Chapter 3 - Riley
My phone buzzed in my pocket once more, and I tensed up. It was the third time since we got to Cayden's apartment. While April and Cayden were getting the sugar, I slipped my phone out, knowing who was messaging me.
It was Brad, and he was pissed. My stomach clenched as I opened his messages, finding a long list of insults and swear words. Even miles away, I could still hear how he would say them. They sliced in my heart, making tears build up.
You bitch!
You think you can just walk away?
Did you really think I wouldn't notice you not here?
You better answer your phone when I call you.
Answer your phone, Riley! This is not some fucking joke! Where the fuck are you.
Riley! I don't know what sick game you think this is, but when you get back home, help me.
My throat tightened, and I quickly shut my phone, sliding it back into my pocket. I glanced at Cayden and April, who were still turned away. I wiped my eyes and took a steady breath, hoping I didn't look like someone on the brink of falling apart.
April was coming down for a vacation, but I was coming down to get away. I had left Brad a letter detailing how unhappy I was and that I wasn't coming back. I took a few things that were mine, and I didn't want to leave them behind, and left the rest.
I figured a break like this was the way to do it. I could get away while he was mad; hopefully, by the time I returned, he would be calmer. I hoped things wouldn't be such a goddamn mess.
My stomach told me that wasn't how it was going to go. When Brad got fucked out of a deal, he was in a sour mood for months. He bitched about it every day, wishing the guy the worst. I could only imagine how he was reacting to all of this.
I suddenly panicked. Why had I thought this was a good idea?
"You seriously don't have any sugar?" April asked, snapping my attention back to Cayden and her. April had her arms crossed as she glared at him.
"I might have used it all," he said with a shrug. "I wasn't expecting company."
"Doesn't look like you ever do," she said, waving a hand at his living room.
Cayden did well for himself, and his place reminded me a lot of Brad's. It was rather bare, with a large couch and a TV. But there was no artwork, no plants, nothing that showed an actual person living there. There was no life to the space.
"Your rooms are just as bare," April said, sitting beside her.
"I'm not here that often," he said, continuing to search his cabinets. "And I just moved into this apartment a few months ago."
"That wouldn't explain the lack of life in here. You don't even have one measly plant to act like you’re even trying."
I smirked, holding back a laugh at her comment. April smirked. "Riley agrees."
"I did not say that," I quickly said, glaring at her.
Cayden crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at April. "And I can only imagine how your place looks."
I laughed now because Cayden was right. April was opposite, and her apartment was filled to the brine. She had always been that way. We joked that she was a hoarder, but she just liked to have memories. April had trinkets and artwork filling her apartment. And surprisingly, Ivan didn't have a problem with it, but that was another discussion.
"Our place is amazing," April said. "It's full of character and charm. While this place reminds me of a jail cell."
Cayden pulled out a pan from the cabinet and turned back to us. "I forgot you got married."
I glanced at April, wondering if she was going to tell him about everything that had been going on. I'd asked her on the flight here, and she said she was unsure and that when she saw him, she would know if she could trust him or not. I wasn't going to push her either way.
"Well, I wouldn't expect you to remember since you never went to it," April said, holding a bit of a sour expression in her eyes.
I swallowed, tapping my fingers on my knees. The room felt cold, and I knew it was the tension between them.
I watched Cayden work his jaw, set the pan onto the stove, and flick the heat on. "You sent me pictures and messages, so it was like I went."
"That isn't the same as attending, and you know it," April snapped back angrily.
I felt uncomfortable. I always hated being the person between them. I'd heard them fight plenty of times to know I didn't want to get caught in the crossfire again.
"So, what are you planning to make?" I asked, trying desperately to change the subject.
Cayden glanced at me for a moment, looking almost thankful, before he opened his cabinets. "I can make some eggs and pancakes for you guys."
"Sounds good," I said.
April huffed as she leaned back, clutching her mug closer to her. She took a sip and made a face but continued to drink the coffee.
"So, tell me about him? What's my brother-in-law like? You don't say much."
I glanced once more at April, watching her lips tighten just the slightest before she leaned forward, setting her mug down. She crossed her arms and tilted her head.
"Tell me about your work. I'm not entirely sure what you do."
Cayden glanced at me, and I kept my lips sealed. I wasn't saying anything or giving any information away that April didn't wish to tell him. In the past, I might have. I might have stared, smirked, or given him some sign that he should press more, but now….Now, I kept a blank face.
He looked back at April. "I'm a firefighter."
"Yes, but what does that entail really?"
"Paperwork, events, saving lives, everything you see on TV. You still watch TV, right?"
I almost smirked at his sarcasm but held it in, and April frowned.
"And here? Why did you land here?"
"I just did," he said, with a shrug, pulling some eggs out of the fridge. "I looked for a place to settle, and I landed here. I found a simple job at a grocery store while I went to school. I was quickly drawn to the fire station soon after."
April took another sip of her coffee, and Cayden glanced at me. I felt that shock roll over my body, and I felt the need to get closer to him. I dug my nails into my skin and bit hard on my cheek.
April shook her head. "So, have you found your mate yet then? Maybe that drew you here."
It felt like someone had kicked me in the gut. I caught the way Cayden glanced at me ever so quickly before looking back at his sister. A secret we both never spoke of.
We never spoke about it, but we knew. We made enough eye contact to understand what it meant. And when he looked away so quickly, I knew he wasn't going to accept me.
He'd rejected me before. There was no need for me to think he would change his mind.
"No, I've not."
"Pity," April said, taking a sip of her coffee.
Cayden sighed. "Is my sweet loving sister going to be making an appearance anytime soon? Because this twisted, bitchy one is kind of a pain in my ass."
April growled low, a warning that he was pushing her button. But Cayden didn't seem to care. He cracked a few eggs onto the pan and glanced back at us.
"Don't," she snapped at him.
"Don't what?" he pushed back. "Ask questions so I can get to know my sister. Don't try to understand why she showed up at my front door after not seeing me for eight years. Don't what exactly?"
"Don't expect me to just open my arms and spill my life on you."
"You came to my apartment," he said plainly. "Remember that. So, why are you here?"
"I told you a vacation."
"And I'm not buying it," he snapped back, his words coming out short, and even April shrank a little in her chair. "I love that you're here, but if you have something you need to tell me, tell me, April. Don't come here and yell at me about how crappy of a person I am because I made a good decision for myself."
I had always wondered why he left. No one really said. Even April didn't know. When she told me he decided randomly, I could tell there was more to the story, but she didn't know the rest.
April curled her hands into fists. "A decision you didn't even think to ask what my thoughts about it were. You just left. You didn't even bother to stay. You didn't even try."
Cayden tossed the eggs onto a couple of plates and grabbed them onto the counter. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I made a decision that was right for me."
"And you left me alone!"
"Because the pack thinks a certain way!" Cayden growled back, and the entire room went quiet. "Excuse me if my mindsets don't…." he stopped, not finishing the sentence.
"Don't what?" April asked.
Cayden worked his jaw and leaned back. "The pack has always looked at women for breeding." He glanced at me and then back at April. Neither of us could argue that view because it was true. They did.
Women were pushed to marry early to have children. The pack was growing smaller each year, and their eagerness about marriage only increased.
"I didn't want to stay in a pack that views its woman as things rather than people," he stated. He sighed and looked at his phone. "I made you guys eggs. I apologize for not making pancakes, but I need to get to work."
He pushed the plates towards us before he hurried and grabbed his jacket and keys. "Message me what your plan is," he said, stopping in the doorway. He stared at us for a moment before he slipped out and shut the door.
I looked at April, and I could see tears in her eyes. Her face was filled with rage. She quickly shook her head. "Still an ass," she said through a grumbled tone.
"I don't…"
"Don't," she said softer. "I….I get to be mad at him. No matter what he says, he left. He didn't even say goodbye. I get to be mad."
I didn't tell her she was wrong. I didn't tell her she was right, either. I simply gave her a nod, feeling that ache in my heart. I missed him already.
I felt my phone vibrate once more and pulled it out. April glanced at me. "Is that Brad?"
I nodded.
She scuffed, shaking her head. "Men. They suck."
I softly smiled at her. "I agree with you on that." April softly smiled.