Page 55 of Scorching Lies

Her waterworks are back and in full force, but I can’t find any emotions in me. I’m numb from everything that’s happened. Pouring the milk in my bowl, I lift the spoon and take a bite. As soon as I swallow it down my stomach growls again, waking up my system and my hunger picks up ten-fold.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Only one day, but you were out the whole time so I’m not surprised you’re starving.”

I take two more bites leaving us in silence. Ally just sits there twiddling her fingers. It’s not completely uncomfortable being here with her, the company is nice, but I’m not sure if I want to forgive her no matter what she says.

“Kenna.”

She calls my name, pulling my attention away from the cereal floating in my bowl. Chewing through the bite I just took, she waits for me to fully look at her.

“There are things you don’t know about me. I don’t have money.” She looks down to pick at her nails. “I’m only here because of the Stone brothers. They pulled me from a shitty situation and placed me here. I didn’t know you or the history between the families. I’m only here to earn a place at the school.”

“So they paid you?”

Money. I laugh.

“It’s always going to be about money. I should have known that’s what this would be about.”

Raising her hands she stops me, “It’s not like that. I don’t have family and I don’t come from status or an empire like you do. I don’t have a family business like they do.”

“And that means you, what, spy for money? Are you for sale? Because fuck, I could use some information of my own.” I snap.

I don’t need her help and she knows it. It’s a statement on who she is and how her loyalty is only tied to what someone can provide for her.

“You have everything you could ever ask for. You will never know what it’s like to go hungry!” She yells. “What it’s like to watch your mother suffer from working herself to death. Yeah, I accepted money for secrets, but I didn’t know you then.”

Pulling back, I push my bowl away from me, my appetite gone.

“So you didn’t know who I was yesterday?” My head tilts, my question put out there for her to mull over, her eyes growing dim with defeat.

Nodding, “I did. It’s too late for me, Kenna. I’m theirs to do with as they please. They bought me and I’ll never be able to fully break free from what I owe them. I just know that I’ll never be used against you again.”

Slapping my palms against the counter I raise my voice, “And how can I know that? Isn't it a little late for that?”

“No. No, Kenna. It’s not too late. I’m here now telling you that you can trust me. I’ll earn every inch you give me until I’m the one you come to for everything. I’ll be here, Kens.”

This is too much. My body hurts, my eyes are growing heavy, and now that I’m full my mind moves back to the pain. Remindingme of the wounds that cover my body. I step around the counter, leaving the bowl there without a fuck to give.

“Want to see what happens when someone gets too close to me?” I say.

Ally watches every step I take until I’m no longer blocked from the countertop. Rolling my shorts down, ones that Ryker must have put on me, I flash the jagged red letters on my hip. “This is who I belong to!” She sucks in a breath, eyes wide, her hand covers her mouth. A laugh forces its way up my throat. Leaning closer to her I flash her a wink.

"Don’t worry, Ally. I’ll claim what belongs to me soon and then no one will stand in my way. You want the Stone brothers to be taken down? You’re looking at the wrong Kingston.”

It’s not direct, but she gets the picture. She may have only done this to see if I could help her, but now she knows that I’ll never turn against them. We’ll break each other, but our scars are welded together. My burns are theirs and their cuts belong to me. Using me to set her free is where she is mistaken, but I don’t let her know my real plans. Ally ruined any trust we had, but maybe I can use her to my advantage.

“We’ll never be back to where we were, but we can work on it.”

Leaving her to process that I head back to the room to take a nap. Stepping past the IV that’s laying across the floor, I make my way to my bed. Without checking the time, my phone, or my wound, I crawl under the sheets. My body melts into the mattress, that short amount of time taking a lot out of me. Before I drift too far, I reach to the side and grab the single lily from the dresser, placing it on the pillow next to me. The aromafloats around me and that’s the last thing I notice as I fade into a dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

RYKER

“Rye, I have a game to get ready for.” West whines.

“The game isn’t for another three days.” I growl through clenched teeth.

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