He lifts his head, and his eyes trail my towel covered body, lingering on my bare legs. “Feel better?”
“Kind of.”
He gives a sad half smile, “Hungry?”
“Not really.”
I step over to the closet and pull out an oversized shirt, slipping it on before walking over to the dresser to find a pair of yoga pants.
“You coming to the race tonight?”
Shit. I forgot all about it. Not that I have anything else to do, it just slipped my mind after reading the letter. It’s supposed to be the biggest race they’ve had. The Vipers have bet two point two million dollars for this race, and thousands of people have made personal bets on competitors.
“I wouldn’t miss it!” And that’s the truth, even if it did momentarily slip my mind.
“Good. You’re riding with me tonight and sitting VIP in the pit.”
My eyes widen, and he grins. I’ve always stood with Jessie in the center of the track and thought that was as close as we could get unless you were the pit crew. “That’s amazing!” I all but squeal.
I finish getting dressed and start brushing out my hair, Ryder’s still on his phone. I guess handling RAGE things. “I need to stop by my parents’ house before the race.”
Still typing away on his phone, he replies distractedly, “Oh yeah? What for?”
“Looking for old photo albums.” I smooth down my hair and twist it up in a jumbo claw clip.
“I can take you now, while I have some time.”
“Okay.”
I step inside my parents’ house and gasp silently. Everything is exactly the way it was before the murder. “How did you…”
“Cleaning crew. I hired them before we left, and they had it fixed up within a day.”
“Wow,” I breathe.
Ryder drapes his arm over my shoulder and tugs me to his side. His hugs are always comforting. To everyone else, he’s a cold hearted, emotionless asshole, but to me he’s more. I understand why he tried pushing me away. In his mind, he believed he was protecting me, but what happened between then and now is not his fault nor Hayden’s. That’s a hill I will gladly die on. I don’t know who’s at fault, but it isn’t them.
I walk further into the house and take it all in. The last time I was here, it was like a scene from a horror movie. Now it’s my home again, except it feels cold instead of warm, and it’s too silent. That sends an ache through my chest, and I fight back the urge to cry. I’m not sure I have any tears left to cry anyway.
I look back over my shoulder and see Ryder leaning against the entryway wall, watching me. “What?”
His lips turn down slightly, and he shakes his head, “Nothing.”
I squint my eyes, “Uh huh.”
He huffs a laugh and drops his head down. Ugh! He could melt my panties off every single time he does that. “You’re just beautiful, and I love watching you.”
Heat creeps up my cheeks, making me blush, and I suck my bottom lip between my teeth. I avert my eyes and tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I turn towards the stairs to check out my room.
My room is exactly how I remember it, except it’s much cleaner than I ever kept it. Not a single sign of what previously occurred here. Thankfully, because that would dramatically affect the selling price.
I don’t have to turn around to know Ryder is directly behind me. I feel his presence pressing against my back. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?”
“Everything.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I’d do anything for you.”
