Page 125 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)

“Hello?”

“It’s me,” I say. “And I’m sorry I’m even going to ask you this, but I have to know.”

Noah is silent for a moment, then exhales. “I already know what you’re going to ask me.”

“Oh?”

“It’s about the partying, isn’t it?”

I bite my lip. “Please tell me Eli didn’t have anything to do with turning you on to—”

“He introduced me to the local dealer,” Noah admits. “Kaiden’s supplier had run dry, and I was itching to try something stronger than pot.”

We’re two for three.

I close my eyes. “Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Give Mom and Dad a hug for me.”

I nod, although I know he can’t see me. That stupid lump is back in my throat.

And then I take a deep breath, grab a box from our back hall, and get started expelling Eli Black from my life.

Soon, everything is packed. Notebooks and random shit I didn’t even realize I was collecting, homework assignments we used to study from, pens and a bouncy ball from one of those twenty-five cent machines.

And then my fingers trip over the notebook.

It’s black moleskin, soft and worn down.

He’d miss it the most—which is exactly why I don’t want to give it back.

Part of me wonders if he’ll even notice. He doesn’t want to be a lawyer, anyway.

This notebook is filled with scribbles of his conversations with his father, details on cases Mr. Black has been trying to get Eli to think about. Like looking at a puzzle from a different direction.

Critical thinking, our teachers might call it.

Without a second thought, I shove it under my mattress.

I pick up the box and carry it downstairs, sticking it into the foot space of my front passenger seat.

Mom follows me as far as the porch. “What are you doing?”

“Dumping Eli’s ass,” I say.

She blinks. “Oh. He was a lovely boy.”

“Not lovely enough.” I shake my head. If I think about it, I’ll start crying.

So I don’t. I stuff every emotion except anger deep inside me.

He’s a liar and a cheat.

Keep telling yourself that, Riley.

All the way to Eli’s house, I say it out loud. He lied. He cheated.

With some girl younger and skinnier than me, and a cheerleader to boot.