Page 131 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

“We’re going back to Boston today.” His voice is firm.

The doorbell rings, and I flinch. Mom backs out of the room and goes to answer it.

Liam strokes my hair. “You with me?”

I force myself to open my eyes and take a deep breath. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

Because I’m a train wreck? Because I can’t stop waking up screaming?

“It’s this house,” he says. “It’s the forest and being back here…”

I nod along to his words. “It must be a good thing that she’s selling it.”

My room was never quite the safe haven it should’ve been. Here, the trauma found me in my sleep and left me cold. It lingers in the walls, in the mattress, and only comes out when my guard drops. That must be it.

He shifts me off him and stands, then grabs my bag. He tosses it on the bed and motions for me to pack.

“Oh, you mean you want to leave now…”

He grins. “The sooner we get back, the sooner I can touch you again. Without fear of your mother hearing your good screams.”

My face heats. “Oh my god.”

It was only last night that we had sex. We laid together for a short while, but then… well, our time came to an end as all things do. I cleaned myself up in the bathroom after he left, surprised at the amount of blood. It shouldn’t be that much, right?

Now, I stand and realize my whole body feels a new kind of soreness. Muscles I didn’t realize I had have woken up.

“Liam,” my mother calls. “Can you come down here?”

I smirk. “She doesn’t trust you alone with me.”

He rolls his eyes. “Can you blame her? I’m a savage.” To prove his point, he wraps his hand around the back of my neck and hauls me closer. He kisses me roughly, then pulls away.

“Go,” I say on a laugh. I resume packing while he heads downstairs. There isn’t much to shovel into my bag: I did laundry yesterday morning, and it’s all sitting in a folded pile on my desk.

Someone comes up the stairs. I can’t tell if it’s Liam or my mom, but I’d bet on the former. “What did she want?” I ask.

“Some troublemakers showed up at your door.”

I wheel around.

Riley leans against the doorframe, grinning at me.

I launch myself at her.

“Whoa.” Still, she hugs me back, and we rock back and forth for a moment. “That’s a nice welcome.”

“I was just surprised.” God, I can’t stop smiling. “What are you doing here?”

Riley and I were close in high school, but we didn’t talk as much as I liked once we both graduated. My fault, probably, but maybe a little bit of hers, too. She was dealing with a lot of shit with her parents and Eli.

But it’s good to see her.

“Liam called Caleb yesterday and basically sounded the alarm. He figured you might need support or something.” She frowns. “Margo is downstairs with the guys, but I told her I wanted a minute alone with you.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Riley Appleton, are you trying to have your way with me?”