I move next to her on the bed and say, "Let’s get your physical needs fulfilled first before we continue anything else."
Lilly raises her eyebrows, and I repeat in my head what I said. I slap myself against the forehead, and we both grin like idiots.
"Let’s go, or I’m going to strip you all the way, and you won’t get anything to eat for a long time." True statement.
She pretends to pout but doesn’t resist me.
We endup on the living room couch, both of us holding a steaming mug. Lilly’s contains her usual tea versus mine which is filled to the brim with coffee. She balances a plate of muffins on her lap while I have my arm around her. I’ve turned one of her shows on, and we just sit together. Content.
At one point, I glance over at Lilly and notice that she is staring out the window, deep in thought.
"What’s going on in your head, babe?"
Her eyes snap to mine, and she smirks. "I think I knew all along."
I narrow my eyes in confusion. "Knew what?"
"That I love you." Her focus is back out to the yard.
"Oh?" My pulse accelerates, like every time she says those three words.
She is sorting through her thoughts, and I wait. "The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced they forgot to rewire some parts of you in my head. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have hurt so bad two years ago."
My insides turn to knots, and when she sees my expression, she rushes on, "I don’t mean to make you feel guilty. I’ve just been thinking a lot about everything."
I tighten my arm around her, and I press a kiss to her forehead. "I know, babe. You have no idea how sorry I am. There were many times where I was so close to telling you the truth, but I was terrified you would never look at me again because I kept this secret from you."
Her lips tighten, and she remembers the night I came clean. "I did feel betrayed. For a while, I wasn’t sure if I could forgive you."
Her honesty is brutal, but what did I expect? "But you did?" I know she has. She’s told me as much, but I need to hear her say it out loud again.
Lilly must sense that and turns to me, placing a hand on my neck. "I have. You only did what you were asked to do—keep me safe. The past is the past. Let’s move forward?"
She can feel my racing pulse under her hand. I slowly move toward her, and before placing my lips on hers, I say, "Forward."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Our freedom is goingto end. Whenever Tristen travels, Heather makes sure to give one hundred and ten percent to Natty, which means she is busy all day, retires early, and Rhys and I can bein our little bubblefor the rest of the evening. I’m not sure if Heather notices the change in us and turns a blind eye or if she’s too busy. My gut tells me she knows. She’s our—well, Rhys’s—mother, after all. At the same time, the thought of it freaks me out. What if she tells Tristen, and he takes thenecessarystepshe threatened Rhys with so long ago?
When it’sthe two of us, Rhys is the attentive and loving boyfriend every girl dreams of, but at school, he doesn’t spare me a second glance. Something has changed over the past week. Up until Friday, when he didn’t come home as planned, our gazes would meet, and even in that fraction of a moment before he’d avert his eyes, the underlying promise of whathe’d do to melaterwas as clear as day. Now...there is nothing. His face is expressionless, and the heavy blanket of the past, of not knowing why he’s changed, starts settling over me again. I’m so over this. I’m tired of being a puppet for everyone to play with as they please. At the same time, I can’t say anything; we’re not supposed to talk or make eye contact in public.
I try to catch a glimpse of him every chance I get. My Rhys radar is stronger than ever. I’m aware of his presence as soon as he enters a hallway or the cafeteria without searching for him. However, besides the initial acknowledgment paired with an impassive look of boredom, he won’t pay attention to me. Katherine, however, gets the opposite. At first, I thought I had imagined it, but by Wednesday, I’m positive that Rhys is watching her. He’s assured me that I’mitfor him, and deep down, I believe him, but something is going on between those two, and he’s keeping me in the dark. Katherine, in return, tracks me like a hawk, and whenever our gazes meet, she gives me a smug smile that makes my blood run cold before she throws a significant look in Rhys’s direction as if to tell mehe’s mine, you’ll see.
Most of the time, I’m able to shrug it off as misplaced paranoia. There haven’t been any more messages from my psycho stalker in almost two weeks, but the chance of everything being back tonormalis just too far-fetched.
Tristen will be backearly tomorrow morning. Today was the gymnastics league championship, and I’m beyond exhausted. We placed second, so we didn’t get the bragging rights of being league champs, but to be honest, I was relieved. Not that I would admit that to the team or even Denielle. With what’s been going on the last few weeks and the fact that Rhys will go back to staying at Wes’s, I can’t focus on it.
Heather, Natty, and I are downstairs watching a movie together when the garage door opens, and my body immediately starts buzzing with anticipation. Rhys is home. He marches into the kitchen and abruptly stops in the doorway to the living room when he notices us lined up on the couch. "What are you guys watching?"
Before I can turn, Natty flips around and beams at her big brother. "It’s the new Disney movie. The one I told you about this week. Mom rented it for us." She’s bouncing up and down like she’s on a trampoline, and I snort a laugh. Rhys’s eyes snap to mine, and the laughter dies in my throat. In the past, it would’ve been because we couldn’t stand each other. We didn’t interact—ever. But that’s not the case anymore. It’s because my throat closes up and my mouth turns dry. My mind is instantly upstairs in bed with him hovering above me, tracing my body with his tongue while his hands roam freely under my clothes. My eyes widen, and Rhys is pressing his lips together in an attempt to remain expressionless. He knows exactly where I just went, and the gleam in his eyes is assurance of him doing exactlythatlater. I fight the urge to cover my face with my hands, and when I peek at Heather, she is watching me closely.
Crap.
My adrenaline level increases even further—and not in a good way. Does she know?
"I’m gonna crash. I’m meeting Wes early tomorrow before my session with Spence." Rhys’s voice snaps me out of the stare-down with his mother, and we both turn.
"Sounds good, honey. Have a good night." Her voice doesn’t betray anything, and I wonder if it’s all just in my head.