Page 43 of What Is Love
As we walked back, two men on motorcycles drove down the street heading in our direction. The loud rumbling completely obliterated the quiet night. The ground vibrated beneath my feet until long after they’d passed us.
“A lot of members live in this neighborhood,” Wyatt said.
When we were a few houses away, I could see Roe standing on the sidewalk in front of his house. He noticed and started walking our way.
“You all right?” he asked me.
I nodded.
“Reid still inside?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah. Let’s head back in,” Roe said, and we followed him back into his house.
Reid was in the same spot at the far end of the couch. His whiskey eyes found me the moment I walked in. He sighed. “I’m sorry.” His tone told me his words were forced.
Roe came to stand next to me with his arms folded over his chest. “For?”
Reid looked away. “For being an asshole.”
Forced or not, I’d accept it. “Okay.”
“Great. Then let’s finish eating,” Wyatt said, returning to the recliner.
I went back to the spot where I’d been sitting earlier on the couch.
“Want to put a movie on or are we going to continue playing?” Roe asked as he sat next to me.
“Playing,” Reid and Wyatt said at the same time.
As I watched them, my phone vibrated in my hand. I glanced down at it—a text from Prue. I tapped it and read that Clay had left.
I could go home if I wanted to.
“Everything all right?” Roe asked.
I put my phone on the armrest of the couch. “Yes. My mother is out of town and one of the house staff was just checking on me.”
“How long is she out of town for?” Roe asked.
“A little over three weeks,” I said.
“Three weeks with the house to yourself? Nice,” Wyatt said.
“She doesn’t have the house to herself. She hasstaff,”Reid pointed out.
Roe gave him a look of warning.
I glanced at Wyatt. “Yeah, it’s nice.”
I could go home and enjoy the relief of Mother not being there. In an empty house, I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping up lies or hiding anything. It sounded blissful, but lonely.
I leaned forward to grab my plate off the coffee table. As I took a bite of now-cold pizza, which was surprisingly still good, I realized I wanted to be here more.
Chapter Eleven
I wasable to avoid Brandon until Saturday. Yesterday, I’d hidden in the library at lunch, reading the romance book I had checked out, and after school he’d had a game. He’d tried texting me after, asking if I wanted to come over or if he could come to my place. I’d ignored my phone and read until three in the morning instead. The story had been very addictive. The romance had gotten my heart pumping quite a few times and I’d needed to set my book down for a second to calm down. In those short breaks, my thoughts had always drifted to Roe and his friends. I had wanted to text him. We had only exchanged a few texts since he had given me his number. Unsure what to text, I had given up and gone back to reading my book.
Now it was Saturday. This morning, I’d sent a text to Brandon apologizing for missing his messages. I’d lied, saying I had fallen asleep and I hadn’t seen them until really late. He’d seemed to buy it and quickly asked me to go with him to a party tonight. I had said yes, despite not wanting to. I had to spend time with him. I couldn’t put it off any longer without severe consequences. I dreaded going all day, even as I reluctantly got ready. I didn’t want to dress sexy and give Brandon any ideas, but I did need to wear something somewhat party-appropriate.I chose a form-fitting, blush-pink, knit turtleneck sweater-dress that was mid-thigh length. Even though it covered my bruises, I masked them further with the good concealer that had finally arrived a few nights ago. I didn’t want to risk Brandon seeing them and setting him off again.
