Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Riley
“Girls’ night?” Lexi walks into the living room with a bottle of wine in one hand and a large bowl of popcorn in the other. “It’s been a while since the three of us hung out.”
“I’m in,” I take my headphones off and place my phone on the coffee table. I have been trying hard not to think about the missing girls, but the thought keeps popping into my head. Seeing Lexi with the bottle of wine gives me want a break. “But Elena hasn’t gotten home yet.”
“She just texted me,” Lexi explains. “She ran into her ex and is running late, but she’ll be here.”
“Oh my God,” I take a handful of popcorn from the bowl. “I still can’t believe that son of a bitch turned out to be so…” I try to find the right word to describe Elena’s ex but nothing comes to mind. From the outside he appeared to be a perfect boyfriend.
“Fake?” Lexi raises an eyebrow. “I warned her about him, but she never wanted to listen… Not that I blame her for trusting him, though.”
“Wait,” I stop with my handful of popcorn mid air before getting it to my mouth. “You could actually see something was off about him?”
Why wasn’t I able to see it?
The thought of being someone who’s completely blind and oblivious to such things shakes me to my core. I wonder how many other times I misses the signs that were right in front of me.
“Yeah,” she nods. “But only because I saw him flirt with someone else after class. I was just as fooled by him before that.”
“Oh…” A sigh of relief escapes me.
What I’m not willing to say out loud is how scared I am of opening myself up to Ezekiel only to be wrong and find out he was an entirely different person than I thought.
I’m terrified, and at the same time I know he has shown me his real face.
I saw him do the most terrible things to that chained up guy with my own eyes, yet it was after that that I had started feeling attracted to him.
Yet, I fear falling for him and breaking my heart. Hearing about Elena’s failed relationship only makes this fear become too loud to ignore.
Then I think of Cohen. The way Lexi just spoke about Elena not wanting to see the truth reminded me a lot of Mia and Cohen. I just hope that the strange feeling I get around him is a result of my own fears and insecurities, and not because he’s really not a good guy.
“How was your day today?” Lexi ask, grabbing a handful of popcorn herself before leaning back in the sofa and resting her head on a pillow.
“Long,” I laugh, remembering how I was almost late for my exam this morning.
And as if that wasn’t enough, I found Elliott, Zeke’s driver, waiting for me again.
I only accepted the ride because I would have been late otherwise.
Ezekiel being so protective makes me feel things I would rather ignore.
“Thankfully, I arrived just on time for my exam, but then I had to go straight to the hospital and it just felt like the day was never going to end.”
“That sounds so stressful,” she pats my shoulder gently. “Thank God you don’t have to go to the Eden tonight.”
“You’re right about that,” I smile. “I was surprised to find out that we have a night off each week, but I didn’t question it. I’m just glad to have one night to rest.”
Even though it feels strange to stay at home.
I’ve gotten so used to spending my nights at the Eden that having a night off feels odd. Before Lexi walked in earlier, I was trying to figure out what to do with my free time. Thankfully she suggested having a girls’ night.
“To free nights,” Lexi pours two glasses of wine and raises one.
“To free nights and girlfriends,” I click her glass with mine and then take a sip. “This is so good! Where did you get it?”
“I bought it on discount from some fancy store not far from university,” Lexi explains with a proud smile on her face.
“I think we should only shop there for wine from now on,” I take another sip, savoring the sweet taste.
Drinking an expensive wine makes me think of Ezekiel.
I can’t imagine him drinking a carton box wine, the way my roommates and I usually do, even if his life depended on it.
The thought of it makes me smile and I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to hide it from Lexi.
The last thing I need is to explain my feelings to her or to anyone.
“I’m home!” Elena shouts as she walks in, closing the door behind her with a loud thud. I hear the sound of her keys being thrown into the porcelain bowl we keep next to the entrance, followed by loud footsteps of her boots. “What did I miss? Oh no, did you seriously start drinking without me?”
“Girl,” Lexi pours Elena a glass. “Don’t act like you have nothing to tell us.”
“Well,” Elena sighs, taking the glass from Lexi before heading to the single chair across from us, and making herself comfortable. “Now it’s really over.”
“What happened?” I ask, leaning forward, my elbows on my knees.
She sighs. “We had a civilized conversation and agreed that it’s in the best interest of the both of us to go our separate ways.”
“You had a civilized conversation with that pig?” Lexi raises an eyebrow, making a disgusted face.
“I mean, it’s for my own peace of mind,” Elena proceeds to explain how she spent a decent amount of time thinking about it and realized that she’s better off without him.
Hearing her speak about the breakup, makes me once again think of Mia. I decide to have a serious conversation with her as soon as possible.
“What about you, Riley?” Elena turns to me. “How are things at the Eden?”
“Really good,” I say, leaving out the part about not being able to stop thinking about Ezekiel and the things he did to me in that bathroom. And his office. “I can’t complain.”
“Would it be weird if we came to watch you dance one day?”
“Not really,” I smile. “But I have to warn you that the place is filled with men.”
“Duh!” Lexi laughs. “It’s a club, not a church.”
“I’d love to come,” Elena continues. “Maybe we can plan something and make it a night out with you joining us after the shift?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I nod. When I first auditioned to work at the Eden, it never even occurred to me that my life would get so entangled with that place.