Page 56 of One Spicy Summer

“How was your day?”

“Same as always,” I mutter. She nods, unsurprised.

“We have another party tonight. Formal,” she says, rolling her eyes.“Fucking story of my life.” I crack a small smile.We’ve been stuck living together for months now, prisoners under the same gilded roof, pretending everything's fine when it’s anything but.

“Yeah?” I say, running a hand through my long, messy hair. It’s overdue for a cut, but I couldn’t care less right now.

“Yeah. Whaddya say we show up lookingnothinglike they want us to?” she suggests, a mischievous smirk on her face.

I chuckle low in my throat. “I’d love that... but you remember what happened last time?”

The smirk fades instantly.We both remember.The surveillance. The punishments. The threats.

“It’s bullshit,” she snaps, pacing the room. “We don’t have to live like this, Ry! It’s not fair, to us or to the people we actually love!” Her hands fly up in frustration. “How the fuck are we supposed to survive this?! I don’t love you, no offense, butfuck!”

“No offense taken.” I stand, facing her. “I don’t love you either. I could never love anyone but Presley.”

The words taste like blood in my mouth. Six months. Six months without her voice, her touch, her laugh.

When my father kidnapped me, he took everything. My phone. My freedom. My life. Replaced it all with chains hidden behind luxurious walls.

“If they force us to marry...” Sylvia starts, her voice cracking. “I swear to God, Ry... I’ll kill myself.”

My blood runs cold. I grab her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. “Don’t youeversay that again! You hear me?” I bark.

Tears slip down her cheeks as she throws her arms around me, clutching tight. “I’m sorry,” she whispers brokenly. “I just... I can’t take much more.”

“We have to,” I murmur into her hair. “We fake it. Play along. Take everything they give us and use it against them.” She pulls back, hope flickering in her red-rimmed eyes. “When the time comes,” I promise, “we’ll make our escape. We’ll finally live the lives we’re meant to live.”

“And I can be with Phillip?” she asks softly.

“And I can finally have Presley,” I say. “I just hope they both understand.”

“Phillip will,” she says. “I managed to send him a message once.”

My heart stutters in my chest. “Do you think he could get a message to Presley for me?”

She hesitates. “I could try, but... they don’t know each other. How would he even find her?”

“Shit,” I mutter, raking a hand through my hair.

“There has to be a way,” I say.

“If only pay phones still existed...” Sylvia muses. “I could call him, maybe. Tell him everything.”

“Too risky,” I say. “They’d be watching.”

“We’ll figure it out,” she says firmly. “But for now... We better get ready to play nice with the assholes.” I follow her down the hallway, mind racing with half-formed plans.

We live together. But we don't share a bed.

There’s only one girl I'll ever share a bed with.

“I’m coming back to you, Presley,” I whisper under my breath. “Just give me a little more time.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Presley

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