Page 87 of Prince of Pain

“What’s the point in dating then?”

“You’re dating the same girl as your three friends. It’s like that but without boundaries.”

“I guess. I’ll tell Rory I saw you with my own eyes so she knows you’re alive since your phone call before didn’t convince her. I have rich people to steal from, so I’ll see you later,” he answered, glancing over my shoulder with a grin. “Have fun with that.”

“With what?” I muttered before turning to find Slash behind me. I flipped Cruz off, making him laugh as he walked away, and I turned to face my father to try and appear as sober as possible. I hoped my eyes weren’t all fucked up. “Hey, Dad.”

“What are you doing?” he asked calmly, running his eyes over me to assess me.

“Getting some sun while Temp fixes her nails. Riley fucked them up.”

“You know your sister doesn’t start swinging without a reason.”

“The reason is that she’s a fucking psycho,” I snorted, finishing my cigarette before dropping it to crush it with my shoe. “What are you doing in Kingslake?”

“Checking up on you. You’ve been gone for a week, Ry. You’re showing signs again.”

“Signs of what? I just wanted to get out of the house to avoid the conflict,” I stated defensively, his eyes returning to mine.

“You’re twitchy, and Tempest isn’t helping. Find better friends to hang out with, and maybe we wouldn’t worry so much. She’s a wreck, and you know it.”

“She’s my girlfriend,” I stated bluntly, and he didn’t hide the frustration from his expression at my words.

“Seriously? Out of all the girls in the world, you picked that one? I like her, I watched her grow up with you kids, but she’s going to drag you down with her. Can’t you see that?” he asked carefully, not wanting to set me off.

“We get each other.”

“You mean you feed each other’s delusions and cravings. I need to know the truth. Are you back on the pills and shit? There’s no way she’s stayed clean this week, and as much as you’re strong, I don’t think anyone who’s as freshly sober as you could handle being around it and not be tempted. Eight months isn’t enough. It took the Psychos years to get that temptation out of Diesel when they got him clean. We were only kids, and watching him go through that was fucking hard.”

“Dad, I’m fine. Sure, we’ve been drinking, but we haven’t been in some kind of drug-induced haze all week.”

It was such a lie, but we’d chosen a good day to drag ourselves out of the hotel. Running into Cruz and Slash wasn’t a coincidence, they’d planned that shit and had probably been on the way to the hotel to check on us.

Slash sighed, giving me a tired look. “Come home soon, okay?”

“Is Tempest welcome? Has Riley been punished?” I asked sharply, laughing when he didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so. She has nowhere to go.”

“Not your problem. She can go to rehab and fix herself. Then she’d have a home to go to.”

“I’m not abandoning her. Not now that I’m all she has,” I said as I shook my head. “Fuck off and leave us alone. I’m twenty-two, you can’t force me to go home.”

“No, but we can limit your spending. Do you even know what this week has cost you? You’re being reckless with your money.” His phone rang, and he scowled before answering, pressing it to his ear. “What? I’m with Ry. Yes, he’s alive. Fine, I’ll be there soon.”

“Got somewhere to be?” I asked dryly, knowing whatever it was sounded important or he would’ve told them to fuck off.

“Rage wants me to stop by on the way home. Just do us a favor and call more. Your mom’s already stressing about a lot, so she shouldn’t have to stress about you.”

I guess it didn’t matter what I was feeling, as long as Mom was okay.

That was how it usually worked in our family.

“Whatever. I need to go and enjoy the time alone before meeting up with Temp again. I like her, but she’s needy.”

That made him laugh, and he stepped closer to hug me. I let him, knowing it would ease his suspicion if I played along.

“I know what you mean. Except your mom’s not needy, she’s just chaotic and I need to rest sometimes before dealing with her again.”

“You like that about her. You’d be bored otherwise.”

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