Broken Trust A Dark High School Romance - Tate James Page 0,64
especially since I could tell that he cared for her. Not as much as I did, but enough to make this one difficult situation. Because I wanted someone to love Dylan, he deserved that and so much more, but it couldn’t be Riley.
The melancholy faded from Dylan’s face and he straightened. “We really don’t need to have this conversation, Beck. I know Riley is yours. Fuck. The girl is so gone on you, even when she was mad as hell at us. I don’t begrudge you having her. It’s just a thing … I’ll get over it.”
The smallest niggle of tension remained between us, and I tried to figure out what to say to make it better, but I was starting to think there was nothing I could say. Only time would help with this. Time where Dylan hopefully didn’t fall more in love with my captivating girl.
“You wanna play some music?” Dylan asked, suddenly. I schooled my face, something I’d been able to do since I was a young child, but that request worried me. It had been a long time since he’d asked me to play for him. A long time since his demons had almost destroyed him and he barely slept. Back when we were younger, I’d play music for him all the time. It was about the only time he slept.
“Sure,” I said easily, striding over to grab my favorite at our place here: a vintage Gibson Hummingbird. I spent a few minutes tuning it before I settled back into one of the padded arm chairs.
“Any requests?” I asked him, my head already down as I strummed.
Dylan dropped into a chair across from me. “Jesse’s Girl?” he said, shooting me a shit-eater grin.
A low chuckled left me. “Appropriate.” I knew he’d been somewhat joking, but I strummed the opening chords anyway. I’d always had a natural ear for music, something my father had tried to beat out of me, because that was for “fuckboys that wear eyeliner and live on a street corner.” And maybe it was this reason I’d pushed so hard to keep going with lessons. Why I’d threatened to kill him in his sleep if he ever touched any of my guitars. Anything to piss off senior Beckett.
But, truthfully, I was pretty sure I’d lose my mind without it in my life.
I started to sing and Dylan leaned back and closed his eyes. I didn’t look at him, preferring to go into my own head when I sang. Although, I also couldn’t help but remember the last time when Riley had heard me.
The look on her face made me want to sing for fucking ever. Just so I could see that look again.
Fuck. That girl had me tied up in knots. She was ripping the fabric of my world to shreds, and I couldn’t even find it in myself to care anymore.
Whatever it brought, I would take this time with Riley. It would be worth the bloodshed that I knew was in my future.
When I finished Jesse’s Girl, I didn’t pause, transitioning straight into another one of Dylan’s favorites: November Rain.
His breathing started to deepen when I was halfway through that song, and it was just like when I kept Riley’s dreams at bay. There was a deep seated satisfaction in doing something non-violent to help the people I cared about.
My entire life was one fucked up circumstance, violence, death, fear, threats, money. That was it. Then there were moments like these, and I wondered if we’d ever get out. Whether there would be more than just a few glimpses of light in all of the darkness. Before Riley, I’d resigned myself to Delta. To this world.
But now it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t good enough for her.
I just had to figure out how to get us out without the elders destroying us all.
21
The morning after the gala, I woke in Beck’s arms, and the fissure which had appeared in my chest last night, after I’d lost control with him, increased. All of the emotions I’d worked to conceal, they were leaking from me, and I couldn’t quite figure out how to cram them back inside again.
Sneaking out of the bed, I crept through the penthouse and stepped out onto the huge balcony, closing the door behind me to give me some privacy.
My phone trembled in my hands when I lifted it and dialed a familiar number.
“Riles…” Dante’s voice was rough. “Is everything okay?”
I swallowed hard. “I— I’m fucking this up, Dante.”