Addicted After All (3 page)

Ryke bounds into his bathroom first, followed quickly by Lo and then Connor. As they stand towering above us, a new tension strains the air, and I think we all feel our dynamic shifting just a bit. It used to be Daisy and Ryke on the outside of the inner circle.

Now it’s guys versus girls.

We scrutinize them while they do the same to us, measuring our wellbeing from afar. I notice the red marks on Lo’s shoulder and ribs, splashed with blue and orange paint. Ryke has similar paintball imprints. It’s safe to assume they were shot. My stomach tosses.
They were shot.
That phrase—no. I don’t want to picture anything like that happening.

“I hope those guys look
ten million
times worse than the two of you,” Rose says, slicing through the tension.

“They’re teenagers,” Lo says flatly. They must’ve let them go.

“Perfect, we’ll just call their parents.”

The guys are quiet, and Ryke hasn’t taken his eyes off Daisy. I can tell that she’s embarrassed by what happened and the extra attention that bears down on her. She lifts her legs to her chest, shielding her boobs (and see-through shirt) from the guys. I watch her pick at the white inside of her cast, and then she sets her cheek back on my shoulder.

“Hello?” Rose snaps her fingers at them and then zeroes in on Connor, his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. “
You
.”

“We’re not tattling, Rose.”

She glares. “Please. It’s not tattling. It’s
justice
.”

“It’s both. Though the tattling will undoubtedly outweigh the justice.”

Ryke and Lo approach us while Connor walks over to Rose by the sink.

“Dais…” Ryke whispers, squatting down, eye-level with her. The concern in his face clenches my heart in different ways. I’ve always wanted my sister to find someone that cares for her, so deeply, but I never thought that someone would be related to Loren Hale. I will always love that extra bond I share with Daisy, for however long her relationship does last.

I’m rooting for them to go on forever.

She lifts her head up and finally meets his eyes. Tears spill off her lashes, cascading down the long scar on her cheek. “I…” Her chin trembles, and I have a suspicion she was about to say
overreacted
but stopped herself short.

Ryke sits in front of Daisy and spreads his legs around her, so when he draws her close, she fits right against his chest. It’s a tender, gentle embrace that I would’ve never expected from an aggressive guy like Ryke. But he has a soft side when it comes to my little sister.

She twists the baseball cap front-ways and lowers it, blocking her eyes from him and everyone else. Her body vibrates with heavier tears, and I’m not sure how to comfort her. She feels like she failed herself, upset that she had a panic attack over paintball guns and caused a scene.

Ryke holds her tightly, and her slender arms wrap around his bare chest. An impenetrable stone in a raging storm. That’s what Ryke Meadows has always been.

“Lily.” The sharp voice captures my attention. Lo stands above me. His amber-eyed focus is all mine to obtain. His features are deathly beautiful, the severely cut cheekbones and smooth Irish skin. I think:
his baby is in me.
It’s such a weird thought.

But it sweeps me in an electric current, sparking each nerve and adding an extra beat to my heart.

“Hi,” I breathe shallowly, like this is the first time I’ve ever seen him. My neck heats, no doubt with a vibrant red hue.

His lips rise in a gorgeous smile. “Lily,” he says my name again, huskily in a deep,
sexual
voice.

My body tingles. “Don’t do that,” I whisper-hiss, flushing more.

“Lily,” he repeats, subtly licking his bottom lip. Oh my God. I spring to my feet to pinch him or punch him in the ribs for teasing me with my
name
. Who does that? He didn’t even touch me yet. As soon as I land on my feet, the world spins one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. I teeter backwards as my vision blurs with black and white blinding spots.

“
Lily
.” Worry breaches his voice, but I feel his hands around my hips before I tumble and fall. He combs my short brown hair out of my face, and I blink a few times, his features clearing past the dizzy haze.

“That’s…my least favorite
Lily
,” I say under my breath.

He exhales loudly. “Don’t stand up that quickly next time. Your blood pressure—”

“—is low,” I finish. “I know.” I’ve been taking lots of extra steps to ensure a healthy pregnancy: vitamins, eating less junk food, and reading books. But the more I try, the less I succeed. Rose leaves her doctor with an A-plus report and a pat on the back. I leave mine with a list of things to work on.

Lo said that they probably bribe the doctor to say nice things, just to one-up us. I doubt it. Though maybe the doctor is scared of Rose’s wrath. That is a likely possibility, especially since she went through four Ob/Gyn’s before choosing Dr. Freida Dhar.

My finger skims the blue paint on his ribs, the place so red beneath that I wonder if it’ll bruise. And I just hug Lo, my arms flying around his waist. The idea of a real bullet slicing through his skin nearly chokes the breath from my lungs. To lose Loren Hale is to lose my life. It’s these moments—of catastrophic change and brutal, ugly fatality—that I recognize how deeply I love him.

He tilts my chin up with his fingers, reading my pained features well, and he whispers, “We’re okay.”

I nod.
We’re okay.
And then he kisses my lips, full of pressure and force that numbs my brain.
Yes.
I shut my eyes and drift with the bursting sensations, his hand falling to the hem of my leggings.
Yes.
I feel so wet and ready for that image of his cock to become reality. But maybe now isn’t a good time?

I’m not sure.

And then he pulls away, my lips still warm from his touch. He mouths,
later.

Later. I can do later. “What’s later?” I ask.

He just smiles.

His teasing is killing me. In a good-bad way. I cross my ankles, spin around to face my sisters, and lean against Lo’s chest. His hands settle on my hips, some of his fingers dipping below them hem of my leggings. He’s sneaky.

I catch myself rubbing my ass against his crotch, and I stop when his fingertips dig into my skin like he’s trying not to be
that
aroused.

Later.

I can hear Ryke whispering quietly to Daisy, but I can’t make out any of the words.

Across from me, Rose pulls her silky brown hair in a pony while she speaks to Connor in French. And then her gaze drifts to mine and she goes quiet.

“Talking about us?” Lo asks her, and I can feel his bitter half-smile behind me.

Rose’s eyes narrow. “You’re spending too much time with my husband,” she says. Connor barely even balks at this, knowing exactly where she’s going. My brows pinch in confusion with Lo’s.

“Why is that?” Lo asks.

“You’ve acquired his narcissism.
No
, we were not talking about
you
.” She snaps her hairband in place. “Get over yourself.”

Lo’s face sharpens. “Hey, Rose,” he says.
Oh no.
“You want to know what karmic justice looks like? Your baby,
ripping
slowly through your vagina on its way out.” He flashes another dry smile, and I punch him in the arm. He barely even acknowledges the attack. The
get over yourself
comment must have really eaten at him.

Rose straightens to attention and shoots him two middle fingers. “Fuck. You. Times two.”

“I can count, thanks,” Lo says.

Connor is leaning against the sink counter with his arm hooked around Rose’s waist. His grin grows and grows the longer they go at it. That’s great for him, but I’m starting to sweat profusely, scared their back-and-forth verbal fight will go down a bad, bad road. They’ve been there before, and it can easily happen again.

“They teach algebra in detention?” she says with the tilt of her head.

“Weak,” he replies back.

She purses her lips.

I glance down at Daisy, who’s still sitting on the floor with Ryke. He spins the blue baseball cap backwards on her head again, her tears dried. She rarely wears makeup like me, so she has no mascara streaks. Ryke leans in to kiss her, and she swiftly turns her head.

The bottom of my stomach drops at the rejection.

Ryke is rigid and unmoving. And then Daisy says, “I threw up earlier…”
Oh…Daisy.
I cringe at how many moments she probably wishes she could alter and rewind. She rises to her feet and heads to the sink. Connor scoots over so she has room to brush her teeth.

Ryke stands and rubs his lips in thought as he wanders over to us. And then he whispers to me, “She threw up?”

I nod. “She was nauseous. She’s better now, I think.”

“At least she gave you a warning,” Lo tells Ryke. “Lily would’ve just kissed me.”

I gape and then think about it for a second. “Yeah…maybe.” I probably would’ve forgotten that I threw up. I crinkle my nose. “Am I that gross?”

“No, love,” Lo says and then kisses the outside of my lips like the biggest tease. I just realize that Ryke has already left our side and gone to Daisy’s.

Rose clears her throat to rein everyone’s focus.

“Hairball?” Lo questions.

Rose ignores him by clasping her hands loudly together. “We were holding a vote before you three showed up. We want to payback these guys—”

“
No
,” Lo immediately says, surprising me so much that my mouth falls.

Rose crosses her arms, drawing more attention to her breasts, which have grown considerably since her first week of pregnancy. “I despise uninformed voters.”

“I get it,” Lo forces, taking a step forward and unlatching from me. “You want to scare them as badly as they scared your little sister. But you retaliate, and you’re provoking them even more.”

I breathe deeply. This is a new Loren Hale. One that has learned from all of his mistakes. One that understands right and wrong and every gray, messy part in between.

It’s a better Loren, the version of himself that he has been fighting for all along. I’m so overwhelmed by his proclamation that I have to quickly wipe tears before they appear.

“This isn’t an autocracy.” Rose points her folded paper fan at him. “You can’t decide what the house is going to do.”

“If it’s a democracy,” Connor cuts in, “then why were you voting without us, Rose?” Good points.

“You weren’t
here
, Richard.” She spins to him. “Now that you are, you can have your vote.”

“A pity vote,” Connor says easily. “You’re giving me something you hate.”

Rose’s narrowed eyes actually soften at this blow. Her shoulders slacken for a second.

Daisy switches off the faucet, and I realize she’s already rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth. Ryke is holding her hand, which is really cute. I try to contain a burgeoning smile. One second, I’m near tears and now I’m almost beaming. My hormones need to take a water break and let me be at a content stasis, for once.

“I don’t think we should fight about this,” Daisy says softly.

“We’re not,” almost everyone says in unison—everyone but Ryke who just rolls his eyes at us.

 “It’s toilet paper,” I suddenly pipe in. “We’re reclaiming our…”

“Power,” Rose proclaims, raising her chin.

Ryke shakes his head. “There’s better fucking ways to feel safe than retaliating.” His eyes ping from me, to Rose, to Daisy, and then back to me.

I hesitate between siding with Lo, who I believe is right about not provoking our neighbors, or with my sisters, who need my support. “Daisy should decide,” I realize. I want to do what Daisy feels is best. She’s the one who’s frightened the most.

Daisy wavers uneasily, all eyes pinning to her. Ryke stands behind her, his arms wrapped around her chest so no one can see her nipples. That’s even cuter than the hand holding. I catch my expression in the mirror. Oh my God, my smile is so dopey looking.

“I…don’t want to upset anyone,” she finally says.

“You won’t,” Connor tells her. “Everyone has their own opinions, and we’ll respect yours. Though there is a right answer and a wrong answer here.”

Rose smacks his chest with the back of her hand. He catches it and kisses her palm.

“Can I have some time to think about it?” Daisy asks.

“Yes,” I say before Rose shoots her down. “It’s probably better if you think about it first.”

Surprisingly, Rose nods in agreement, though I bet she’s still plotting revenge scenarios in her mind. I wish I had a voodoo doll or magic where I could enact non-lethal punishment from afar. Like
Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Though her spells usually backfired.

I hook my finger through the hem of Lo’s sweatpants, and I lock eyes with Daisy. “Sleepover?”

“What are you talking about?” Ryke asks.

Rose’s fingers are laced with Connor’s. “We were considering spending the night in one of the guest rooms, just us girls.”

Ryke’s features darken like an incoming thunderstorm. He obviously would rather her sleep with him, but maybe he’s afraid she’ll kick us too. And I wonder what he does at night to make her feel safe and whether she’ll even be able to fall asleep with us.

“Speak,” Rose snaps at him.

“If Daisy wants to have a sleepover with you two that’s fucking fine,” Ryke declares. “I’m not going to tell her what to do. All I want is what she wants.”

The corners of Rose’s lips curve upwards. “You are so much better than Julian.”

Lo lets out a dry laugh. “Over half of the male population is better than Daisy’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Don’t fucking remind me about him,” Ryke says.

Daisy clears her throat. “I do know what I want to do, about sleeping tonight.” Everyone focuses on her. She inhales strongly and says, “I think I should sleep in my own bed. I really don’t want to roll over onto one of you, and I’m afraid I’ll be so freaked about it…and other things that I won’t fall asleep.”

I nod understandingly, as does Rose.