Page 67 of Shattered Rhythm

“You’re with him?” Ryder asks, looking furious. “After all that shit, you just hop into bed with him?”

“Ryder,” River hisses, pulling at his arm, but I feel like he just stabbed me.And I know exactly what that feels like.

“You think I would do that?” I ask, hurt evident in my voice.

“No, dickhead, she’s not with me. I found her sobbing in front of her apartment door because you guys broke her heart. I’m the one that’s here for her after you all hurt her,” Gunner clarifies. Ryder visibly relaxes and now looks absolutely devastated.

“Baby, I’m so sorry,” he says, genuinely remorseful.

“Jaxon is wrong, Liv, and he knows it too,” River adds. “He’s just scared. He’ll come around. Chase too.”

“No, Jaxon is right, isn’t he?” I reply, feeling overwhelmed. “Wanting to have all of you is selfish of me, and I don’t want to come between you guys.” I look down at the ground, defeated. Ryder tries to take a step toward me, but Gunner quickly stands in front of me with his arms crossed in a protective manner.

“Let us have our girl, man. She needs us,” Ryder says to Gunner. He looks over his shoulder at me, and I nod in agreement. He turns and hugs me tightly.

“If they make one wrong move, I’m going to kick them out of here so hard that my boots will be stuck up their asses,” he whispers. I chuckle at his words and kiss him on the cheek.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

* * *

River

When Gunner releases Liv, Ryder takes her hand and pulls her into a hug. As soon as he has her in his arms, his posture relaxes. I pick up Liv’s keys from the ground and open the door for them, frowning internally at Gunner.Why did he leave Liv’s stuff outside?He seems protective, but for the wrong reasons.

After I close the door behind us, it’s my turn to embrace Liv.

“I’m so sorry for how this all played out. We never wanted to hurt you. We care for you so much,” I say before kissing her temple, and she starts crying. Ryder steps behind her and hugs her from behind.

“Shh, baby. We’re here, and we’re not going anywhere. I don’t give a fuck if Jaxon is okay with us or not.”

“No,” Liv says, sniffling and pushing us away. “That’s exactly what he was talking about. You can’t choose me over him. I’m not going to come between you guys and ruin your family.”

I can see Ryder wanting to argue, but I understand where Liv is coming from.

“She’s right, Ryder. We need to get him on board first. If he feels betrayed because we went behind his back, he will only see his fears confirmed. We want this to work with all of us, right? Jaxon and Chase included?”

They both nod, and Ryder wipes away Liv’s tears. He leans in to kiss her, but she ducks away.

“I mean it, Ryder. We’re friends, and we’ll stay that way until Jaxon gets on board. If it never happens, then we’ll stay friends,” she says.

He grins at her, cupping her cheek. “Then we’re going to be the best friends you ever had until we get Jaxon and Chase to take their heads out of their asses.”

Liv’s eyes are still red from crying as I take her hand and lead her to her bed. She looks at me with wide eyes.

“Friends can cuddle and have sleepovers, right?” I ask her.

“Oh, best friends do that all the time,” Ryder chimes in. “They cuddle the shit out of each other.”

That makes her snicker, and she gets into bed. I crawl in next to her, while Ryder gets on her other side, lying on his back with one arm folded behind his head. She leans against him with her head on his chest, and he takes her hand in his free one. I hug her from behind, burying my face in her hair and breathing in her vanilla scent, my anxiety finally easing now that I have her back in my arms, although my head is still throbbing from all the yelling around me today. Ryder begins to softly sing “If You’re Not the One” by Daniel Bedingfield, his raspy voice filling the room. I was always in awe of his talent, but the emotion that shines through right now shows how much Liv already means to him. I’ve never seen him in love.I wonder if this is it.

Liv relaxes, and her breathing evens out. I can only wonder how we’re going to get Jaxon and Chase to see that this is the right thing for all of us before my eyes fall closed too.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

Liv

I didn’t have any nightmares last night, and I wake up feeling warm and safe. My legs are intertwined with River’s, as we are in a tight embrace, my nose in his chest while he rests his chin on my head. As I move a bit, I feel a hand between my legs, cupping me, and I’m confused for a moment. I turn my head slightly and see that Ryder is sound asleep. It seems his hand has wandered there on its own, and I chuckle to myself. Even while he’s unconscious, he can’t keep his hands to himself.

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