Page 22 of Four Times Forever

"Yeah, right. So did you handle it or what? Did you have something to do with the bodies being found? Are you wearing a wire?" Wild-eyed, Ryan steps to me. Instinct has me tensing and ready to attack. Matt slaps a hand to his chest.

"Don't you fucking ruin this day for Lily." He commands and like a puppy with his tail between his legs, Ryan backs off. I note how red his eyes are and how he shakes ever so slightly, like there's a constant subtle vibration on the surface of his skin. His beard is bushier than I remember it and he keeps eyeing my champagne.

"Geez, buddy. Looks like you need this drink more than me. Have at it and chill out." I wave at the table.

All of their gazes darken and they look at me like I just told him to jump off a cliff.

"You did this to me." Ryan growls before storming off.

It's surprising when it hits me. Guilt.

"What's the matter with him?" My eyes follow him as he disappears down the hall. Matt follows after him.

"Like you care." Ethan scoffs. "Why did you really come here? To make sure we don't say anything?"

"Fellas." I throw my hand up in defeat. "Would you like me to make up an excuse and leave?"

"No," Eric interjected. "What I want to know is if you dealt with it, what's the plan? Because we're trying our very best to take your flimsy advice and lay low, but you see that woman in there? She's my life. I can't lose her. This needs to stay buried." Eric spoke between gritted teeth before downing a glass of champagne in one gulp.

"It's best we don't get mixed up in any more of his plans, since we can't trust him as far as we can throw him," Ethan narrowed his eyes.

I had to say, his words landed.

"Look, it's not that I don't want to go barging in and threaten whoever I need to, to make sure no evidence is revealed." Especially since I found out Lily's second kidnapper, Carter, was a Colombine. "But I cleaned the bodies well. Okay?" I moved closer to them. "And I promised my wife, the woman I can't lose, that I'll leave this lifestyle behind. So we just have to trust that they don't have any evidence that points to us. And if they come for us, don't crack under pressure."

"Ha!" Ethan scoffed. "Get out of my fucking face before I really lose my cool. Trust! You?"

I could have reminded him who he was threatening and taken offense to his words, but it turned out I had a conscience. Today was supposed to be their day, and by the looks of it, I had already ruined their lives. I lost nothing by walking out of there.

I had already come up with an excuse in my head when Lily screamed and clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry," she mumbled, flicking glances between me and my wife who didn't know I was behind her.

"Pipe down. Tyler doesn't know I'm pregnant," she squealed. "Damn, I don't want to take the spotlight away from your big day. I just found out and needed to tell someone."

Lily winced. "Um. He knows now." She pointed at me.

My wife spun around. 'Walking on Sunshine' started playing in my head for some reason. Odd genre of music to start playing in the radio of my mind. It's not like I listened to that type of music. Okay, I was lying. It's a fucking banger and the perfect soundtrack for the news. Only, it was accompanied by a haunting remix. Because, now, everything had changed.

Chapter 17

Lily

"Ugh, my feet are killing me." I flopped into the soft hug of the sofa.

Matt grinned, helping the guys clear away the empty glasses from the display tables in the living room.

"Give me a second, I'll come rub your feet," he offered.

I groaned. "That sounds amazing. Today was a great day, huh? You were right, Eric, about us needing this. How are you feeling, Ryan? Did it cheer you up?"

He'd disappeared for a couple of hours before returning toward the end of the party, but he didn't look drunk. Shaken, sure. Shell-shocked, yeah. But I'm sure I looked batshit crazy when I was going through withdrawal. The shakes, the hot and cold. Oh, man, the nausea. The paranoia and hallucinations. The need to climb out of my skin. Ick. I shivered just thinking about it. I didn't envy where he was at, but I didn't want him to feel isolated either.

It was his idea to go cold turkey today. He woke up inspired with the need to prove that he could stop drinking anytime he wanted. And hey, who was I to say that he couldn't? He had my support.

Ryan attempted a smile for my benefit, but it strained against his teeth. "I'm alright."

"You sure?" I asked.

He swallowed and creased his forehead. "Yeah."

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