CHAPTER 12
Riven
Softcore – The Neighbourhood
Ican't believe we've been under lockdown for an entire day.
We haven't gotten any news since my father's performance on television.
I talked to Liam, the girls, and Elyas, who's awake but still stuck in the hospital because of the lockdown.
No calls from my family, but I can't say I'm even surprised.
I've spent the day watching movies, cooking, drawing new flash tattoo designs, and working on client commissions.
I've paced up and down my steel stairs so many times that I think they probably have the imprint of my bare feet burned into them by now.
I think I might even try gymnastics.
I'm bored and I can't stay still.
I tried to sleep, but I couldn't. So, I might as well learn some basics.
I put on a video, projecting it in front of me.
I raise my arms, lift one leg, and attempt a cartwheel exactly like the woman in the video.
I crash straight into the side of my couch and end up upside down.
Okay.
That didn't go as well as I imagined.
I want to give up. If I'm not good at something the first time I try it, I usually lose interest and move on to the next thing.
But then again, I'm bored.
And I want to be able to say, I know how to do a no-handed cartwheel.
Probably, maybe not.
But if I actually master it, I'll be proud to say I did.
Again.
Again.
And again.
I don't know how many attempts I make. Each failure adds another bruise to a body already covered in them from the crash and the fight with that freak.
But I don't care, I will succeed.
Eventually, I'll even be able to do it without my hands.
I crack my neck, I'm sweating and peel off my T-shirt like it's the reason I keep failing.
I was about to throw myself into one last attempt when my comm suddenly buzzes.
I ignore it.
I need to focus on my cartwheel but it keeps buzzing.
I'm going to break it even more than it already is.
I grunt, walk over, pick it up, and see a message from Charlie.
Charlie: “Yo Riv! The lockdown's been lifted! We're going out with Jules and Liam. Take a shower and get your pretty booty over here. I don't know what you've been doing, but I'm pretty sure you smell like a sewer.”
I've been so busy trying to learn this stupid cartwheel that I didn't even check the news.
That's good.
I'll finally be able to get out, keep myself busy differently.
Let's go have a drink. Honestly, it's probably necessary.
Otherwise, I'd spend the rest of the day trying to do flips until I broke my neck.
I get ready, throwing on the first things I find—an oversized capri pants that stop just below my knees and an oversized jersey T-shirt that I tuck one side of the hem into my bra.
I slip on my sneakers, and head out.
Less than twenty minutes later, after a ride on public transport, I arrive at the bar.
The streets are packed.
I guess that's normal after a lockdown, people just want to be outside.
I spot them sitting at a table on the terrace. Liam's gray-blue eyes find mine instantly.
I walk over and he stands up and kisses me before I can even say a word.
His kiss is warm and gentle, but I can feel the tension behind it.
I sit down beside him and order a peach iced tea.
We talk about what we've all been doing during the lockdown, theorizing about who did this.
But I have a bad feeling.
Then Liam asks about my bruises.
“What happened to you?” He looks me over. “Did Elyas do something to you?”
“What?” I frown. “No! Never! I just slipped in the shower, and I've been cartwheeling all day. It's from that.”
I can tell Liam isn't buying my excuse for the bruises.
When the girls head to the restroom, he turns to me.
“Riven,” he says after a long enough pause to make me feel like I murdered someone. “I don't believe your story.”
“Well...” I gulp.
What am I supposed to say? That I let Elyas drag me into the Lower Layers? That I ended up as a passenger in an illegal street race?
That some asshole deliberately crashed into us, then tried to kidnap me and kill me because I dared to fight back?
No.
He'd worry too much.
I can't add another burden to his shoulders when he's constantly telling us how much work he has at the corporation.
“Believe me or don't, Liam,” I say, colder than I intended. “That's what happened.”
“You're lying.” Liam narrows his eyes.
He fidgets with his napkin before gesturing vaguely toward my bruises.
“You didn't text me that night. You disappeared, then came back covered in bruises.” He studies my face. “So, tell me. Did someone hurt you?”
I look away. He is smart.
“If they did, we'll go to the Enforcers and report them.”
I look back at him, a little disappointed, I thought he'd say something else.
Even so, I'm not letting him get involved in any of this.
It's over, it's done. I'll never see that man again.
“Liam, I'm fine.”
“Okay.” He picks up his drink. “If you say so.”
A pause.
“I don't like it when you lie to me, Riv. You know that. I'm worried about you. And I won't accept anything happening to you, you need protection, you are a woman, my woman, you can't be out there alone.”
I recoil slightly.
What? I need protection because I'm a woman?
I mean, physically, men are stronger, but I'm not a damsel in distress who needs her prince to come and save her.
And I'm definitely not going to stop going out.
My jaw tightens, but I say nothing.
I tsk loudly before realizing I've done it, right as the girls come back.
They look at each other, then back at me, so I force a smile.
“Remember that time Charlie fell into the duck pond at Kairo's Park because she was trying to show us how well she could dance?”
I just want to change the subject and avoid Liam’s eyes.
I want the girls, and myself think about anything but my bruises, him, or whatever is going on in the Lower Layers.
“Hey! That's not fair!” Charlie says as she sits back down, crossing her arms and pouting. “I know how to dance. The ground was slippery!”
“Yeah, sure.” I chuckle. “Blame the ground and not your skills.”
I raise a hand and dismiss her mockingly.
“Yeah, Charlie,” Jules adds with a snort. “Tell yourself that. We all know it's because you tripped over your own feet. You smelled like a pond for days afterward.”
“I couldn't get the smell out of my hair! No matter how many times I washed it!” Charlie counters.
There it is.
The atmosphere is changed from heavy to teasing.
The moment Liam and I cross the threshold, he pins me against the door.
I yelp more from surprise than pain.
What is he doing? He's never done that before.
“Riven.” He leans closer, his teeth grazing the pulse in my neck. “I can't lose you. If I do, it'll drive me crazy.”
His words slur slightly as his hands roam over my body, squeezing my breasts through my jersey before slipping underneath.
His breathing quickens.
My heart pounds. He's never done that before.
The intensity catches me off guard.
And, against my better judgment, I like it.
“So, if someone hurt you, you need to tell me. We'll go to the Enforcers. You're too important. To your parents, your friends, to me.”
I was starting to get turned on until he mentioned my parents.
I push him away gently. My jaw clenches, but I force myself not to look angry.
“Don't say things like that, Liam,” I warn. “You don't know what you're talking about.”
“Then explain to me why you have bruises!” he snaps. “Explain to me why you're rejecting me!”
This is what worries him? Seriously?
I won't talk about my bruises.
Not after that.
“You don't get to talk about how important I am to people without knowing them! Without knowing anything!” I shout. “And I didn't reject you. I'm just not in the mood.”
I stalk over to the couch and sit down, grab my broken comm and scroll.
He doesn't know—I never told him about my family—but I'm mad anyway.
Hearing anyone mention my parents is enough to trigger me.
I should tell him, but I don’t want him to know that my family is fucked up.
That I am.
“Fine.” He sighs. “I'm sorry. I was just so worried.”
He follows me and sits beside me, cups my cheeks, forcing me to look at him before kissing me deeply.
I don't answer at first, I don't want to.
He breaks the kiss.
“Don't be mad.” He kisses my cheeks and nose.
“Mm.”
He kisses me again, and this time I kiss him back.
He pushes me down onto the couch, lying me back with him on top of me.
His hands slide from my cheeks to my waist.
I'm not in the mood, but if it helps him feel better...
His comm buzzes, and his mother's name flashes in the air.
“Fuck.” He sighs. “I have to go. I'm sorry again. But I'm serious—I can't lose you. I won't. You're mine.”
He says it with such deadly seriousness that a chill spreads across my skin.
With that, he leaves.
I stay lying on the couch, stunned, wondering why he's acting like this.
I don't want to distance myself from him but I need to protect him.
It's a fucked-up way of thinking, but after my parents spent years blaming me for Kyle's death, I unconsciously push people away, convinced I'll only end up hurting them.
It's sad, really.
Thinking I can handle everything on my own, keep it all bottled up inside.
But Jules and Charlie have known me since the accident. They've seen me at my worst and never left.
I'm really glad for that.
These last few days—This entire week--has drained every ounce of energy from me.
I'm completely exhausted.
I turn on the Smart Panel and choose a horror movie.
I try to watch it, but I feel my eyes slowly closing.
At some point, the Panel apparently decides I should watch an entire saga of slashers.
Screams and the sounds of people getting cut fill my apartment.
I finally let my eyes close just as an arrow pierces a woman's boob on screen.