Page 83 of Filthy Liar

A lot of us weren’t attached to our parents, I was proof of that. If it wasn’t for the loss of my house, I would’ve thrown a fucking party for the fact my father was finally gone.

“So, is that a yes? Do I start the process of applying for colleges for you?” Rory asked slyly.

“I can start next year? And it’s local?” I asked, nerves filling me at the thought of going back to school, especially without the guys. I could do this without them, I had to.

“I’ll apply for a few in the area. I can pull all your records and do it all for you, you just have to show up. Deal?”

She watched me, waiting for my answer as I thought hard about it. This was an opportunity to make my life better, to give us a stable income and work towards having things like insurance and food without having to ask someone else for the money.

I could be the person that Josh had always promised me I could be.

“Yes. I want to go to college.”

Zavier

The guys and I had spent all day at home while Raven was at Rory’s. I’d been worried about her going back to work already, but she looked like she needed the distraction.

Reid had been pretty quiet since the cops confirmed his mother had been one of the bodies in the fire, but he needed a different type of distraction than Raven.

Ander had randomly had some gym equipment delivered, cramping the living space, but giving us all something to do.

Raven hadn’t minded, so we’d set it all up, and Reid had spent most of the day running.

We all used to work out a lot together, even if it meant going for a run or doing push-ups before bed, but we hadn’t done that in months now.

“He’s going to hurt himself,” Ander murmured from his seat beside mine at the kitchen table, cleaning guns. While Logan and Reid had been killing themselves on the machines, we’d done a small workout earlier before focusing on ways to defend ourselves.

Ander had rounded up a bunch of weapons, and we’d made sure to place a few around the house in hidden spots so we could access them no matter what kind of surprise we had, and the rest we stored in the closet.

He had stuff for molotov cocktails, explosives, and I swore the fucker had grenades too.

Reid was wincing, but he didn’t slow the treadmill. His old injuries acted up on a good day, so when he pushed himself like this, especially after not doing it for so long, it was asking for trouble.

I went to stand to unplug the damn machine, but Logan stood from the weight bench and yanked the emergency cord, earning a dirty look as Reid grabbed the bars to brace himself as the machine slowed.

“The fuck, dude?”

“Do you want to break your fucking leg again? You think we can run from people with you in a fucking wheel chair?” Logan asked bluntly, handing him a bottle of water. “Enough for today. You burned some demons and exhausted yourself. Job done.”

I let them bicker, knowing if anyone was going to make Reid see sense, it was Logan.

Ander’s eyes flicked to the window as a car pulled up out front, his whole body relaxing when Raven climbed out of the passenger seat of Rory’s Maserati. The only way Rory would allow Raven to go to work was if one of them drove her, which I wasn’t going to complain about.

The car didn’t drive away until Raven had walked through the front door, and I was a little bit taken back by the stupid smile on Raven’s face.

“Have a good day?” Ander asked with amusement, thinking the same thing as me.

“Yes, actually,” she grinned, moving towards us and sliding onto my lap without hesitation. “You’re looking at next year’s newest college student.”

“You’re going away to college?” Reid asked sharply, and I gave him a warning look to shut up. If Raven wanted to go to college, I’d murder him for trying to hold her back.

She didn’t seem fazed by his mood though.

“Not away, it will be local. Rory’s been pushing me to find a career path, and you know I like the idea of being a teacher. She’s applying for me to start in the new year.”

“It’s local?” he repeated, his tone changing. “She’s paying for it?”

“Yeah. I’m not a fan of that part, I’m kind of hoping to somehow pay her back for it. College, guys. I’m going to fucking college,” she exclaimed, practically bouncing on my lap.

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