Distorted Love (Dark Intentions Duet 1)

“She didn’t tell you?” Robert asks.

Pulling my eyes away from them, I look to Robert, unable to look at them any longer.

“Tell me what?” I ask, looking down at my feet.

“You know you can’t play dumb with me, right?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I grab everything I need and shut my locker.

“I mean, you could try, but I’d see straight through that.”

Looking back over my shoulder, our eyes connect. Ryken’s watching me as Livia holds onto him and continues to talk. Somehow I feel stuck, like my feet and hands are unable to move while his stare holds me in place. He shakes his head, looks down to Livia then back to me. I feel Robert place his hand on my shoulder. I ignore it and start walking to my next class, trying to forget about all things Ryken.

I’m meant to have crushes, I am a school girl after all. Maybe Ryken’s my first. But I’m sure he won’t be my last.

Or so I tell myself.

AFTER FINISHING SCHOOL today, it’s the day Livia usually takes me home. But as I step out the front of the school, I don’t see her straight away. I wait on the front steps until the bus leaves and there are only a few kids left.

There’s absolutely no sign of her. I’ve walked home a few times before, but it’s not something I choose to do if I can help it.

“Why aren’t you on the bus?” His voice shocks me and his words are harsh. Like he would rather be doing anything else than speaking to me right now.

“Livia usually takes me home.” Not looking back to him, I keep my eyes down on my shoes. The ones Livia gave me.

“Get up, I’ll take you. Livia left before last period.”

Shaking my head, I stay where I am. His feet shuffle, and I see his shadow in front of me. Too afraid to look up at him, I keep my eyes downcast.

“Saskia, you can look at me.” His words run through me, shocking me when he says my name, making my eyes shoot up to him. His dark eyes are holding mine captive. I can see his demons again. Does he not realize how open he has them when he’s in front of me?

“What’s wrong?” It leaves my mouth without my permission or before I can think about what I want to say. I felt the need to ask, I can tell something’s bothering him. It’s in plain sight for me to see. Ryken’s dark eyes squint. He rubs his eyes, covering the dark circles that are there.

“Nothing! You want a ride or not?” His hand drops to his side, and he waits for me to answer.

“Not if you don’t want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Fucking hell, Saskia. My mother died. All right! Now get your ass off that filthy ground and let me drive you home.”

I stand immediately upon his command and regret doing so. It felt like a natural reaction to his words, even though I shouldn’t allow myself to respond to him. I shouldn’t care what happens to him. Ryken shouldn’t even be on my radar. He’s with her, with Livia. I’ve seen them all day at school. Livia hangs off of his arm while he sits or stands next to her, but one thing I did notice was he wasn’t touching her back.

“I’m sorry about your mother.”

Ryken turns away from me, taking two steps down, while I stay in the same spot on the steps. He notices once he reaches the bottom that I still haven’t moved, and so he looks up at me. I can tell he wants to yell at me, tell me to move it. Reaching down, I pick up my bag and take the steps two at a time until I’m standing next to him. He offers me a single nod as we start walking to his car. It’s shiny and red—a sports car is my best guess.

“Where do you live?”

He unlocks his car, opening his door, and nodding for me to do the same. Pulling the door open, I sit in next to him as he starts the car. The inside of his car has that divine brand-new scent. The seat is leather, and I sink into it as I put my head back on the rest.

I should lie to him, so he doesn’t know where I live. His house is immaculate. I’ve driven past it with Livia, and she pointed it out to me. Ryken’s father is well known but rarely seen. He’s like a ghost that people talk about. A hermit. Their house is huge, almost like an estate. In comparison, I feel embarrassed to show him mine.

“Turn left.”

Ryken turns and listens to my directions. He doesn’t ask any more questions, and the ride is more than a little awkward.