I get down to Noah’s car and reach for the handle before hesitating for just a second. His windows are tinted and all I can see is an outline of him within. Preferably, I would have liked to get a read on his eyes, see the emotion flicking within them, giving him away before diving in the deep end. I’m not that lucky. I guess I’m going in blind.
Taking a breath, I suck it up and pull open the door.
As I bend to step into the car, my eyes lift to his and I stop, faltering as I stare into a pair of dark eyes. “Rivers?” I grunt as a wave of disappointment washes over me, threatening to paralyze me.
“Geez, don’t look so disappointed,” he smirks.
“What are you doing in Noah’s car?” I ask, pulling myself together and coming down into my seat.
He gives me a sly grin, filled with a guilty amusement. “It’s the only one I could get my hands on that had gas,” he admits.
“Sounds about right.”
"Where's Noah?" I question, hoping to finally get some answers.
His eyes cut across to me before he holds up his hands in surrender. "Nope. All I've heard for the last three days is 'Where's Henley? Do you think she's alright?' 'Henley, Henley, Henley.' I'll say to you as I said to him - leave me the fuck out of it. If you want to smoke a fucking joint, that's your business and if he wants to have the shits about it, that's his. It's got nothing to do with me."
"Really, now?" I grin, sitting back in my chair and crossing my arms like a fucking boss. "So, you just happily volunteered to come pick us up?"
His brows furrow, unsure where I'm going with this.
"Rivers, I know I've only known you a short time, but it's been enough time to know that you don't just come and pick us up out of the kindness of your heart," I tell him. "I don't know how he did it, but Noah somehow manipulated you to do it cause he didn't want us walking."
He shakes his head while looking deep in thought. "Nah, he...he had something to do."
"Like what?" I challenge. "If anything, he should have been in school."
His brows furrow further. "That fucking prick," he growls. "He involved me in this stupid bullshit."
I grin. Adding salt to the wound for good measure. "He didn't just involve you, he made you his chess piece and our chauffeur."
He let's out a deep sigh. "I swear, you two need to fuck and make up. I can't imagine what it will be like when you guys have an actual fight about something that means something, not this trivial bullshit."
His comments have me hesitating. This really is trivial bullshit. I should just apologize and promise not to do it again. I put myself in danger. I made myself vulnerable and because of that, I put Tully and Kaylah in the same position. Yeah, I need to apologize no matter how much fun it was.
"Damn it," I growl low in my throat. I hate it when Rivers is right.
The back door is torn open before Tully comes barreling in. She takes one look at Rivers and scoffs as he watches her in the rearview mirror. "Let me guess," she smirks with a cheesy grin and her eyes shimmering with emotion. "You were too cheap to go and get your own gas?"
Rivers continues watching her in the mirror as she stares right back, making me feel like the third wheel as I smother my laugh. "Something like that."
Rivers starts the engine as Tully leans forward between the two front seats, watching him as he peels out of the student parking lot. "What's going on? Did you get your 'job' done?"
His eyes nervously flick towards me before turning back to the road. "Would I ever leave a job undone?"
"Every fucking night," she murmurs, her eyes blazing as she watches him.
His body stiffens, knowing exactly what she's implying. "Babe," he sighs. "You know that I-"
She cuts him off. "Truth or dare, Rivers?"
Shit. Not good. Despite the fact that I thought we were done playing ultimate truth or dare, I know she's more than willing to take this somewhere neither of them are ready to go. Even if he picks 'truth,' she still has plenty of questions to ask.
His eyes widen a fraction as he quickly looks across at her, showcasing the slightest bit of panic bubbling up within him. "Tully,” he warns.
"Truth or Dare?" Tullu repeats.
He lets out a sigh. "Dare."
The corners of her lips lift into a brief smile and it's clear he's playing right into her hands. She leans even further into the front, putting her nearly right beside him. "Take me home."
When she says 'take me home' we all know she doesn’t mean drive her ass off and wave goodbye when she hops out of the car. She means so much more.
He shakes his head. "I...I can't, Tully." I've never seen such pure disappointment than what I'm seeing now on Tully's face. It's as though he just tore her heart to shreds. He lets out a sigh, knowing he's hurting her. "Truth."
Her eyes cast down as the pain rockets through her and I've never been so desperate to jump out of a moving car in my life. This moment should be private. They should be discussing this alone where they can say whatever the hell is in their hearts instead of having me right here, intruding and most likely holding them back from complete honesty.
Tully's voice comes out as the softest, heartbroken whisper. "Why?"
Rivers eyes remain firmly locked on the road ahead and I watch out of the corner of my eye as his jaw clenches and his fingers curl around the steering wheel, fighting with himself, deciding what to say. He lets out a breath and his features soften. "Because if I let myself...be with you, even just once, I won't be able to stop. I'll fall in love with you in a big fucking way. You would rule my life, Tully, and I can't let that happen. I'm not good enough for you. You’re light and I’m darkness. I would destroy you."
She pushes herself back into the back seat, completely deflated. "You don't know that," she murmurs, shaking her head.
He glances up in the rearview mirror. "I do."
With that, he drives me straight home and I'm not surprised when Tully gets out too.
Chapter 7
I slam through the door with Tully hot on my heels. “Can you believe that bullshit?” she whines with one hell of a pout, shaking her head and adding a scoff for good measure. “Fucking pussy.”
“You don’t think that was his honest truth?” I ask, looking back over my shoulder as we make our way into my home.
She stops in the middle of the living room, pouting out her bottom lip. “No,” she breathes with her heart on her sleeve. Her face breaks and I rush towards her, throwing my arms around her as she knows just as well as I do that Rivers was spilling his heart just now.
They have this incredible chemistry that has the potential to create one of the greatest loves in history, and he refuses to get on board with it because he claims he’s not good enough, which is absolute bullshit by the way. The guy is incredible. He’s perfect for her.
Tully buries her face into my neck and I run my fingers through her hair, trying my hardest to soothe her, but honestly, I don’t know what to do. I’ve never seen Tully break and seeing her this way is threatening my own takedown. “Why would he say that?” I question softly. “Why doesn’t he think he’s good enough?”
She shakes her head in my neck and I resist cringing at the feel of her nose stabbing into me. “He just…he’s got some shit going on,” she tells me with a sniffle. “I get why he’s saying it, but it’s not true. He is good. He’s perfect.”
I hold her tight, absolutely hating seeing her broken like this when it dawns on me. She doesn’t just like the guy. She’s head over heels, crazy in love with him. That knowledge has me pulling her in even tighter, realizing that she’s just as lost as I am right now. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Noah’s actually willing to give this thing between us a shot, rather than having a guy like Rivers who won't even entertain the idea.
So many questions come from what she’s just shared about Rivers and has me wondering what the hell is going on in his life. I’ve always known the guy to be pretty damn awesome. He’s Noah’s best friend and a
lways has his back, but now that I think about it, I know nothing of his life. I don’t know where he lives, if he has siblings, who his parents are. He’s a closed book and I’m betting that’s where all the answers lie. Though even if he’s fifty shades of fucked up, what he feels for Tully is pure and no matter what, I still think they’d be perfect together.
Tully pulls away and wipes the back of her hand across her face, wiping away the fallen tears before collapsing down onto the couch and pulling a cushion into her chest. She hugs it to herself while her eyes become distant, probably deep in thought.
There’s only one thing for this.
I leave her there and make my way into the kitchen to search out the rocky road ice cream, only I stop when my eyes scan past a little white piece of paper sitting on the table with a couple of hundred dollars on top and dad’s emergency credit card that he only breaks out when shit goes up in flames.
Hey Squish,
Sorry I couldn’t stick around another day. They were ready to get started and I figured why waste another day? This way I can be home sooner.
There’s a load of washing in the machine and I got you a few groceries. You should be all set, but if not use the cash. Only use the card if the house is burning to the ground. Got it?
Keep yourself safe, lock all the doors and windows, and try not to piss off the neighbors.
Pick up truck is working like a dream after that boy of yours fixed her up. I filled her with gas so you’re good to go. Try not to break her this time!
Love you.
Call me if you need me.
Dad.
P.S. NO SLEEPOVERS WITH THAT BOY OR I’LL HAVE TO HUNT HIM DOWN. I JUST ORDERED A NEW RIFLE AND I’M NOT READY TO BE A GRANDFATHER!!!!!!!
Jesus. I can just picture him writing that last line, pressing down on the paper, nearly tearing right through it with his big hand threatening to snap the pen in half. Little does he know that a sleepover with Noah isn’t exactly something he needs to be worried about right now. Hell, it seems I’d be lucky even to get a ‘hello’ from the guy. And as for the ‘grandfather’ comment, he certainly doesn’t need to worry about that. Ever since Monica’s little stunt, Noah has been more than cautious when it comes to practicing safe sex. The last few days in particular, he’s going with the whole ‘abstinence’ thing.
I place the note back down on the table and decide to deal with it later. Right now, I need to bring Tully back from the dead.
I grab the ice cream and two spoons before heading back out to the living room to indulge in one hell of a pity party. I hand Tully the ice cream and she instantly digs in while I turn on the TV, grab some blankets, and start searching through Netflix.
“Netflix and chill?” Tully questions with a raised eyebrow, letting me know that the ice creams is already working its magic.
“Don’t act so disappointed,” I laugh, gesturing down my body. “I know you want this.”
“Sorry,” she scoffs, mumbling around a spoon full of ice cream in her mouth. “I don’t accept Noah’s sloppy seconds.”
“Sloppy seconds?” I scoff. “For me to be sloppy seconds, that would imply that he was through with me, and honestly, that boy can’t resist what I’ve got going on. You’ll see, he’ll come crawling back in no time.”
“I’d like to see that,” she laughs. “You’d have to be a game changer to get Noah down on his knees.”
A grin rips across my face. “Oh, believe me, Noah is no stranger to being down on his knees.”
Tully slams the cushion into my face. “Yuck,” she sputters. “I don’t want to…ewwww. Mental image.” She presses her hands to her temples as though the image in her head is physically hurting her brain. “Get it out. Get it out.”
“How?” I laugh.
“Change the topic,” she begs. “Anything but Noah on his knees.”
“Well, I guess I’d be curious to know if Rivers was any good on his knees.”
Tully’s hands drop from her face as her head whips in my direction with nothing but a pure curiosity on her face and an interested, raised eyebrow. “Shit,” she breathes. "He’d be good, like real fucking good.”
“You think?”
She nods her head as her eyes become heated. “Definitely. He’s dark and mysterious. I think he’s probably some kind of sexual super God. He’d be the guy who ruins all other men for you. You know, he has a tongue piercing, right?”
My mouth drops open. “I mean…yeah, but I never thought about how…”
“Yeah,” she grins. “Can you imagine?” She pauses for a beat. “You think he has anything else pierced? Mikayla Johnstone swore that he did, but turns out he never actually got with her.”
I groan as an image of River’s man bits spring in my mind with a silver bar through the tip and all I can think about is how the hell do guys pee with penis piercings? I mean, it couldn’t be easy, right? Does it split in half and spout off in two different directions? “Shit, now I have a mental image that really doesn’t want to be there.”
“Really? Because the image in my head is looking pretty damn good.”
I shake my head. “Stop. I feel gross. I don’t want to picture him like that,” I laugh. “You two are so freaking perfect for each other. You know, you’re just going to have to go and take what’s yours. Don’t give him an option.”
“Says rapists all over the world,” she scoffs.
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
She groans. “I know.”
“I just think you need to tell him what’s up and give him a choice. Either take it or leave it, but I don’t think you should let him rule your life, because that’s what he’s doing now, unintentional or not,” I tell her. “You need to know now because if it’s never going to happen, you need to move on and find someone else who can give you that same happiness.”
She pouts out her bottom lip. “I was much happier talking about piercings.”
“I bet you were,” I smile. “What do you say? Pull up your big girl panties and let him know how it is.”
She lets out a deep sigh. “I know, I’ve been thinking about doing it for so long, but I’m terrified of what his answer is going to be. It’ll break me if, after all that, he rejects me.”
I shake my head. “I don’t think that’ll happen. I see it every time he looks at you. He’s crazy about you. You just have to help him see that he’s more than enough.”
“Easier said than done,” she grumbles.
I scoff. “You think that’s hard. Try getting your brother to see reason.”
“Shit. We’re both fucked.”
With that, both of our spoons dig down into the ice cream which is exactly how we spend the rest of our afternoon.
Tully stays all night and we make the best damn nachos Haven Falls has ever seen and before I know it, she’s fast asleep on the couch, hugging my favorite pillow to her body while I scowl, wishing I’d never given it up.
I take myself down to the bathroom and quickly brush my teeth before heading into my room and searching out Noah’s shirt. The one I’d stolen from him when he shoved me in that cold shower and didn’t give in until I’d agreed to go on a date, not that it has really happened yet. We sort of skipped over the whole dating thing and jumped head first into a relationship.
I pull off my tank and quickly replace it with his shirt. The fabric falls to my knees and I grin down at myself. His smell has long worn out of it, but it’s still comfortable as hell and makes my heart smile every time I pull it on.
I freaking love it.
I climb into bed, minus my favorite pillow and find myself staring at the ceiling of my darkened room. This feels wrong. Not saying goodnight, not knowing where I stand, not knowing if he’s thinking of me just as I am of him.
I hate it.
I grab my phone and spin it around my fingers, deciding what to do. I’ll just send one quick message even though he won’t reply, but at least he knows he’s still in my head despite t
he fact that my heart is hurting without him.
Hmm…now what the hell do you write to someone who’s had the shits with you for three days?
A grin rips across my face as I start typing out the lyrics for the first verse of Afroman’s ‘Because I Got High’. I hit send before I change my mind and wait patiently, hoping and wishing the past three days have broken him down enough to let me off the hook.
A moment later, my phone lights up the room as it vibrates against the palm of my hand. Excitement bubbles within me and suddenly my heart is racing as though I’m halfway through a torturous marathon. “You’re a fucking idiot,” Noah says down the line.
His words are harsh, but the tone in his voice has a wave of relief sailing over me. I close my eyes as I listen to his even breathing on the other end, terrified to say anything that could screw this up. “Do you forgive me?” I murmur, hoping I’m not pushing my luck.
Noah lets out a sigh and it’s clear as day he’s still got the shits, but maybe not so much that he could let me back in, at least just a little. “You got fucking wasted at that party and then smoked a joint,” he points out. “It was fucking stupid. Do you have any idea how fucked up that was?”
“We were just having a little fun,” I defend.
“Fun?” he scoffs. “Do you know how I found out about it?” he questions, not bothering to wait for a response. “The whole fucking football team were talking about the chicks on their hands and knees, waiting for a fucking gang bang with their asses in the air. Rivers and I beat the living shit out of the three of them who decided to see how easy you’d be. Is that your idea of fun?”
Fuck. No wonder he’s so pissy about it.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “We fucked up. I fucked up.”
“You more than fucked up, Henley.”
My heart squeezes. Henley. Not Spitfire.
Unbelievable: Haven Falls (Book 2) Page 7