“Hello?”
“Luna Hendricks? This is Michael, Stanley’s grandfather,” a man said, making my eyes go wide.
“Sir, you have to take that money back. Keep it, I don’t—”
“Nonsense. I’ve heard and seen a lot of reasons why you deserve it,” he replied sharply, cutting me off. “I’m sorry, I had no idea my grandson was so selfish. I thought the money would give him some incentive to sort his life out, but it seems all I did was cause problems for you.”
Riley raised an eyebrow, and I put my finger to my lips, wanting her to stay quiet as I answered him. “It only got bad recently. He…”
“The boy’s a fool. It sounds like he had himself a lovely, sweet girl, and he threw it all away. If you don’t wish to keep the money, you may donate it to whatever charities you want, but I hope you keep some for yourself. You see, I don’t have much time left on earth, and the only family I had left was my grandson. I’ll die happy knowing someone will appreciate my wealth and use it for good. Spend it however you like, and I hope you find real love. Don’t let his stupidity scare you away from something that can be so beautiful.”
“I, um, I have a girlfriend,” I mumbled, and as much as Riley rolled her eyes at how awkward I was in saying it, the smile gave her away. She loved that I was happy to tell people about her.
“You’re a smart girl. Men are pigs.” He chuckled, relaxing me. “I wish you and your girlfriend all the best. Buy yourself something nice, you deserve it.” Then he hung up before I could thank him.
“Did he hang up because you’re dating a girl?” she asked, sounding irritated, but she smirked when I shook my head.
“No. He told me to keep the money, and that I was smart for dating you because men are pigs.”
“That old dude knows what’s up,” she answered, tugging me onto her lap to face her and tossing my phone aside onto the couch cushions. “What will you do with all that money?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted, still not being able to believe I had so much sitting in my bank. “I don’t have college fees since your family covered that, I don’t have car repayments because you bought it for me, and my family isn’t in any nasty debts. Who do you think sent him proof?”
“I have no idea. My money’s on one of our hacker friends.”
“I want to know so I can give them some of the money,” I huffed, but she wrapped her arms around my middle, pulling me down against her chest.
“We’ll figure it out later. For now, I think we should nap before heading to the track later. I’m fucking tired.”
I heard the front door slam and was surprised when Tempest stormed in, her attitude going from angry to blank in a matter of seconds when she saw us. Dad had kept her away from me since the night I’d been taken, not that it had been hard. She’d rarely come home.
“Oh. You’re home,” she muttered, glancing at Riley whose face had turned to stone. “Mom told me what happened. I didn’t know they were going to…”
Riley moved me off her lap, getting to her feet and making panic fill me. “Riley, don’t.”
She ignored me, not caring that Tempest stood taller than her in her heels. “You fucking left her alone with that bastard. She was scared of Stanley and Slick, but you still walked away. You have no excuse.”
She stared down at her, seeming to choose her words carefully before replying. “I thought they’d just say a few mean things then send her home crying. I didn’t know they were going to hurt her or kidnap her.”
Riley grabbed her wrist hard over her jacket, making Tempest wince. She didn’t fight her off though, knowing Riley wouldn’t let go until she wanted to. “You shouldn’t have let them scare her in the first place. Were you too fucking high on cock to give a shit? You know Slick’s a rapist, right? And an abusive piece of shit? He could’ve done anything to her, and you didn’t give a shit.”
“I was mad at her!” she exclaimed, frustration and fear flashing across her eyes as Riley’s grip tightened.
“Because my dumbass brother got too fucked up and assaulted her?” she snapped, making me flinch at the violence in her tone. I should’ve stopped her, but part of me liked that she was trying to protect me. I didn’t owe my sister shit. “You’re blaming her for him not being here? News flash, Tempest. He did it to himself, and hewantedto go to rehab so he didn’t do it again. Take a lesson from him. If you’re fucking yourself up on drugs, alcohol, and sex to make yourself feel better, then maybe it’s time you took a long hard look at yourself. What’s going to happen when he comes home? You think you can continue to party with him and act like he never left? You’re everything he needs to avoid to stay clean, and you’ll lose him if you don’t make changes too.”
“We’re just friends,” she bit out, getting angry. “He won’t throw me away like trash. I don’t have to stop partying to keep him around.”
Riley let go of her wrist before slamming her palms against Tempest’s chest, making her stumble backwards. “You’re a selfish cunt. If my brother relapses because of you, you’d better be a real fast runner. For his sake, I hope he gets out and realizes just how pathetic you are.”
“He’ll never push me away,” she said more confidently as she jutted her chin out, and I hated to admit that Riley was right. Tempest was selfish if she was going to have temptations around Ryder when he was trying to get clean.
Dad walked in, pausing when he noticed Riley and Tempest chest to chest. “What happened now?”
“Riley’s being a psycho!” Tempest whined as she pushed Riley away bravely now that Dad was here, and for once, Dad looked at Riley for her answer and not blaming her. It seemed to surprise all of us because it took a moment for Riley to realize he was waiting for her to speak.
“Oh. She thinks it’s going to go back to how things were before when Ry comes home. I’m trying to convince her that if she cared about him at all, she’d sort her own life out and get clean too.”
“It’s not up to Tempest to keep Ryder on the straight and narrow,” Dad said, but before Tempest could smirk too wide, he continued. “But I agree. If she gave a shit about his health and safety, she’d want him to succeed.”