Page 59 of The Last Aether

I understood her anger, empathized with it. But my heart ached for Riven. Even as angry as I’d been at him, I’d never blamed him for what had happened to my parents and me. You couldn’t blame a child for his father’s actions. But clearly Janine couldn’t separate the two in her mind.

Riven stared out the window, agony etching itself in the planes of his face. I couldn’t bear it. Without thinking, I slid my hand into his, interweaving our fingers.

His gaze jerked to our joined palms. He fixed on them, not looking away. “I tried to help you guys. To give you money, find you a better place to stay. Janine didn’t want any of it.”

I was sure her wording hadn’t been quite that diplomatic. Janine could be fiery when she had a strong opinion.

“That’s not your fault.”

Riven’s hand twitched in mine, an involuntary spasm. “I hate that you struggled so much.”

The words were low, barely audible. Yet they ricocheted around the vehicle, hitting each of us with the pain they contained.

I squeezed his hand hard, bringing his focus to me. “We’ve all suffered.” My gaze lifted, meeting each of the guys’ eyes in turn. “We’re all bringing our own baggage to this relationship. It’s going to take time to figure things out and find our rhythm. It’s going to take time to trust. But we have to try.”

“Message received,” Phoenix said with a grunt.

“I still want one gut shot at Riv,” Kai grumbled.

“I’d like a gut shot a hell of a lot more than this pissy whining and complaining,” Riven shot back.

Atlas nuzzled my neck from the other side. “I like your plan.”

Riven stroked a hand through my hair, tipping my face up to his. He leaned in, his lips pressing to my forehead. “Thank you, Aura. I won’t waste this chance.”

The buzz that lit in me at the contact was more like an inferno. And it sent me hurtling back in memory.

I wiped under my eyes as I walked down the street. I wanted to kick my own ass for wasting tears on such a jerk, but I couldn’t seem to stop them. The tears weren’t really about Cal. They were about feeling so far from normal.

Most of my classmates were worried about being asked to prom or making sure they weren’t flunking trig. I was just trying to keep my head above water. Juggling work, watching Charlie, and trying to keep my grades good enough for a scholarship.

Cal had been the one little luxury I’d allowed myself. A chance for that normalcy I craved. Flirting over lunch had turned to dates on the one night a week I had off and stolen kisses between classes.

I hadn’t even noticed when his attention had waned because I was working so damn hard all the time. Hadn’t noticed until it was too late.

Someone bumped into me heading the opposite direction, almost sending me sideways. Large hands snagged out to steady me. “Shit. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s okay. Neither was I.” I looked up, freezing in light of the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. Glacier eyes.

Blond brows pulled together. “Are you okay?”

I gave the area underneath my eyes another quick wipe. “Just a crappy day.”

His head tilted to the side as if he were analyzing the authenticity of my words. His focus shifted to the side for a moment before coming back to me. “Buy you a milkshake to make up for it? That and knocking into you.”

We’d collided in front of my favorite ice cream shop. The one I treated Charlie and myself to once a month for a special occasion. I shook my head, feeling a sense of loss at my decline. “I need to get to work. Thanks, though.”

The guy studied me for a moment longer. “Whoever brought those tears on…they don’t deserve you.”

And then he was gone. I blinked after him as he disappeared down a side street. And I wished with everything I had that I’d said yes to that milkshake.

I blinked a few times, trying to clear the memory as Riven’s face came into focus. “You offered to buy me a milkshake after Cal made me cry.”

He gave me a sheepish smile as his cheeks pinked. “I saw that dipshit dump you outside school. I wanted to do something to cheer you up.”

Kai twisted in his seat, anger flashing in his blue-green eyes. “Who dumped you?”

I shot Riven a small smile. “Someone who never deserved me in the first place.”