The Pain Of The Pleasure

SEVEN - RYTH

"I WAS THINKING you might be able to put that laptop to good use." I stared at the butter as it spilled onto the plate. "Ryth?" I hated her. Hated the way she stood in front of me. Hated the way I couldn't get those sounds out of my head. "Ryth?" I jerked my gaze up.

"What?" Mom flinched as though I'd slapped her. "What the hell has gotten into you today?" What the hell has gotten into YOU? I wanted to scream. Oh, that's right...another man's cock! I jerked my gaze to Creed, sitting at the far end of the island, his reading glasses in one hand and his iPad in the other, staring at me with surprise. But they shouldn't be goddamn surprised.

They should be fucking embarrassed. She'd smiled at me when I gathered enough courage to walk downstairs and face her. Pretending like it was just another day staying in a stranger's house, and for a second there, I could've believed her.

I could've talked myself into believing what I'd heard last night was all a bad dream...until Creed walked downstairs and mom smiled at him, smiled like she'd never smiled at my dad...my dad who was sitting in prison. There was no mistaking the truth anymore. I'd heard them last night. Heard them together. She didn't even have the nerve to look embarrassed. "What's going on with you this morning?" "I could ask you the same thing," I said carefully, my pulse hammering.

I wanted to tell her that I knew about them, but the words were stuck in my chest, balled up tight, unable to be dislodged. I couldn't do it. Couldn't say the words, because once I did, everything would change. The heavy thud of steps came from the stairs behind me. The hairs rose on my arms as Tobias sauntered into the kitchen bare chested, his hair still damp from the shower, the scent of something masculine hitting me as he walked past.

"Dad." He grabbed a cup from the overhead cupboard and slid it under the spout of the coffee machine before pressing start and turning. "Elle," he greeted my mom. "Tobias," she said carefully, her attention no longer on me. "Sorry about last night." She stiffened, then glanced at Creed, who lifted a brow in surprise. "The outburst," Tobias added, walking slowly past me. "That's fine," she said slowly as a look of relief washed over her. "I understand." He just lifted those dark eyes to me.

"That doesn't excuse my outburst. I know dad's only trying to help you get your home back. So I'll keep myself in check in the future." But there was something else sparking in that glare, some kind of danger only I saw. "T-thank you," she replied, oblivious to the fact he was playing her, and licked her lips, desperate for a way to keep the conversation going. "You could ask Tobe about Duke," Creed suggested. "He finished up there a couple of years ago." Duke? As in Duke High? "Oh, you thinking about going?" he asked carefully...turning to me.

"What?" Panic rushed in as I tore my gaze from him to my mom. "That's what I've been trying to say." She glanced at Creed. "We were thinking you could transfer schools?" We? Since when did this become a we? Since last night. A pang tore across my chest. I shook my head. "I'm in my last year." "Then it'll be a simple process." She smiled, knowing damn well what she was doing to me.

"You'll attend maybe, what? A few classes, then take your exams, and you'll be done." They'd discussed this? Discussed it between the two of them? Heat rushed to my cheeks. "No, Mom." "If it's transportation you're worried about..." Creed started. "I'm sure Tobias will be happy to drive you." Anger flared in Tobias' gaze as coffee trickled into his cup. "See," mom beamed.

"Tobias will be only too happy to drive you, honey." But he didn't look happy about it at all. The muscles of his jaw flexed as he clenched, then lifted the cup from the machine to his lips, never once taking his eyes off me. She didn't see it, the savage hatred that lingered inside him. The kind that made my belly clench. "Of course," he answered carefully. "If you want me to." "I thought we were going home," I said quietly, looking at mom. Please, mom...no.