Page 23 of Devious Temptation
Lawson watches me, regret written all over his face. Somehow, I know it isn’t because of what we’ve done but for all we have left to say.
Unfortunately, his words from earlier ring in my ears. There’s a great big world out there. And I need to go explore it.
“You’re a good man, Lawson Morgan.” Before I chicken out, I walk back to him and lay a chaste kiss against his lips. “I hope you realize that.”
I don’t give him a chance to reply, slipping out of his grasp before his hands can fully settle on my hips. But I hear his whispered words as I round the corner.
“Goodbye, Lucy.”
Nine
Two days pass beforeI finally give in and talk to Rhys.
Forty-eight hours of non-stop calls and unannounced visits that I deny.
It took Liam threatening to break Rhys’ arm for him to finally cool it and give me some space.
Two thousand eight hundred and eighty minutes to process what his dad and I did.
I haven’t heard a word from Lawson.
“Luce?” Mom’s voice questions from the other side of my bedroom door.
“Yeah? You can come in.” I sit up, clutching my favorite decorative tangerine pillow. It has a beaded elephant on it that I like to run my fingers over when I’m thinking about things, watching a movie, or scrolling Iconic. I’ve had it for so long, it’s lost half its beads. But it’s still a welcome comfort, like a baby blanket or an old stuffed animal.
“Hey, honey. Rhys is here. He’s waiting in the playhouse,” Mom says his name the same way she saysraisins—with a thick layer of revulsion. The sight of her hair thrown up haphazardly and a dusty smear of flour on her right cheek puts a smile on my face, even as instant anxiety sweeps through me at the reality that I need to talk to my ex face-to-face.
Not only because there’s a part of me that needs to knowwhyhe cheated, even after we worked so hard to have healthy communication in our relationship, but because I don’t know how to look at him without being instantly reminded of Lawson.
My feelings must show on my face because Mom sits on the edge of my bed to brush a hand through my hair. I wave her away, mindful to keep the mark on my neck hidden.
“I can tell him you decided that you don’t want to talk after all if you’d like?”
Groaning, I flop back against my pillows, shaking all my limbs out in frustration—something Mom and I have done since I was little. “Shaking away the ickies,”as she always calls it.
When I’m done, I place my elephant pillow over my face and scream.
“Feel better?” Mom asks with an arched brow as I sit up again.
Expelling a long sigh, I nod. “Yeah. Ugh. This is gonna suck.”
“You’re handling it a lot better than I would have expected.” From the reflection of my full-length mirror, I can see her appraising me as I get up to grab my cheer sweater.
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about it a lot. I guessbreaking up just seems like the right thing to do anyway since we’re going to different colleges.”
Mom nods, biting her lip. “You know, I ran into Bethany yesterday at the store. She asked how you were.”
“Yeah. Everyone already knows because I changed our relationship status on Iconic. I didn’t realize it would blast the news to everyone on my feed.” Going into my bathroom, I peel off my sleep shorts and pull on a pair of black leggings.
Mom hums. “She mentioned everyone went home around ten, which wasn’t long after we dropped you off. But you didn’t come home until after midnight.”
I wondered when this line of questioning was going to start. Like Rhys, I’ve avoided everyone for the last two days, choosing to stay in my room unless absolutely necessary, like going to get a pint of cookie dough ice cream and an entire box of Girl Scout cookies—thin mints, obviously.
Freezing in my doorway, I don’t turn around as I ask, “Is there a question in there somewhere?”
I’ve always had a great relationship with my parents. Liam is the problem child, not me. I know what Mom’s getting at, and I don’t want to lie to her.
“I locked myself in Lawson’s office and waited until Rhys left me alone long enough to get my purse and call a Lyft.”
