CHAPTER THIRTY
RIPLEY
The next few days flew by. Each one felt better than the last. Even though we didn’t get to see each other that often, having Auryn there with me made the hard parts easier to handle.
We were both in different programs for our addictions and attended separate therapy sessions.
We did make it a point to meet up every day in the dining hall and sometimes in the entertainment room.
He tried more than once to sneak into my bedroom, but I quickly turned him away.
I had no intention of doing anything to screw up my time here.
Like he said, I was the good girl. I wasn’t breaking the rules.
Auryn didn’t make it easy to stay strong in the face of such temptation.
One afternoon he found me in the laundry room.
One of the few public areas that didn’t have cameras.
He pushed me up against one of the washing machines, stealing my self-control with a dizzying kiss.
I allowed myself to enjoy the moment before pushing him away.
“You’re going to get us both kicked out of here.” I shook a finger in his face before turning back to my laundry.
“Nobody will know. We’re all alone in here.” With a sly smile, Auryn pressed up against me from behind. Grinding against my ass.
Sticking to my guns, I shook my head. “Someone could come along any moment. This room is pretty busy. I bet this is the longest you’ve ever gone without getting laid since you lost your virginity.”
Auryn didn’t even pretend to think about it. “Hell yeah it is. I think I might be addicted to that too. Or maybe it’s just you. God, you smell good.”
He buried his face in my hair, breathing deep of my scent. I tightly gripped the washing machine, taking deep breaths as I talked myself off this ledge. He was too fucking irresistible.
Someone’s shoes squeaked in the hall outside the door. The only warning we got before a sixty-something woman entered with a bag of laundry. Auryn shoved away from me, moving to the other side of the room. She looked at us like we weren’t fooling anyone. My cheeks flushed, burning hot.
I offered her a polite smile before ducking out of the room. Auryn followed me into the hall, snickering to himself.
“I have group now,” he said, pulling me in for a quick kiss. A barely there press of his lips to mine. “I’ll see you in the dining hall later.”
“Stay out of trouble,” I called after him.
I had my own private therapy appointment within the hour. I hadn’t expected much to come from these sessions. Luckily, I’d been proven wrong. My time with Jennifer had already helped so much.
She’d been helping me work through my issues with my mother. I’d also learned coping strategies for my addiction and my tendency to self-harm. She was equipping me with tools I could take out of this place when I left at the end of the week.
Staying longer may have been helpful, but I needed to get back to classes. Graduation was close, and I didn’t plan to miss it. Jennifer said I would be able to keep seeing her after I left, which I planned to do.
Since I had some time to kill before our session, I wandered outside into the backyard behind the building.
A space we were allowed to frequent during the day.
A fenced in grassy area that contained a flower garden and several benches.
At this point in the spring season the flowers were starting to bloom.
Offering beautiful color and a sweet aroma.
I took a seat on a bench near a rosebush, enjoying the soft breeze on my face. A few other patients were scattered about. Most of them in their own world. One man read a book across the yard while a woman my age stared into the sky, braiding her hair.
The orderly with the buzzed hair wandered the perimeter, keeping an eye on everything.
When he spotted me, he started forward, heading toward me.
Several times over the last few days I’d noticed him watching me.
However, he watched everyone else too. I wanted to think I was reading more into it than there was, except my instinct told me otherwise.
When I’d mentioned him to Auryn, he told me not to worry about the guy. That he was someone the Kings knew outside this place. He was nothing and nobody to concern myself with.
The orderly took a seat on the opposite end of my bench. “Nice day, huh? It actually feels warm enough to sit out here.”
Every fiber of my being told me this guy had ill intentions. Trying not to let on how I felt, I said, “Yeah, the weather is really great today. Perfect for being alone with one’s thoughts.”
Despite having dropped a clear hint, he ignored it, continuing to talk. “So you know Auryn?”
“Um, yeah.” I gripped the arm of the bench tight, glancing around for any other orderlies.
“He let my mother die. Him and his friends. They could’ve saved her.” He spoke like we were having a casual conversation about any mundane topic. “He’s into some bad shit. You should stay away from him. A guy like that will only hurt you.”
This was not a conversation I wanted to have. Feeling incredibly awkward, I said, “I’m sorry about your mom. That’s terrible.”
Maybe he would go away if I played along. If not, I would get up and go back inside. Something about him gave me the creeps.
“You know there are a lot of places around here without any cameras,” he continued, adding to the creep factor. “You should be careful. This place isn’t as squeaky clean as it looks. It would be a shame if something happened to you.”
I had heard more than enough. Fear cut through me, propelling me off the bench. So much for sitting outside and enjoying the day. He watched me as I rushed inside, making no attempt to follow.
Once I was back indoors, I kept moving. Not stopping until I reached the entertainment room filled with people. I sat down in my favorite chair near the window, trying to catch my breath.
What was wrong with that guy? Obviously, he had a problem with Auryn. This was exactly what I’d worried about when I first got involved with him. The same thing I had warned my friends about.
Being involved with a Graveyard King came with risks. I didn’t want to believe that Auryn would ever endanger me. Yet I’d seen enough with my friends to know that wasn’t true. This was who they were. This was part of loving one of them.
My friends had accepted the risks, believing that their love was worth it. Knowing the man they loved would come through for them every time. Now it was my turn to look inward and ask myself if I believed that Auryn was worth it.
I sat there staring out the window, nervously chewing my lip until it was time for my session with Jennifer.
Of course I didn’t dare breathe a word of this to her.
That part of my life was off-limits. Besides, there was no way for her to help me.
Being with Auryn was something I had to sort out for myself.
After we spoke, I found myself feeling emotional, like I often did after our sessions.
There was a lot to unpack. A lot to think about as I went forward into my future.
Not in the mood to be around anyone else right now, I headed for the small chapel.
A place that didn’t align with any particular religious belief but was open to all who wished to seek comfort there.
I wasn’t a particularly religious person myself, although I did believe that there was more to this life than the three-dimensional world.
I found that organized religion did more harm than good, even though I understood why people gravitated toward it.
All I wanted right then was to be alone with my thoughts and the powers that be. Whatever or whomever they were.
I was relieved to find the chapel empty. Not an overly large room, it held six pews on either side, all facing an altar where people were welcome to light candles and burn incense. I did neither. Choosing instead to take a seat in a middle row.
More than ever, I felt determined to overcome my so-called inner demons. To rise above everything that had been holding me back. Graduation would be the end of this chapter in my life, opening the door to something new. Something more. Now was the time to make necessary changes.
What about Auryn? Did I see him in my future? I did love him. Would I be able to have the life I wanted with someone involved in organized crime? Someone who had killed and would likely kill again?
I couldn’t deny how desperately I wanted to discover what we might have together. I felt more like myself with Auryn than I ever had with any man. He saw me. The darkest parts of me. And he’d still fallen for me.
This was all still so new. Maybe we were victims of infatuation and this was nothing more than that. Even thinking that was a possibility made me frantic. I didn’t want this to be a passing fling. A memory we would both have one day. I wanted more.
That meant accepting Auryn and all that he was. Just as he’d done for me.
“What do you know?” A voice came from behind me, sending a shiver down my spine. “No cameras.”
I spun around to find the creepy orderly lurking in the doorway. Gripping the back of the pew in front of me, I shoved to my feet.
“What are you doing here? I’m trying to be alone.”
He held both hands out at his sides, giving a little shrug. “Maybe I want to be alone with you. Maybe I think your boyfriend owes me something. The way I see it, you’re my best shot at making him hurt. Can you really blame me for taking this opportunity?”
My heart began to pound, echoing in my ears. There was no other way out of this room. I could scream, although I wasn’t sure anyone would hear me. We were at the end of the hall with the noisy entertainment room next door.
“Yeah, actually I can. This is incredibly messed up for someone who works with mental illness patients and addicts.” Not having anywhere else to go, I took a step back, deeper into the pew. Toward the wall behind me.
He continued to advance on me. I tried to judge the distance to the door. Would I be able to jump over the pew and make it there before he caught me?
“You’ll never make it,” he said, as if reading my mind. “Give it a try though. It will be fun.”
“Can we not do this? I’m here to get help. Maybe you need some too.” My pulse pounded harder as he reached the end of my pew. This was bad. Really bad.
He looked me up and down, grinning like a madman. “All I need is some retribution. Haven’t you ever wanted to make someone pay for what they did to you? To make them hurt?”
Of course I had. I was human after all. I felt that way about my mother on a regular basis. Not that I would ever act on it. I wasn’t a maniac.
Somehow, I didn’t think that was the proper response. Instead, I said, “Whatever your issue is with the Kings, it has nothing to do with me. Please let me go. You work here because you care about people, right? You must be a good person.”
Clearly this jerk was not a good person. Still, I was willing to try anything to get him to back off and leave me alone. Too bad it didn’t work.
He came at me quickly then, backing me up against the wall. Wedged between two pews, I had nowhere to go. When he reached to touch my hair, I visibly shuddered.
“Too bad I’ll have to make this fast. I would love to take my time with you.” He mashed his lips against mine. Trying to force his tongue into my mouth.
I clenched my teeth together, tightly holding my lips shut. A scream bubbled up in my throat, trying to break free. My stomach turned, sick at the thought of this asshole touching me. With both hands I shoved against him with all my strength.
Suddenly, he was gone. Jerked away from me. Auryn threw him into the aisle between the pews.
“You’re a fucking dead man now,” Auryn snarled, barely sounding like himself. He shoved the guy hard, knocking him down onto one of the pews. “You made a huge mistake by putting your hands on my girl. There’s no coming back from that.”
Auryn moved fast. He quickly put the guy in a headlock, holding him tight with an arm around his neck. Taking him down to the floor, Auryn wrapped his legs around him from behind, pinning him in place. With his other hand, he covered the man’s mouth and nose, holding tight.
“Watch the door, doll. Don’t let anyone in.”
I launched into motion, rushing to the door. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. The orderly struggled and flailed. Fighting hard to break free. It seemed to take forever before he finally went limp. Even then Auryn held on a while longer.
When he was sure that the guy was dead, he tossed his body to the side and got up. A clean and hard to place kill. No obvious weapon. No blood. Not even any marks. Auryn really knew what he was doing.
He came to me, cupping my face in his hands. “Did he hurt you? Are you all right?”
Stricken by what I’d just seen, I nodded, unable to form words. Auryn pulled me into his arms, holding me against him. With wide eyes, I clutched a handful of his T-shirt. That really just happened. I was part of it.
Emotion racked me. Panicked, I began to shake in his arms. Struggling to take proper breaths.
“Let’s get you out of here.” Auryn steered me toward the door, his arm around me. “Everything will be okay, baby girl. Trust me on that.”