When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
❝He's never going to love you. I think it's best if we all give up on him.❞
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"CAN YOU PLEASEWATCH YOUR HANDS?" Ria grumbles. She wriggles from Chris' grasp as his hands glide down her waist.
"I'm trying to make this easier on you," comes his agitated response.
It takes all of her patience not to snap as she grits, "It's not easy when it feels like you're feeling me up."
She grabs the frozen railing running up Daniel's porch for dear life. It's been an hour since her pain medication wore off. Sharp discomfort tears into the pit of her stomach.
"Why didn't you take more medication?" he demands and grasps her waist tighter than before. "You can barely get up the stairs."
"I want to be completely aware when Daniel tells us what he has to say." She grunts and bites the inside of her cheek as a sharp pain rips through her abdomen. Between the pain meds and mood stabilizers to help regulate her disorder, she just hasn't felt like herself lately. Any excuse to not take medication is a blessing.
The gauze around her midsection scratches her sensitive skin. Beneath that, the scar below her belly button begins to tingle in pain. Each step feels like a chore until they finally reach the door and Jared is opening it. He offers his hand and Ria grasps it desperately, allowing him to tug her inside.
Everyone is already here, crowding around Daniel's moderate living room. Last time Ria was here, she had stayed the night after Brandon attacked her. The familiar waft of vanilla candles and spices slip past her in a gust of blasting heat. A pristine atmosphere cleanses her lungs.
Jared attends her in her treck to the living room and sits her next to Sophia and Dea on the four-seater sofa. Daniel lounges in a porcelain white loveseat with a glass of wine loose between his fingers. He greets her with a slight nod to which Ria returns. Dea mimics her brother and reaches across Sophia to give an affectionate tap on her arm.
"Hey, guys." Ria grunts as lightning sharp pain stretches across her stomach while sitting down.
"Hey..." Sophia trails off and glares as Chris finds a seat by himself across from them. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came with Ria, obviously." Chris pulls his arms out of his jacket and tosses it on his armrest. "How do you think she got here?"
"This little meeting is for people who need to hear Ashton's story. How are you connected to Ashton in any way?"
Chris sharpens his eyes. "I'm the one taking care of his girlfriend. Which one of you checked her out of the hospital again?" When no one speaks up, he nods. "That's right. It was me."
Ria sticks cold hands between her thighs and mutters, "I think Chris deserves to know what's going on if he's going to be involved in all of this."
