Forest tilts his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “What are you talking about? Why would I call the police because you tripped and broke your own fingers?”
Riot snaps the last one, and Dave lets out another choked scream. Satisfied, Riot gets off Dave, dusting his hands off on his pants as he stares down at the sad, writhing heap.
“Forest, you can’t be serious!” Dave squeals. “You have todosomething!”
“Actually, I don’t,” he says. “And there are no cameras in here, so good luck getting anyone to believe your story over ours.” He looks toward me, his lips tipping. “Actually… I think Iwillcall them. I have evidence that you’ve been abusing Eloise for months, and I’m sure they’dloveto have it.”
Dave looks up, his face going pale. “Wh-what did you say?”
“You heard me,” Forest deadpans. “It’s over, Dave. Riot’s found the best attorneys, and I have more than enough evidence for the judge to remove your conservatorship powers over Eloise and her estate. The only question is whether they’ll throw you in prison for how you’ve abused her.”
“You… you can’t do this!”
“It’s already done,” Riot snaps. “My lawyers are going through the evidence as we speak.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me protectively against my side. “She’s coming with me.” At this, he gazes down at me, and the emotion swirling in his bright gold eyes makes my heart stutter. “As long as that’s whatshewants…”
“It is,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “I… I’ve always wanted to go with you, Riot.”
He leans down, kissing me like I’m oxygen, and my heart nearly explodes with joy.
When he breaks away, he’s smiling like I’ve never seen before. And I’m struck by howhappyhe seems.
“Then it’s settled,” he says. He turns back to Dave, unable to hide his massive grin. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers soon. Oh, and fuck you. Fuck you very much, you crusty ball sac-looking motherfucker.”
Riot grabs my hand, and we run toward the exit, unable to hear what Dave is screaming over the sounds of our rising laughter. I look over my shoulder, beaming at the sight of Forest holding Dave down, waving brightly.
“Take care, you two! Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding!”
Riot slows, gazing down at me with a look that warms my heart. “We'd better not forget. It’d be a shame to disappoint him.”
“It really would.” I stop to plant a swift kiss on his mouth. “But before a wedding, we should really make our relationship official.”
“Oh, sweet girl,” Riot sighs, reaching up to cup my cheek. “I’ve been yours since the first day you smiled at me. I’ve just been waiting for you.”
I squeeze his hand tightly in mine, bubbles bursting in my stomach. “I'm yours, Riot. Of course I’m yours.”
“You promise?” He leans down to press his forehead to mine.
“Pinky promise.” I draw our clasped hands up between us, releasing him to curl my pinky in his. I lean in, pressing my lips to my thumb with raised brows, waiting for him to complete it. “Well?”
Riot places a swift kiss to his thumb before pulling our hands down and crashing his mouth to mine. When he pulls away, it’s too soon, but the commotion we left behind sounds like it’s about to catch up to us.
“Ready?” Riot asks, clasping my hand tight in his.
“Just about.” I kick off my heels, beaming as Riot does the same with his dress shoes.
We leave, our laughter echoing through the cool autumn air as we run barefoot into the night.Toward the beach.
35
Riot
The moon ishigh in the sky, illuminating our path toward the water. The concert hall is only a few blocks away from the main beach in Neon Valley, and at this time of night, there won’t be many people, if any.
Eloise leads the way, her long legs eating up the distance with each rapid step. When crashing water makes it to my ears, I tug Eloise’s hand, gesturing for her to slow. She does slightly, but it’s barely noticeable—she’s just too excited. A few minutes later, cool sand spreads beneath my toes, and I work hard to keep up with Eloise, the sight of the ocean and the feel of her hand in mine pushing me on.
We make it to the shore, the vast blanket of blue spreading as far as the eye can see. Eloise looks over her shoulder, and moonlight whispers across the planes of her face, illuminating the spark of joy in her eyes and the width of her grin.
I stop, frozen to the spot, my hand dropping limply to my side as Eloise continues toward the water. Laughing, she turns around, walking backward into the water. Her bright-pink hair flutters in the gentle coastal breeze, flowing in all directions and sticking to her glossed lips.
