“Hello?”
“What?” I muttered, looking up at River. I squinted into the sun, nearly groaning out loud when I saw him. His sharp features were softened, his blue eyes looking at me with a bit of concern while the sun streamed around his face, lighting up like a halo. What the hell.
“You okay? I’ve been trying to insult you for like, five minutes.” He plopped down on the log next to me, and I jolted as the whole thing rocked. I glared at him, and his lips twitched toward a grin.
“I have a lot going on,” I said, looking away. Anton wasn’t in class today. Carla was alone, huddled near a tree a little further into the woods.
River snorted. “Looks like Martin is finally facing some consequences for her actions.”
“So?” I scoffed, looking back to River, who had a glare trained on Carla in the distance.
“She’s on drugs,” River said, his blue eyes narrowing at me.
“I knew that,” I replied, because I did. She’d tried taking Aiden down that rabbit hole with her, and he’d gone, for a while. “So is Anton.”
“Yeah, that one’s obvious. At least his are supposed to help him.”
“What?” I looked up, confused. River pursed his lips like he hadn’tmeant to say so much, and I rolled my eyes. I didn’t have the energy for this today.
River bumped my shoulder with his. “Seriously. What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I have a lot going on,” I repeated.
River snorted. “Fine, don’t tell me. I can’t help you anyway.”
He leaned back against a tree directly behind the log, stretching out his long legs next to mine while resting his hands behind his head.
“I have some stupid shit coming up, too.” He sighed.
“Why’d you punch the wall next to my head?” I asked.
River went silent, staring out at the other students while he prodded the inside of his cheek with his tongue.
“I needed to see something,” he said finally.
“My fear?” I snarked.
River shook his head. “Remember what you said? That if you went in my head, I wouldn’t know?”
I nodded, narrowing my eyes as he spoke.
“Was that just you bragging, or were you serious?”
“I was serious. Why?”
He shrugged, then looked away as if to end the conversation. Several seconds of silence followed, and just as I began to wallow about how Ben wasn’t my father again, River spoke.
“My…dad. He’s a Telepath.”
I blinked, looking back at him. He seemed a little more rigid now, his posture a little less relaxed.
“Cool?” I said sarcastically.
River’s lips twitched, and I almost got a smile before he looked away. His blue eyes flashed in the sun.
“He goes in my head a lot, and…it hurts.”
“Oh,” I turned so that I was fully facing him, straddling the log.
