Page 122 of Brutal Obsession

“So?” Riley asks me later, when my voice trails off in the middle of this part of the story. “Then what happened?”

I stare up at the ceiling. Lying flat is about the only thing that doesn’t hurt. “Cian walked away.”

“What did he say before that?” Riley shoves a fistful of popcorn into her mouth. We’ve taken over my bed with snacks, magazines, and nail polish in the hours since my little announcement to the Kings’ leaders.

“Nothing, okay?” I blow out a frustrated breath, dragging my hands over my face.“He didn’t say anything else.”

“And what about you?”

Helplessness devours me. “I didn’t say anything either.”

Riley gasps a little. “You didn’ttell him?”

I frown at her. “Tell him what?”

“That you want to elope with him and have his giant, beautiful babies.”

I must look like someone nailed me in the face with a red paintball, I blush so hard. Hand swiping out, I snatch a pillow from somewhere and smash it over my face. Too bad I don’thave enough strength or determination to smother myself to death.

My sister laughs. “What’s the big deal?” I hear her crunching more kernels. “Cian’s liked you for a while, right?”

“You don’t know that,” I whine, kicking my legs as much as I can.

I don’t need to see her face to hear her smile.

Letting the pillow slide off, I again fix my eyes on the ceiling, twenty feet above us. Just smooth white plaster. “What do I do, Ry?”

“Only you can answer that question.”

“Thanks, Oprah.” I reach toward her, groping around in the bowl for popcorn. For a few minutes, we chew in silence, enjoying one of our top three favorite snack foods of all time.

“I know I’m like the team mascot when it comes to exiting the family, but…” Riley sets down the bowl and flops onto her back beside me. “Are you sure you want to strike out on your own?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

“It’s hard.” Riley’s tone gets so serious. It’s like she’s pouring cement into my belly. “Being on your own, isolated from everything and everyone you know. It’s lonely.”

“I know that.” I sigh. “Two months of it was about all I could take.”

“What do you mean?”

“The day Cian found me…” Seems like eons ago now. “I was a few seconds from breaking down and calling you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” When I angle my head toward her again, our eyes meet. “Worrying about you being worried about me…drove me insane.”

“While you were gone, some of my night terrors came back.”

My heart drops. Riley screaming in the middle of the night when we were children was the most terrifying, heart-wrenching sound I’ve ever heard in my life.

“I’m sorry I put you through that.” My voice wobbles.

“It’s okay.” Riley smiles. “Really. It was scary, and I’m so glad you’re okay, but I don’t have any regrets. If you hadn’t run away, I wouldn’t have Finn.”

I find the strength grin at her. “And you’vealwayswanted Finn.”

It’s her turn to blush. “Whatever.” I giggle, but Riley goes on, even more serious this time. “The point is…life is hard. The world is a horrible place a lot of the time. You’re on your own. All of us are.Unlessyou find someone. Someone who makes you happy, who’ll stand by you come hell or high water. Someone you’d do anything for.”

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