her scream out Bradley’s name.” My heart beats so hard in my chest, my ears are pounding. “Then you had to go and fuck her.” He looks me up and down with disgust. “How does it feel to know that no matter what you do, she’ll always go back to him?”

I grind my teeth at that memory. Even that fucking bastard Conner knew that she was never going to give me more than just her body. Bradley was always gonna get the girl. I’m not sure why I ever tried.

Even after all that, I still can’t help what I do next.

I pull out my phone and dial up Jet’s number, deciding to do it after all.

He picks up after the third ring.

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