Ride Me | ✓ |

Part Twenty Two

Coked Out Stories
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Harley Finley

For the next few days, I avoided Colten like the toxic radiation he was. Making sure we were never alone in a room together or even less than two arms lengths close. It wasn't easy the first day. It seemed he practically lived at Elijah's house, even sleeping over. The second day he disappeared for hours, but I didn't let anyone know I was counting the minutes until I heard his bike crawl up the driveway because even if I told myself I needed to back off, I didn't want to.

All I wanted to do was make a point that I wasn't going to be strung along with his pathetic excuses of protecting me without a reasonable explanation or the admission to his feelings.

I'd take either at this point.

I didn't need him. I just wanted him. Just as I had wanted a family all those years after I ran away. So I kept telling myself the same thing as then.

I don't need him.

I kept my promises to myself even when he'd crack jokes and stooped as low as giving me saddened glances when I refused to laugh. I even went out of my way to make sure to wear clothing a nun would be proud of just so I could stay strong in my silent protest of his macho man complex.

That is, until Chloe's baby shower.

She had taken me shopping, helping me pick out outfits because most of mine still sat at my apartment hours away from here.

I was beginning to miss my small, quiet studio as the days went on. It had all of my cooking supplies there, all hanging in the kitchen from the short ceilings. Every morning I'd curse to myself after smacking my head on a iron cast pan, but after waking up in my childhood bed for a few weeks, I couldn't help but be ready to be back at my real home. The place I had made home with my little nicnacks and plants that were probably dead by now.

But I promised Chloe to cook today. So that's what I intended to do.

Even in the mini, spaghetti strapped dress she encouraged me to buy.

How she saw it fit for me to bend over into the oven with such a short dress was beyond me. The only up side was the kitchen was hot. Not even the ceiling fan could cool my almost sweating forehead.

I pat my face dry and washed my hands in cold water again before going back to the lasagna Chloe had wanted so badly.

With extra cheese on one side.

She said that was her side. Even asked me to make a wall of sprinkled cheese to show everyone not to cross over it.

"My fiancé must be president wanting a wall that high." Elijah joked behind me as he entered the space I had made my getaway today.

My laugh sounded throughout the house. I couldn't contain it, even as it died down Elijah's laughter made me start up again.

"Do not let Chloe hear you comparing her to Trump. I think she'd murder you."

Elijah chuckled one more time before shuffling through the fridge. "You've been quiet the past few days. Everything okay?"

He let out a frustrated groan that just made me laugh again.

"If you're looking for beer, Chloe hid it all. And I'm fine." I wagged my can of Budweiser in the air teasingly.

His eyes widened with an exasperated whisper, "How am I supposed to be sober with her family and annoying friends here?"

"I don't know, Eli. I also don't know if there's a few beer cans laying around inside the cabinets beside me."

He rushed over to me, swinging the cabinet doors open with a sigh of relief. He pulled one out, cracked it open and chugged the thing like it was the last drink on earth.

"Thank god you're here." He sighed happily.

My frown returned and I gave the stove top my attention again.

I wanted to figure out what my father needed from me but I felt withdrawn, homesick and just a tiny bit nauseous from the idea of finding out more secrets.

Maybe I wasn't cut out for this.

I was almost killed when someone messed with my car. Then I was almost sexually assaulted by my ex. What's next? Maybe next time it won't be an almost.

"Harley?" Elijah waved a hand in front of my face a few times until I blinked back to reality. He huffed a sigh. "I wish Dad didn't put this all on you. It's probably the most selfish thing he's done and he was a horribly selfish person so that's saying a lot."

"You're not wrong about that." I sighed back, placing my palms to the counter with a groan. "I don't think I can handle it, Elijah. I just want to erase my memory and go home. Why do I have to be stuck on this like I'm hyped on Adderall and this is a fucking school project?"

"Lee, you don't have to do anything. If this was such a huge issue for the family Dad should have handled it. Period. I feel like this is some twisted way for him to keep you around here even after his death." Elijah shrugged, taking another two beers from the cabinet and handing me one.

I hesitated for a moment. I knew I needed to trust someone. Chloe was right. And if I was deciding to stay away from Colten, the only other person in this world that would understand would be Elijah.

"Drew said he wanted to break me so I would tell him our families secrets. I don't know what he's talking about. The only secret I knew was that Dad sold drugs. But that's not a big deal in this town." I admitted, finally getting it off of my chest but even saying it burned my throat with bile.

Elijah raised his brows, eyeing me over his beer can as he gulped the liquid again.

"What else did that bastard say?"

"My mom used to perform in these rituals. That her and his father were apart of a group that believed they ruled the world or some shit." I eyed him carefully, watching for any tell that he knew all of this.

Then there was a soft, almost breathless, "Huh" that left him lips. It was like a lightbulb had lit above his head, brightening his mind.

"What?"

He shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Well Dad told a ton of shitty stories before he died. One of them being that you were conceived during a ritual. We all thought he was just coked out of his mind. He'd go on and on about God being mad at him for being your father. That he wasn't supposed to be." His words slowed and his chuckle seized as he stared into a world of nothingness.

The same "Huh" left my lips before we both went silent.

I continued to cook and drink beers with Elijah, neither of us saying a word. Not even after I had thrown the lasagna into the oven did we speak.

Then I finally I broke the dreaded, overthinking silence.

"You don't think there was some truth to it?" I started, looking at him at the corner of my eye.

Elijah went to speak but quickly closed his mouth. His eyes trained ahead of him with a small smile slowly pulling at the corner of his lips. He turned to me, placing a hand to my back and giving the top of my head a small kiss.

"We'll talk about it later, Lee. For now, just enjoy the party." He whispered before scurrying off.

I huffed and rolled my eyes before looking behind us. My heart twisted at the sight in front of me, watching Colten ease himself forward in slow, sensual steps.

His body was wrapped in his usual attire of jeans and a plain gray t shirt. But his hand held the things that caught my eye the most.

Lilies that seemed to be ripped from the ground stood upright in his left hand.

"I didn't mean to interrupt the moment you were having with your brother." Colten huffed, his face reddening with each moment I didn't speak back.