Lawless Kingdom (Reign & Ruin 1)

“But—”

“Unless you want to relive the Titanic, we’re not going.”

“This time Jack would drown on purpose. He’d have two pissed off bitches holding him under,” she replied, catching my meaning without elaboration.

“I told my parents I’d be here for dinner.”

“Oh…right. Well, text me later, okay?”

“Course.” I hung up and looked at my reflection in the half-steamed mirror. I didn’t much look like a heartbroken girl, because I wasn’t. For six months I’d spent so much time with this one person, and suddenly they were gone without a word. No goodbye. Simply radio silence after a screwed-up night. That was what hurt—not losing a boy I should have let go of long ago.

But everything happens for a reason, right? Even things that fuck with your head and your heart.

CHAPTER SIX

Rhiannon

My mom may not have been any good at hiding her feelings, but the woman had a sixth sense when it came to mine.

Or maybe that was just a mom thing, which explained that the triple fudge cake she’d made wasn’t merely an over-indulgent dessert but something to make me feel better.

“What did he do?” Mom asked, placing a second slice in front of me and a fresh glass of milk.

“How do you know it was a him?”

She gave me a cheeky grin, causing her blue eyes to crinkle. “Because I know you, and I know the him in question.”

I shoved a disgustingly large portion of cake into my mouth and shrugged, savoring every last decadent crumb.

I wasn’t about to tell her what transpired at the party, or afterward. My parents trusted me, and I had enough leash to do my thing. Didn’t mean I would hang myself with it.

“I met Judas Barron. Dax and I broke up.”

Mom choked—like, fully gagged on her mouthful of cake. I didn’t think it was for dramatic effect, either. My fork, halfway to my mouth and loaded with another bite, came to a pause.

“You broke up?” she wheezed when she got herself together. “Why? You love that boy!”

Whoops. I should have told her this with more caution. I sometimes forgot how much she and Dad adored Dax. The cake settled in my gut like a heavy paperweight. I knew we hadn’t technically discussed the ending of our relationship, but at this point, it seemed rather obvious on both ends.

“That’s the problem, Mom. He’s a boy.” There was no mistaking the spite in my tone.

She sat back with a frown on her face. “Did he do something to you?”

Ironically, it was that question that made me want to cry. I wasn’t the kind of girl who needed a guy to protect her or stand up for her; I could do that myself. But damn if that wouldn’t have been nice. I wanted him to have my back at the very least.

“He didn’t do anything,” I replied quietly, leaving out that this was precisely the problem.

“You know, it’s almost time for school to start. No sense in spending the last couple of days sad. Why don’t you and Audrey go do something tonight. See a movie? Go to that Chinese buffet you like so much?”

“Mom,” I laughed, “I just ate.”

She gave me a look. “Since when has that mattered?”

“Touché.” We both knew I was a bottomless pit. Thank god for metabolism.

I waited for her to clear the plates away before I pulled my phone out and text Audrey that there was a change of plans.

Audrey found his car within four minutes. It was parked between a large pick-up and a small Fiat. This would have been grand if not for the fact that we were supposed to be on our way to the latest Guillermo del Toro movie.

“That asshole,” Audrey fumed.

“Audrey,” I snapped. “I knew you weren’t going the right way. Why did you bring me here?”

“For this.” She pointed to Dax’s car.

“I didn’t want to do this.”

She scanned the lot, looking for a spot to park, her lips turned down at the corners. “Why not?”

I groaned internally. When I wasn’t in the heat of a moment, I was surprisingly a private person. I didn’t want to have it out with Dax in front of a crowd or risk humiliation if he decided to be an asshole. I also wanted to self-heal the hurt at my own pace, but I was keeping that to myself.

“I really just wanna enjoy the last bit of my summer. Okay? If Dax wanted to talk or see me, he would have.”

“You’re right. This was impulsive. I’m sorry, Rhi,” Audrey murmured, passing two empty spots in a row.

I could tell not all the cars belonged to high schoolers. Most were the owners of the rigs in the water—their bumper stickers said so.

“Do you think we should be worried at all?” she asked, turning her car towards the exit.

“I know he’s here and ignoring you, but do you think it has anything to do with Judas? I heard he was all over you last night.”