I had to question that as they spoke to each other now, Royal in a black suit and dark tie. He had his hands in his pockets, his expression tense as Mira spoke to him. They spoke for quite a long time before Mira dismissed herself, putting a hand on Royal’s arm before leaving him. I figured she’d make a beeline right inside and I really didn’t want to see her, get her fake-ass condolences.

Swallowing, I headed to my old bedroom, closing myself in. I placed my head back to the wall.

“I suppose you’re wanting her back here, then? Back with you?”

I opened my eyes at the sound of my dad’s voice, my aunt’s room on the other side.

“I told her she could, told her as much. She knows she’s welcome back here.”

I cradled my legs, my aunt and dad obviously wanted to talk away from everyone else, away from me.

“But I think you need to step up this time, Rowan,” she continued. “A relationship with you is what’s best for her, and yes, I have the space, but I work. I work a lot, and it’s hard. I love her, but I have put my life on hold, always have when your daughter should be with you.”

I closed my eyes, a burn in my throat and eyes I hadn’t expected. I’d heard conversations like this before. She never meant for me to hear them, but I had. It was no secret my aunt loved me like she said, but she had made sacrifices.

A heavy breath came from the other side of the wall.

“I can’t give her what she needs,” my dad said, the ache ripping raw through my chest. “I don’t… She should be here. I don’t have time to deal with it, her and everything she needs right now.”

“Hey.”

Royal shut the door behind himself, coming i

nto my room and how much he took up of it. His blond hair was tousled but purposeful this time, perfectly fallen and placed with no doubt restless fingers. The buttons of his dress shirt labored as he slid hands into his pockets. “Why are you hiding in here?”

I was hiding, hiding from everyone but him.

It all was a blur when I got up, launching myself from the bed and into his arms, and how quickly he opened up for me. He braced me, cradling the back of my head.

“Em…” he said, breathing me in, and how my body shivered at just the way he said my name. He brought me home and took me to a place where it was just him and me.

I secured my arms around his neck, crying way too much around this boy. I couldn’t help it. This whole day… my whole life was bullshit. He seemed to be the only thing that wasn’t, here and now and cared.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said, pleading. “Let’s just fucking go. Go somewhere, anywhere.”

I didn’t know what I was saying to him or even what I meant. I just wanted him to take me away.

He pulled back a little, thumb stroking my cheek. “Go where?”

“I don’t know. I just need to go. We can get bus tickets. Just go.”

“Bus tickets?” His eyes questioned me, his voice. “You want to leave, leave?”

Why not? He had with Paige. He said they just left in the past, took off and said to hell with everything.

“You did with Paige,” I said, my hands moving down to his lapels. “I need to get out. My dad doesn’t want me. I make my aunt’s life bullshit. She doesn’t want me. I don’t belong anywhere.”

The tears flew down, hot and warm as his hands on my body. He shook his head. “Em…”

“Why can’t we just leave, huh? We should go. Paige is gone. We should just go.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, anywhere.” I knew this sounded completely and utterly crazy. I didn’t know him well, and he didn’t know me, but didn’t we? We had that connection through my sister. We knew each other through my sister. We could figure the rest of everything else out later.

He watched me, a tension around his eyes I hadn’t noticed until I finally looked really at him. It, all over his face, consumed him, but he cut me off from it when he stared out my window. There were people there, three in particular.

Jax, LJ, and Knight drank something from cups, not alone as there were others outside with them. They were with a group of boys, all of them wearing Court rings. I’d seen a few of them multiple times throughout the day. All the guys were in conversation, but Knight, LJ, and Jax were curiously absent. The three didn’t make a big deal about it during the conversation, but I noticed their eyes sliding over to the direction of Royal and me. They watched us, knew we were in here at least.

Tags: Eden O'Neill Court High Romance
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