Page 54 of Ready Or Not

But Riley isn’t here.

I grip my hair and rip, enjoying the little shock of pain. I’ve always fucked Riley to let off steam. Even the first time. The moment I got addicted to her pussy and haven’t gotten enough since.

I pace our childhood home, eventually ending up in Riley’s room.

I can’t get the first time I fucked Riley out of my head. I can’t stop thinking about that thing she said when she saw me. I thought it was no, but it sounded odd. Was she saying a name? I curse myself for brushing it off.

I sit in the house we grew up in together, thumbing through our old yearbooks. I find one Noel, but I don’t remember him, and he never interacted with Riley. I kept close tabs on everyone who did. Obsessively. Anyone she fucked in high school ended up dead, so pretty quickly, they stopped coming around her.

So who the hell was it?

I’ve known everything about Riley since she came into my life. I know her favorite music, her strange obsession with the Holocaust, and her hatred for animal farms.

But what about before?

I clench my jaw. Riley was always quiet about what happened before. I wasn’t worried about it when I met her. She was only twelve—she wouldn’t have had any other serious boyfriends or competition.

A horrible thought fills my head, and I swallow.No. She would have said something.

I snatch up my phone and hop on social media. I find her mom’s page and start scrolling through it. I go back years, shifting through endless data. I find nothing for hours. It makes me want to throw my phone against the wall. Then I scroll past a name, and my stomach drops.

Noel Callum. He’s around the same age as her mom and hasn’t updated his profile in at least ten years.

I google him. I find a Noel Callum, sent to prison ten years ago for child porn and rape, the victim being under 12.

My entire gut feels like it ignites on fire. I can’t do anything but stare at the screen.

Ten years ago, Riley was 16. Was this about her or someone else? I’ve never known Riley to work with the cops.

I scroll through his social media page, and the uncomfortable feeling starts to turn to rage. Noel posted several pictures with Pam, kissing her with his arm around her. As I scroll back, I see they were dating, so he would have had unfiltered access to Riley.

Rage boils up in me, and I see red. Why didn’t Riley tell me?

I rip my room apart. When it’s completely shredded and the walls have holes, I force myself to get back on my phone. I will find the answers, and I will make things right.

No one touches my fucking wife.

No one.

27

Side Effect - FKA Rayne

Rachel hops on the bike behind me. It’s still mid-afternoon, but we have a long trip to my next spot. It’s a spot I haven’t wanted to ever think about again.

Manson yells at me for being impulsive, but there’s a reason I don’t dwell on things. Especiallythisthing.

Rachel has started to relax on the bike. She leans back a little more now, not gripping me like I’m gonna kill us both. It’s kind of nice to have a backpack. It’s nice that she knows I hold her life in my hands, and she still gets on the bike anyway. It makes me smile.

Sure, I kinda forced her to. Po-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe.

A small animal darts into the road, and I swerve sharply to avoid hitting it. Rachel scrambles to grab me and grips me around the tits, which shoots a sick feeling through me.

As soon as I right us, she lets go and wraps her hands around my waist.

I freeze up. Fuck. The pressure on my chest brings up all kinds of old memories I want nothing to do with. Suddenly, I feel like I’m going to get sick.

I spot a picnic spot ahead and whip my bike off to the side of the road.

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