Chapter 14
Riley
Reid and I head to the store and decide to divide and conquer.
I sent a text out to everybody on the way here, asking each person to let us know what snack they want us to get.
Some people sent way more than one snack.
Ahem, Tessa. But it makes up for Zane who only wanted water.
Somehow, Quint caught wind of what we’re doing and started blowing our phones up individually.
So, I created a new chat and added him. He added way more snacks than Reid and I are going to get.
In the end, we get red and yellow Twizzlers for Tessa, kettle corn for Evie, jerky for Slate, peanut butter M and M’s for Quint, flavored nuts for me, and whatever Reid grabbed for himself.
He's currently on drink duty and supposed to be grabbing water bottles and soda for the soda drinkers. We meet back up at the checkout area. “How’d you do?” I ask.
“Got everything on the list.”
“Did you get anything for you?”I ask.
“I did.” I glance into his cart.
“Apples and peanut butter?” I narrow my eyes at him. “That’s one of my favorite snacks.”
“Pretty sure you don’t own the rights for having peanut butter and apples as a favorite.”
“Not yet, I don’t. Oh, you should get honey roasted peanuts to go with—”
He pulls a jar of honey roasted peanuts out of the cart. “Got them.”
I stare at him a moment. “You remember that?”
“Riley, I remember everything about you.”
His words tug at my heart strings, and I swallow. “But what about you? You’re supposed to get a snack for you, something you enjoy.”
“I love apples and peanut butter and honey roasted peanuts now.”
“You do?”
He nods. “Come on. Stop overthinking it, and let’s go check out.” He gets into a line, but I don’t follow him. I wait until he starts loading up the drinks before I leave his line and find another line to stand in with my shopping basket. A few minutes later, I take the receipt from the cashier.
“Thank you.” When I turn back around, Reid is waiting for me at the end of my lane.
“What happened to you?”
“I was checking out,” I tell him.
He frowns. “You were supposed to stay with me.”
“So you could pay for everything? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.”
His frown grows. “Riley...”
“Listen, you paid for some; I paid for some. It all works out.
Thankfully, he lets it go. We throw the bags in the trunk and start the drive back. Riley.
I’m not surprised at the sound of my mom’s voice in my head. Hearing her voice that way is as natural to me as it is hearing it out loud. Hey, Mom.
Hey, Love. I just wanted to check up on you and see how you are doing. Last night was a lot.
I’m okay, I send back.
Well, your father and I are worried about you. Want to come over for dinner tonight?
I’m actually headed to the guys’ house. We’re all hanging out together today. So maybe not today, but sometime soon.
I’ll hold you to that. What are you all doing?
Tessa has a list of movies we’re watching. Reid and I were in charge of the snacks, so we just got done at the grocery store.
How's it going with Reid?
I glance over at him. He's a good guy.
I know he is. You two used to be close.
I look out the window. Yeah. We were at one time.
And then he pulled away because he found out you were his mate, but you were way too young for him to be able to do anything about that.
Yeah, I know.
I’m just reminding you that he had good reason for what he did, but I know he hurt you.
My mom knows because she spent more than one night in my room the year Reid basically disappeared from my life without any warning. Are you sure you didn’t know back then?
I really didn’t, Sweetheart. Although, looking back, I don’t know how I missed it. It makes so much sense now. But I really didn’t figure it out until the past few months when I started smelling his scent more often.
Reid’s voice interrupts my conversation. “You’re quiet over there.”
“My mom was just checking on me.”
“Oh, sorry.”
I glance over at him briefly. “No worries.” He pulls into the driveway. We're here now. I’ll let you know about a date soon.
No pressure. Just wanted to check on you. Love you.
Love you too. Reid puts the car in park, and I reach out again. Can Reid come too?
Reid is always welcome in our home, and I always consider an invitation to you an invitation to your mate as well. Just like Zane and Evie.
Thanks, Mom. Reid opens my door for me before grabbing our shopping bags. “Do you have any interest in doing dinner with my parents sometime soon? My mom invited us.”
“Sure.”
His answer is so easy and relaxed, and I wonder if maybe I’m overthinking things between us. Maybe it’s going to be a lot easier than I realized. “We can compare our calendars and pick a date. Do you want to invite your parents too.”
“Sure. They'd love that. I can check with them once we get a date. Do you want to make sure it’s all right with your parents first?”
“How do you know my mom didn’t invite them?”
He smiles. “I know you.”
I’m not even sure what that means, but the door is thrown open before I can think about it.
“Who’s ready to party?” Quint all but yells at us.
Reid pretty much just pushes him out of the way and heads inside.
Quint follows him inside, talking the entire time.
When I get to the kitchen to drop off the case of soda I’m carrying, Quint is pulling all the food out. “Seriously? This is what you guys got.”
I frown. “What do you mean? We got everything on the list.”
He holds up the apples. “Who gets apples for a movie marathon?”
“I did,” Reid says.
“Who put Reid on snack duty?” Quint calls out.
“Would you stop?” I reach for the bag. “Here, not that you deserve them.” I throw Quint the bag of peanut butter M and M’s. “Now, you can stop complaining.”
He frowns. “This is like the smallest bag.”
“It is not,” I argue. “Look, it even says shareable on it.”
“Yeah, but you were supposed to get the party size one.”
“Go eat an apple,” Reid says, thrusting the apple into Quint’s chest and nearly bowling him over in the process.
Quint bends over dramatically. “What are you trying to do? Shove it through my chest?”
Tessa and Slater come into the kitchen. “What’s the deal with you?” Tessa asks. “Ooo, Twizzlers. Thank you!” She snags the bag and tries to shove the whole thing in her pocket.
I hear the front door open and my brother call out, “We’re here.”
Zane and Evie appear in the kitchen a moment later. Evie takes in the snacks on the counter and frowns. “Who got apples for a movie day?”
Quint looks over at Reid and me. “See?” He turns back to Evie. “Reid and Riley were in charge of snacks.”
“Oh, that’s a mistake. Riley is as healthy as Zane,” Evie says. She glances over at me apologetically. “Sorry but it’s true.”
I walk over to the counter where the food is laid out. I hold up the bag of peanut butter M and M’s. “These are not healthy. Tessa’s licorice is certainly not healthy.”
“But good,” she calls out from the living room where she and Slate have already disappeared to.
“And kettle corn is not healthy.” I point to the box in Evie’s hand. “And this.” I hold up my trail mix. “This has chocolate pieces in it.”
Evie and Quint exchange a glance. “Do you want to tell her, or should I?” Quint asks loudly, and I roll my eyes.
“You are impossible.”
My words don’t faze Quint in the least. “Thanks!”
I take a breath and remind myself not to throw something at the annoying shifter. A hand lands at my back a moment later, and suddenly my irritation fades away. “You’ll learn to ignore him like the rest of us do,” Reid says next to my ear.
“I can hear you,” Quint says in response.
“Yep,” Zane contributes. “That’s what I do.”
Quint turns to him with a scowl. “You don’t even live here anymore.”
“And I am so incredibly thankful for that,” he says with a grin as he pulls Evie close to his side.
“Come on, People,” Tessa calls from the living room. “Time is a-wasting.”
“She’s just saying that because she’s going to eat all her licorice before the movie starts,” Evie says as she starts the microwave for her popcorn.
I look over to see Reid cutting up the apples, so I search for a small bowl for peanut butter.
I put a good serving of peanut butter in the bowl and drop in a bunch of honey roasted peanuts.
I grab two water bottles—one for Reid and one for me and head out to the living room.
Evie and Tessa are already on the couch.
“Riley, come join us,” Evie says, patting the empty couch cushion next to her.
I don’t hesitate to join them. I know the guys won’t; they’ll leave the couch for us because that’s just how they are.
Quint drops into the oversized chair, and Slate drops to the floor in front of Tessa and leans against the couch.
Zane puts a hand out and pulls Evie to her feet and takes her seat before pulling her onto his lap.
I look away, smiling. I should have figured that’s what my brother would do.
Quint stands to his feet. “That was a smooth move. I should try that.” He locks his gaze on me and walks over to the couch.
“Don’t even think about it,” I tell him when he gets close.
“But Reid’s not even in here,” he complains.
“Try it and you won’t be able to walk for a week,” Reid says, appearing next to me.
Quint grimaces. “Uh, yeah, no thanks. I’d like to keep all my body parts intact.”
“Then you’d better get all your body parts away from my mate,” Reid says as he hands me the cutting board of apples.
“Man, none of you are any fun anymore,” Quint grumbles as he heads back to his seat.
“Just you wait,” Zane says.
“For what?” Quint asks, throwing an M and M up into the air and catching it in his mouth.
“Until you find your mate. Then it will be payback.”
Quint just grins. “My mate is going to make all yours seem so dull.” He’s suddenly pelted with three water bottles and a few apple slices. He ducks, laughing. “I’m just kidding. Man, you guys are so easy to rile up.”
“Just wait,” Zane says again.
The movie starts, and we settle in to watch.
I find my mind wandering, and I have a hard time concentrating.
My mind plays over the events of last night.
I play the scene in the office over and over again, wondering if I could have done something differently, if there could have been a different outcome.
I also wonder how he worked his way in. I’ve been friends with Peter for at least this past year.
I wrack my brain to think if he’d been at our school before then.
I can’t remember. I went to a fairly large school, and I didn’t know all the students.
You seem lost in thought, Reid sends me. Is the movie boring you?
I manage to contain my sigh. No, I just keep wondering if there’s something I could have done to have a different outcome last night.
You’re not talking about me, right? I hear the humor in his question, but I turn to look at him and catch the seriousness in his gaze.
No, that part I wouldn’t change. You’re stuck with me as your mate, Reid Marshall.
His eyes don’t leave mine. Good.
I glance back at the movie, feigning interest. I just keep thinking that I could have done something to stop his death.
Whether it was last night or later on, it would have happened either way. Reid’s voice is hard.
I know.
His hand touches mine, surprising me, and his warm hand wraps around mine. But I am sorry you lost a friend.