Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 119650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119650 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
I’m a woman obsessed.
Mom called me down for dinner half an hour ago, but after her dismissal yesterday and the memory of her hand stinging the side of my face, I can’t bring myself to go downstairs and play the part of her doting daughter. It’s all an act to her. She wants to appear as the world’s best mom in front of her piece of shit husband, and I’m done letting her use me to make it happen. When I got home from school today she didn’t even look at me, and after everything that’s been going on, her dismissal was a relief.
My phone buzzes on my bedside table, and I groan as I roll to grab it before flopping back against the pillow and holding it above my head. There’s an unread text and I quickly click on it, assuming it’s Ilaria or Arizona checking in, but as I open it, regret slams through me like a freight train.
Erica - Please talk to me. We’ve been friends for too long to let this come between us. It was a mistake. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was desperate and I knew you’d be okay. You have Channing on your side, but if I go down for this, I’ll never recover. Please, Bri. You have to believe me. You’re my best friend. We can get past this.
She has got to be fucking kidding me.
A laugh bubbles up my throat and my finger hovers over the delete button, only I resist. She didn’t exactly admit to what she’d done in the message but I’m sure it could be used as some kind of proof to win my freedom.
A moment of weakness comes over me and I consider responding, but I won’t dare offer her the relief of her own guilty conscience. She seriously screwed me over when she sat in that interrogation room and put the blame on me. I don’t care if she truly did think I’d be let off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, I’m not going down for this. No way in hell. Was it not enough that she was fucking my boyfriend behind my back?
I toss my phone to the end of my bed, and just as I start to convince myself to attempt my homework again, my bedroom door flies open. My head whips around, my eyes bugging out of my head as a gasp sails from my throat.
Riley smirks as he storms into my bedroom.
“What the fuck are you—”
It’s too late. The big asshole grabs me, hauling me off my bed and over his shoulder without breaking a damn sweat. “What the hell?” I screech, trying to free myself. Only the big jock-sock locks his strong arm over the back of my legs, pinning me in place.
His hand spanks my ass. “Sorry, babe. Duty calls.” And with that, he storms out of my room like a fucking hurricane and skips down the stairs two at a time. I scream, certain that today is going to be my last day on earth. Riley is a cool guy and has a big heart, but I don’t trust him one bit, especially not while running down the stairs with me over his shoulder. Who the hell does that?
“Brielle?” I hear my mother’s curt tone booming through the lower portion of Orlando’s mansion. “What on earth is the meaning of this? Put my daughter down this instant.”
Ahhh, fuck.
“RUN, RILEY. RUUUUUNNNNNN!”
Riley’s booming laugh tears through the mansion, and I grip onto his sides as he flies out the front door, my ribs aching, but damn it, it’s worth it to get out of here. “BRIELLE,” my mom screeches after us, the anger in her tone sending a wave of exhilaration pulsing through my veins.
The door slams behind Riley as I laugh, the excitement of my breakout sending a thrill shooting through my veins, only it falls away the second I realize Riley is cutting across the lawn and onto Tanner’s property, rather than heading for his truck that’s parked on the curb.
“Riley,” I warn, pulling against his tight grip on my body. “Where are you taking me?”
He cackles like a little bitch, and I drum my fists against his back, panic searing through my chest as he races up toward the front door of Tanner’s home. “Damn it, Riley. Put me down. I am not going in there.”
“And I’m not spending another day being the awkward buffer between you and Tanner,” he tells me, grabbing the door handle and giving it a quick twist. “You two are clearly crazy about one another, and you’re both too fucking stubborn to admit it, so you’ve left me no choice.”
Riley pushes through the front door and heads straight for the stairs. “I swear to God, Riley. Turn your bitch ass around right now. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to drop you again.”