Goddess Revenge: Goddess Series Book 4 (Young Adult / New Adult) (8 page)

The bell rang while they continued to class.

“You’re confused all right,” he sneered, and looked away from her.

She stopped walking and grabbed his arm to stop him. “Did it ever occur to you the reason I’m so confused is because I’m finally realizing I already have strong feelings for you?”

What made her say that? Where did that come from? Thank God, she didn’t have time to analyze it right now.

River gaped at her.

“Ugh,” she breathed, dropped his arm, grabbed her books from him, and stormed off.

She got into class and threw her backpack on the table. Calli looked over at her, but Legacy shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it. River came in and took his seat, but she didn’t look at him.

When class was over, he came over to pick up her books.

“Don’t,” she snapped, not looking at him. She shoved her books into her backpack and walked out of the room. Her next class was with River, but she went into the restroom to kill the time before class started. She didn’t want him trying to talk to her. She walked out and into the room just as the tardy bell rang and she took her seat.

When that class was over, she grabbed her books and darted out without waiting for him. She wasn’t sure if he followed her to her next class. No way was she going turn around to find out.

She walked into Spanish and saw Calli. Her BFF was waiting and ready to get the scoop.

“River thinks I’m using him,” she said as she dropped into her chair.

“Oh no. He figured it out?”

“No. He thinks I’m cozying up to him to keep Adin away. He knows that if I stay with Adin, I’ll kill him. He thinks I’m using him to keep Adin alive.”

“Oh. But, um, Legacy, you are using River. Why are you mad that he thinks you are?”

“Because that jerk played me for months. It’s okay for him to do it, but not me? Besides, I’m not
using
him. I’m punishing him. There’s a difference.”

Class started, so she and Calli stopped talking. Once it was over, she headed to her history class—another class with River. When she rounded the corner, she saw him walking toward the class from the opposite direction. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Then she looked down and darted into the restroom to wait out the time again. She wasn’t being a chicken. She didn’t want to talk to him. If any of the reason was related to guilt, she totally ignored it. She walked out when she had about thirty seconds left until the bell rang and barely made it to class on time.

When history was over, she grabbed her books and headed out.

“Legacy,” she heard River call from behind, so she sneaked into the same restroom haven she’d used before class started.

She dug in her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

“Hello?” Calli answered.

“Hey, I’m stuck in the bathroom in the history building.”

“What do you mean you’re stuck?”

“River is stalking me, so I came in here.”

“Well, you need to get out here, so we can leave for lunch. Everyone’s going for pizza today.”

“I’m not going.”

“You can’t spend your lunch hour in the bathroom, Legacy.”

“The hell I can’t. Bring me back a piece of pizza, and I can wolf it down before English.”

“You are being absurd, Legacy,” Calli said, laughing.

“I can’t talk to him right now.”

“Well, if you’re not going, neither am I. We can both spend lunch in the restroom. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Calli, don’t—”

She hung up the phone. About ten minutes later, her infuriating but wonderful friend walked into the restroom.

“He was still waiting outside for you,” Calli said, dropping her backpack.

“I figured he would be.”

“I told him to get us something to eat while I talked to you.”

“Did he leave?”

“Yeah, I watched him walk away.”

Legacy sighed. “My nerves are on overload.”

“Because you feel guilty doing this to him,” Calli said softly.

To her utter disbelief, she started crying. “I-I don’t think it’s just that. He told me my energy was conflicting with my actions toward him, so I realized I needed to believe I was falling for him, not just pretend. I’m worried I might actually fall in love with him. I-I can’t do that, Calli! He’s a monster.”

“He’s your best friend,” she murmured. “I already told you his actions don’t define who he is. He was wrong for what he did to you, but he’d never harm you.”

Calli spent the rest of lunch trying to console her, to little avail. She had been telling River she was just confused, but now she really believed that she actually was.

When they had about ten minutes left, Calli’s phone rang. It was River, bringing back their lunch. They walked out of the restroom and outside the building. River was walking toward them, but she stayed by the door while Calli met him. He handed her two bags and glanced over at Legacy. His eyebrows furrowed, and he quickly said something to Calli that Legacy couldn’t make out. She saw her nod and say something. They conversed back and forth until he turned around and walked away. Calli walked back over to Legacy, handed her a bag, and they quickly unwrapped the sandwiches.

“What’d he say?” she asked as she took a bite.

“He asked if you’d been crying.”

Her head shot up.

“I told him you had.” When she saw Legacy shake her head, she clarified. “He could tell. Your eyes are swollen. Anyway, he wanted to come over and talk to you. I told him that wasn’t a good idea.”

“Thanks,” she whispered.

They finished their lunch right when the bell rang and they headed to English. River didn’t show up to walk her to her other classes that afternoon, and when she got into gym, he was already with the basketball team, practicing.

When gym was over, she changed slowly, knowing she’d have to talk to him on the ride home. Calli had said she’d take her home, and she seriously considered her offer. But she didn’t want River to use that as an opportunity to negate his prize and make her ride with him again, or worse, pick out a different prize altogether because she’d reneged on the first one.

She walked out of the locker room to find a solemn River leaning against the opposite wall, waiting. She looked up at him and turned to walk out of the gym. He followed without saying anything. When they got to his car, he opened the door for her, but she didn’t look at him. He drove in silence while she stared outside the window. After he pulled into her driveway, he turned off the engine. She guessed he thought he would be staying. She started to open the door, but River suddenly, but gently, grabbed her arm.

She quickly looked over at him.

“I’m sorry,” he barely whispered.

She felt a lump rise in her throat and swallowed. “Me too,” she murmured as pulled her arm free and got out of his car.

She shut the door and headed for the house, but heard River open and shut his door too. He caught up with her as she opened the front door.

“Legacy, please …”

She turned around and saw his agonized expression.

“I-I had no right to doubt your motives. It’s just that I, um, you know how I feel about you. I think I’m just trying to protect my heart from getting hurt.”

Little did he know that
that
was really her motive—not keeping Adin alive—for pursuing him. He was right to protect his heart. She wanted to crush it. “Maybe we should back off then. I already know what it feels like to have a broken heart. You’re right to want to protect yours.”

“No, that…that’s not what I meant. I know people can’t find happiness without taking risks…” He took a deep breath and looked down. “Can I come in?”

She stared at him while she pondered this. She could let him in and off the hook, or she could make him sweat it out. She figured she needed to work through this little snag so she could get her plan back on track. She didn’t need to avoid him, and she didn’t need him questioning her motives. And she really didn’t need any real drama to contend with. She nodded slowly before heading into the house.

River followed her to the couch, sitting closer to her than he had before. She waited for him to start, which he finally did after he realized she wasn’t going to.

“Legacy, I love spending time with you, and the idea of you growing closer to me…” He shut his eyes on a sigh and whispered, “I can’t even begin to express how that makes me feel.”

“But you think I’m using you?” she asked, and he opened his eyes to meet her gaze.

“I-I thought that, yes, but I don’t think that now. As soon as you said something about being confused because of how strong your feelings are, everything clicked. I wanted to talk to you after first period, but you’ve been avoiding me. Rightly so. But, um, when I came back from lunch and saw that you’d been crying…I felt like shit.”

“I just had a lot on my mind,” she said, looking away from him.

“Please forgive me, baby,” River murmured as he reached up and turned her head toward his.

She looked at him and sighed. “There’s nothing to forgive.” She shrugged. “We’re both trying to figure this out.”

River leaned his forehead against hers as he continued stroking her face. “Last night, when you kissed me, that was the best moment of my life,” he whispered. “I…I wanted to kiss you, but I was trying to be good.”

“I know. When you didn’t kiss me, I felt a little sad, I guess. I didn’t realize I wanted you to kiss me until you actually started to and stopped.”

River’s hands kept stroking her face, but his movements became rhythmic while he breathed heavily through his slightly opened mouth. “Baby, I’m so scared of losing you once I have you,” he said as his voice cracked.

“You know I can’t make any promises right now,” she whispered. “I’m still in love with…with
him
.”

“I know, and that’s what scares me. You could always go back to him. It was hard seeing you two together before, but if something evolves between us and you go back to him, it’d destroy me,” he whispered, shaking his head against hers.

“I understand,” she said, pulling away from him. “Maybe we should cool it for awhile. You know, until things settle down.”

“No,” River breathed, pulling her head back to his. “As much as I’m scared of losing you, I’m also scared of not doing anything. If I do nothing, then you may very well go back to him or move on with someone else. I’d lose my opportunity to be with the woman I love more than anything.”

She reached up and placed her hands on his chest, the first time she’d put her hands on him since their fight. She gently caressed him there, and his breathing spiked. She kept one hand over his heart while she slid the other hand around his back to lightly squeeze him against her.

River whispered her name while he cupped the back of her head. He lowered his lips and grazed them over hers, moaning before kissing her.

They kissed softly like yesterday, but after a few seconds, something changed. He tugged at her ponytail holder until her hair fell around her face. He grabbed a handful of her unkempt hair with that hand and locked his other arm around her, pulling her up against him, digging his fingers into her waist while he kissed her, hard.

She slid her hand up from his chest into his hair as she returned the kiss. They kept kissing for several seconds before she slowly pulled away.

River wasn’t ready to stop.

He stared at her intensely for a fraction of a second before crushing his lips to hers again. They both kissed each other with equal intensity. River moved one hand and grabbed her wrist. He pushed her hand down his abdomen toward his pants. He was going to have her feel him, which meant them kissing like this was turning him on. Oh gods, she didn’t know if she should touch his dick.

Legacy heard someone fumble with the doorknob. She pulled away quickly and twisted her hair back up with a small smile on her face.

“Legacy?” Olive called out.

“In here,” she said as she finished mussing with her hair.

She glanced at River, and he was smiling too. He had his elbows propped on his knees and was hovering over the evidence of his arousal. That made her want to smile more.

“You two are glowing,” Olive said, amused. “What have you been doing?”

“Er, nothing.” She shrugged.

“We had some things to discuss,” River said.

“Hm, well, Lissa had to work late, so I’m cooking dinner. Do you want to stay, River?”

He glanced at Legacy, and she shrugged.

River stayed the rest of the evening, and they talked freely without anymore kissing. When he got ready to leave, she walked him out, but as soon as she walked outside, she saw Adin’s car at his grandmother’s house and felt a wave of guilt crush her. River was in front of her, but there must have been a noticeable change in her energy because he turned around and stared. He followed the angle of her gaze and closed his eyes when he realized what had shifted her mood.

Not only did she feel guilty about Adin knowing River was here, but she felt guilty for River knowing that she was affected by Adin. She felt bad for both of them. Both!

She really was a terrible person.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she whispered as she turned away from River.

“No, wait.” He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “This is okay,” he whispered. “Like you said, it’s going to take some time. Neither of us can rush this.”

She looked into his eyes while she felt her breathing hitch. “Thanks,” she muttered while tears leaked from her stinging eyes.

River pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Shhh…don’t cry, baby.” He kissed the top of her head, and she nodded, pulling away, wiping her tears. “Did you notice that it’s not raining?”

She looked at him quizzically and glanced at the sky.

“That’s one of the reasons I was so shocked when I got back from lunch and Calli said you’d been crying. It didn’t rain then either.”

She nodded. It was an interesting development, but not one she wanted to deal with right now. “See you tomorrow.”

He leaned over and kissed her forehead before walking to his car. She didn’t watch him drive away. Instead, she walked right back into the house, still wiping her face. She walked straight into her bedroom and over to her window, staring out into the dusky sky.