Page 69 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

Eli

I’m on a mission.

Well, I was.

And I don’t know if I would call it a mission, exactly. That was more of a desperate attempt to be cool.

I was trying to destroy Riley.

But then she walked back into the classroom, and I know that expression. I’ve been struggling to read her lately. Her walls were erected since we broke up. But for a split second—maybe she forgot that I’m the substitute, or just didn’t fucking care—her guard dropped, and absolute misery was written all over her face.

So, my goal is to get to the bottom of it. To uncover her secrets.

What I’ll do with those secrets is still yet to be decided.

The bell rings, and she’s the first out the door. I take my time gathering my things, knowing she can’t escape me so easily. She’s carless, and while she might think her friends can give her a ride home, I’ll be the only one left to do so. A few strings pulled to get Skylar and Parker out of the way.

Home, and then maybe even to Skylar’s house for that stupid party. It’s kind of ridiculous that the coaches have to go, but whatever. I’m picturing a quiet affair, and then I can leave.

My phone chimes.

Caleb: How’s ERE?

I grit my teeth. He’s not being cruel—I think it’s a genuine question. But he asked it in the group chat, so it feels like I have all three pairs of eyes on me as I contemplate my answer.

Me: It’s fine.

Lame, but it gets the point across.

“It doesn’t look fine.”

I jerk around. Caleb leans in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He raises his eyebrows at me, and I groan.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Checking on you.” He comes over and helps me shove papers back into the teacher’s desk. Admittedly, I searched through them all for Riley’s name and didn’t bother to reorganize them.

“Did my mother call you?”

He grunts. “No.”

I smack my forehead. “Dad? Seriously?”

He rolls his eyes. “Riley called Margo.”

I hesitate, and he latches on to that.

“Fuck, dude.” He pushes my shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m getting to the bottom of this situation,” I mutter. “It isn’t like I have anything better to do. She just dumped me, and then she basically ruined my whole family’s reputation. I didn’t think she could be that…”

He waits.

And I try to think of a word that accurately describes Riley Appleton.

“Selfish.”

“She thinks the whole relationship was a lie,” he informs me.

---