Page 85 of Roses and Skulls

He sits back, his brows pulling together. “No,” he whispers to himself.

Lanie sounded so hateful last night. How did I miss it? Has she always hated me? “I heard her talking on the phone to someone about me… and you.”

“My mother…” he growls, running his fingers through his dark hair.

My knee bounces and I begin picking at my nails, slowly ripping off a hangnail. I close my eyes, wishing I would have kept my mouth shut.

“But there’s no way. She didn’t know that Bill was going to be picking you up that night. He was supposed to be coming home from the bar after closing.” I’m not sure if he is trying to convince me or himself. “No. She definitely didn’t know.”

He turns to me, and I can see he wants some sort of confirmation from me.

“My grandpa gave her a ride home too. If she knew what you were up to, she would have had time to call you. Did she know?” I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough I can taste blood. “Did she know what you were doing that night? Has she been in on this the whole time?”

He sighs loudly before jumping to his feet. “Why didn’t I see this before?” he says more to himself than to me.

“Did… did you make her be my friend?” I ask, a knot forming in my throat. In my heart I already know the answer.

“Women,” he mutters to himself. He wanders around the room aimlessly, ignoring my question.

I’m assuming that means yes, she became my friend on purpose.

I grab another hangnail and tug at it, trying as hard as I can to shove down the hurt I’m feeling. Lanie was my only friend in school. We laughed together, shared embarrassing stories, and now it’s almost as if she died. Only worse.

Draven punches the wall, making me jump.

He’s breathing heavily as he stares at the hole he just made in the drywall. “All my life I’ve been deceived by women, why would I think Lanie would be any different.” He turns to look at me with a sadness in his eyes that matches my own.

Hesitantly, he comes to sit by me, pulling me into his embrace. Tears track down my cheeks as he holds me close to him. I should push him away and tell him this is all his fault, but I don’t.

“I’m so sorry, little dove. So sorry.” He grabs me by my shoulders and pushes me back so he can look me in the eye. “Stay away from her, okay? Promise me you won’t go back there.”

His gaze bounces frantically over my face and I see his genuine concern. My mournful reflection rests there in the pit of his dark eyes.

“I promise,” I say softly, turning away.

“If it’s any consolation, I really did give her the money to go to culinary school… it was why she agreed to help me in the first place.”

My fingers press into my temples as I try to figure all of this out. “So, you aren’t really dating? It was all a ploy?”

He grimaces. “We had a mutual understanding. But it seems she has had a secret agenda of her own. My heart skitters when he continues, “I’ll take care of it, yeah?” he dips his head, making sure I’ve heard him. “You’re the only girl I’ve ever been able to trust.” He grips my chin and smiles at me.

Me.

Little ole me.

The one who will be the very last woman to deceive him.

And I don’t know how I feel about that anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Elijah

Tink. Tink. Tink.

Slowly my eyes blink open.

Tink. Tink. Tink.

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