“Kieran.” She closes her laptop, setting it aside. “Listen to me?—”
“You fucking lied to me. When I’ve done nothing but try to keep you safe, you run back tohim.”
“He’s my brother, Kieran,” Riley chokes, her green eyes immediately welling with tears. “I-I wanted to hear him out.”
“Let me guess, he won you over with some sob story about how he’s changed and how he’s on our side?”
Riley’s throat bobs as a few tears leak down her cheeks, but she doesn’t deny it.
I scoff. “Unbelievable.”
“Kieran, please. You have to believe me. I-I didn’t lie about meeting with my professor.”
“You seriously expect me to believe that Oscar happened to be on campus the very same day? No, better yet, the very samehourthat you were? How stupid do you think I am?”
“I had no idea he was going to be there!” Riley throws up her hands.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because…” Her voice cracks, and she looks away, wiping her cheeks.
When she doesn’t continue, I swipe a hand down my face, trying to keep a hold on my temper.
“Seeing as you can’t answer that question, why don’t you try explaining this? Why meet with your professor now when your classes aren’t even on? What is so urgent that it couldn’t wait a few weeks?”
“I told you, I needed to talk to him about the internship.”
“I know, but somehow I don’t believe that whatever you had to say couldn’t be put in an email.”
“It’s true.”
“Is it? Because your track record for telling the truth today is not looking good.”
Riley’s lower lip trembles as her gaze falls to the floor.
Normally, the sight of her so upset would make me feel like my chest was being cracked open, but her reluctance to answer me only angers me more.
“Answer me, Riley, or I swear to god?—”
“I…needed advice. About the internship, and about what comes next for me.”
“Why would you need to ask advice on an internship you’re turning down?”
“Because I just did, okay?” she snaps, though her voice cracks as she fights back tears. “God, Kieran. Not everything in my life has to revolve around you and this war with Sean. I needed some clarity, and I got it. End of story.”
“And I couldn’t have given you that?”
She lifts her eyes to look at me, and there’s a flash of defiance in them. “No, I couldn’t.”
The words sting more than they should. “I thought we were a team.”
“So did I.”
For a moment, we just stare at each other like a pair of strangers, until Riley collapses back in the armchair and puts her head in her hands.
“I didn’t want to lie to you about Oscar,” she whispers.
“Then why did you?”
