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“Laurel.”

“It seemed you were more pissed about what Riot said.”

“What?”

“You stormed off right after he said he killed your brother.”

“No, fuck. It was a damn accident. Riot didn’t kill Cypress; it wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

Mal shrugged, telling her she may want to head back to the house before everyone left. River had gotten pissed and told everyone off. Mal fessed up to her added commentary which got her a smile from River. “What’s that smile for?”

“You are always being my champion.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Come on. Drag me back so I can eat a little crow.”

“A little? You think you’re eating a little crow? Girl, it’s the size of a bald eagle.” Mal tried to lighten the mood. It may have scratched the surface, but that was about as far as it went.

River smiled, Mal knew it was the best she’d get. The smile didn’t reach River’s eyes. They rarely did anymore. Matter of fact, she couldn’t think of one time in the last seven years that River’s smile had been anything but forced. That one simple thought saddened Mal more than she would ever admit.

***

Riot sat at the table inside, staring out the windows, watching River and Mal argue. Rubbing a hand across his mouth, he really felt like he could use a drink. “She’s right.”

“About?” asked Ben.

“We all deserted her. I didn’t fight for her to stay with me. I believed she left me. Laurel was always a great manipulator.”

“We were all a mess. If you don’t remember, let me remind you of a few things: Jason and I drove straight through the crash. We saw…” He shook his head. “I can hardly go to that damn track without reliving that day. If I didn’t have had Jason, I don’t think I would be here.” They were all friends, brothers. “River’s right, Fisher and Cypress died, and you checked out. We all checked out on each other.” Michael wasn’t known to beat around the bush. He was known to hit below the belt. Patronizing Riot wouldn’t do him nor them any good at that moment.

“I live with that,” Riot said quietly.

“Tell us why you think you are responsible for Cypress’s death.”

Covering his eyes with one hand, Riot rested his elbows on the table. He didn’t want to say it out loud. Fuck, he relived it almost every night. Coming out of the turn, he saw Fisher’s tire blow his car went airborne. Twisting, it slammed into Cypress. At that moment, Riot blew past the wreckage before he got clear, and Cypress slammed into him. “I watched his car come at me. I looked in his eyes as his head slammed to the side on impact. I knew in that second that his neck had broken. His eyes were still open, and they held no life in them.”

River stood in the doorway, listening to Riot tell what happened that damn day. She realized everything was based on perception. Each person in that house had their own perception of the events.

“It was an accident,” River said from the doorway. She had cooled down, realizing it must have looked like she left upset at Riot, when in fact it was the fact she was about to lose everything, and Laurel had it all.

“If I would have slowed down…”

“How could you have known?” Taking a deep breath, she stepped back inside and went straight to him. They would and could get through this. “You keep asking me to trust you, Riot. You have to trust me as well. If there is anything else, and I meananythingelse, let’s be finished with it all.”

He turned to her. His hands reached out, pulling her to him so he could rest his head against her. There was nothing left to tell. Rubbing his face against her shirt, he managed to wipe away the few tears that had escaped. “That’s all of it,” he mumbled against her.

Her poor Riot, barely holding himself together, trusting her to hold on to him while he grappled with his emotions. It was time to put the past in its place and looked to the future. It had been an emotional afternoon, but she was thankful it was all out on the table. No more secrets.

Everyone relaxed except Riot, who seemed to be holding on to River like a lifeline. They had no idea how that one moment had screwed him up and allowed his whole life to be taken from him for years. They all had their memories and their nightmares. He just needed to keep telling himself he was Johnny ‘Riot’ Meniere and maybe, just maybe, one day it would truly sink in. Trying to get Riot to refocus, to bring him out of whatever hell his head was still in, Jason started talking about another charity event. Everyone groaned at the thought.

Late in the evening River stepped outside catching her breath for the first time since earlier in the day. She had convinced everyone to stay the night after the third bottle of wine was finished. It had been a nice evening lounging around the pool, eating and drinking wine. Now she wanted a few minutes to stare at the stars while the world seemed quiet.

Dipping a toe in the pool, she found it warm and inviting. She glanced back at the house and could see Riot and Dan talking at the table while Mal rummaged for more food in the fridge. She knew Michael and Jason had retired for the evening.

The lights from the house would keep away prying eyes so, thinking it was too good an evening not for a little dip in the pool, she started stripping out of her clothes. Her foot got caught in her jeans as Michael asked, “Are you going down to the buff?”

“Busted.” With nothing to worry about from Michael, River stripped to her bra and panties which covered more than any one of her bathing suits. “I was thinking it might be a nice evening for a dip.”

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