The animosity between Colton and Riley was getting out of control.
I cleared my throat, and Riley sniffled. Her face crumpled, and she choked back a cry. “I hate him.”
“Colton or Grayson?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Both,” she hissed, fury burning in her eyes. She stomped into the kitchen and filled herself a glass of water.
“What happened?”
“Grayson called,” she deadpanned.
Oh. Shit.
She made a sound at the back of her throat. It sounded like a whimper. “Why did he call? After so long… why?”
I placed my shoulder bag on the counter and sat on the stool. “What did he say?”
Riley huffed, her lips twisting with a sneer. “Nothing.”
My eyebrows rose, and I waited. “He called, I picked up. He didn’t say a word. I could hear him breathing over the phone, but he’s such a damn coward. I hung up.”
Poor Riley.
Three years ago, I thought Grayson was the best choice for her.
Two months after graduation, he broke her heart.
Grayson wasn’t going to attend any universities. Riley wanted to do a long-distance relationship. Hell, she even thought of quitting Harvard and moving back, just so they wouldn’t have to break up. She was ready to put her heart on the line for him.
But Grayson was adamant and said it wouldn’t work out. He wasn’t willing to do long distance, but Riley knew it was a bullshit excuse. Something had been up with him, something he had been hiding from all of us. We figured it had something to do with his adoptive parents and his past, but he wouldn’t say a word.
She wasn’t ready to give up on him though. After going back and forth, making things difficult on Riley, he left. Grayson broke up with her right before the start of our first year at Harvard.
Grayson was back in Manhattan, and Riley was here.
She was still very much in love with him, and I knew, if Grayson showed up now, she’d give him another chance.
Enter Colton – who thought after Riley’s break-up, he’d have a chance with her.
Oh boy, did he try. He cared for her, any one could see that clearly. If there was someone who could heal Riley’s heart after Grayson broke it… it was Colton.
But Riley refused to give into his advances. Tension brewed between them, growing much volatile every day.
“I miss him,” she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. “If only he had given us a chance.”
I grasped her hand in mine and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Ry.”
She swiped away a tear, almost angrily. “Do you think maybe… Grayson has a good reason for staying away?”
Something bothered me about that day.
The frantic and desperate look in Grayson’s eyes as he pushed Riley further away from him. And the words he roared.
“I’m protecting you, damn it!”
Protecting Riley? From what? From who?
She let out a humorless laugh; her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “He’s had three years, Lila. Three years I’ve been waiting for him, three years for him to realize we could have been so good together, but he gave up on us.”
I hugged her, and she fell into my arms, crying softly. She had been holding it in for so long. My heart ached for her.
For all three of them.
Once her cries turned into tiny hiccups, Riley pulled away and rubbed a hand over her face, as though getting rid of any evidence she had been crying over Grayson.
She half-smiled, the corners of her lips twisting slightly. “How was the event? Where’s Maddox?”
I left the stool and went to the fridge, taking out last night’s leftovers. “The event was great. It was pretty… exhilarating, and they loved the dance. The fundraising part of it was a huge success, too,” I told her. “It was fun.”
And it truly was. The whole night was pretty epic until…
Riley appeared curious when she asked, “Maddox didn’t come home with you?”
No, he ran.
The moment our dance ended, Maddox left. He didn’t even stay for dinner, and with him gone, just like that, without so much as a word, I could barely eat. My food stayed untouched in front of me, and for the rest of the night, I smiled while my heart was breaking – hidden from everyone’s eyes. I suffered while they enjoyed the rest of their night.
How could he? Why did he leave?
Why didn’t he say goodbye?
Why?
A subdued anger burned in my stomach, threatening to break through. I couldn’t understand why Maddox was acting the way he was – why he was running away