The house went deafeningly silent except for the sobs escaping from the broken girl on the floor of the bathroom.

Riley was still howling for her brother to return and forgive her. She clutched the bottom of her stomach with her hands like she was afraid it would shatter if she let it go.

"Are you ok?" Brynn rubbed her hair with a smug, satisfied glint in her eye. She wasn't hiding the fact she was getting off on the whole scene as it played out. It was sickening to watch her take pleasure from Riley's misery.

"Just get out." I snapped at her and let loose some of the blood in my mouth onto the floor.

Brynn sneered at me and waited for Riley to argue that she should stay. Instead, Riley gave her an insecure nod to tell her it was time for her and Aiden to go away. The two-faced bitch fumed while she chewed the inside of her cheek, reluctantly releasing her hold on Riley.

Brynn got up off the floor and straightened her shirt out with a huff. She sulked the whole walk over on her way to grab Aiden, who was still standing steadfast in the doorway. His matchstick head was transfixed and leering at the devastated blond lying in a tiny ball on the black and white checked tile. Brynn grabbed his arm and dug his heels in, refusing to budge an inch.

"Let's give them some space." Brynn glared at him. The annoying shrew pulled on his arm to drag him down the dark hallway behind her.

Good fucking riddance to both of them.

Once our audience was finally gone, I turned my attention back to Riley. She was still balled up on the ground, crumbling away under her heartache.

I had to get to her even if I had no idea how to help her right now.

I gathered up the little bit of strength I had remaining and found my way by her side. I scooped my girl off the floor and pushed down my own excruciating wounds to find a way to ease hers. Her head dropped immediately to my chest when she was comfortably settled in my lap. I lightly kissed the top of it and cradled her in my arms.

This was where she should belonged, right here with me.

Riley began sobbing uncontrollably into my shirt and there was nothing I was going to be able to do to take her suffering away from her. The front of my shirt was drenched in her tears, staining me with a reminder of everything we had been through and what else we had left to face.

Tears stung the corner of my dry, bloodshot eyes the longer I held her fragile form. I tried to hold the tears back so she wouldn't see. I wanted to stay strong for both of us, even if a tornado of emotions ran rampant inside my mind.

I ran my thumb lightly over her temple and back along the side of her head, tracing her hairline to the spot behind her ear. I followed over the same path again, stroking it and playing with the curls between my fingers to offer both of us a much-needed distraction. Riley went silent and began to relax in my arms. She was as worn out as I was from the disastrous night.

After a few minutes of the occasional hiccupping sniffle breaking free from deep inside, Riley tilted her head towards my busted face. She was searching for me. I bent my head down to hers even though the back of it ached with every shift I made.

I brushed Riley's lips with mine softly. I wasn't sure what she would do in her current state but was relieved when her mouth moved in sync with mine. My cut lip stung with every tender press as I held myself back for her to take the lead this time.

Riley coaxed my mouth open with hers and I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck. Her tongue was warm and sweet as I explored every inch I could reach. Riley began growing impatient with the slow kiss and pulled me in deeper into not her. The heat simmered up inside my body into a blazing inferno when her hand began lowering down my chest and settled near the top of my jeans.

Riley Davis was absolutely intoxicating.

Both of us were panting by the time she pulled back to catch her breath. Even though I began to feel lightheaded and was probably going to pass out any moment, I bit her lip and drew her right back in.

Nothing could ever quench my thirst for this girl.

"Stop." Riley jerked herself free from my mouth and put both of her hands on my chest to put some distance between us. She blinked a few times at me and shook her head.

I had no clue what she was doing or why she stopped.

Riley stood up quickly from my lap, leaving me frozen mid-kiss, empty-handed, and with a not-so-small problem in my pants.

"What's wrong?" I asked, lifting my eyes to her face.

"This can't happen again. It's not good for either one of us. We can't do this anymore." She shrieked at me.

I wasn't sure if this reaction was related to her crazy hormones or if it was just Riley being Riley.

Probably the latter.

I knew she was bent out of shape over the fight and Brynn opening her big mouth to tell JD about the pregnancy didn't help either. Her head was probably too preoccupied replaying and overthinking everything that happened with her brother.

"What's this about Ry? Is it because of JD? You know he will forgive you." I asked and attempted to calm her with the truth.

If there was one thing I knew for certain about JD, it was that he really did love his sister. That was never in question and never would be. Of course, he was pissed off and would never speak to me again after what happened, but she meant too much to him to completely cut her off.

He would be there for her no matter how he felt about the two of us.

"No, it's because of this." She flapped her arms dramatically. "It's because you treat me like crap and then I forget it all when you come running back. I let you in every single time and in every way possible. I deserve better than this. I have to start thinking about my future and the needs of the baby."

"We are not going to talk about the baby right now." I bit back at her through clenched teeth. I didn't expect those words to leave her lips and wasn't ready to bring the decision to keep the baby back into the conversation after hearing them.

What Riley said wasn't even close to the truth.

She was the one who decided to dodge me for the last few weeks. How did I come running back to her when I wasn't the one who left in the first place? I called and texted her every day. She was the one who wouldn't answer.

I never stopped trying.

My fuzzy head couldn't connect why the whole dialogue we were having felt wrong. I was missing an important piece of this conversation and was too messed up to put it all together. It was like we hit the fast-forward button and teleported to an alternate dimension simultaneously.

Riley walked over near the bathroom door and picked up a sweatshirt off the floor. She ripped it down over her body and slid the band down over the little bump at the base of her belly.

It was fucking Aiden's sweatshirt.

The anger inside my body reared up again as she placed her hand back on her stomach. I stared at the spot under Aiden's sweatshirt. I knew it was the one he was wearing when they came up to the house. Riley had put it on to rub it in my face. I wanted to pull it off her and find Aiden to choke him with it while she watched.

I stood up clumsily and a sharp pain shot through the back of my neck, ricocheting into the base of my skull. My stomach twisted into knots as the room spun a little more than before. I stumbled over to the side and could barely stand up straight.

I probably needed to lay down for a bit to sleep the haze off. The fight with JD fucked me up even worse than I thought. My body was out of control, sending erratic signals to my limbs as it tried to tell me something about my head wasn't right.

I grabbed Riley's arm and pulled her to me to help steady myself. I needed to hold onto her a bit longer until I could stand on my own. She quickly tore her arm from me and stepped back, sending another round of pain shooting up the back of my neck.

"This is what I mean, Ezra. You always do this to me. You shut me down." She chastised me.

"I'm not talking about any of this tonight. We can discuss it tomorrow. Come here and let me touch you." I begged her to drop the topic for the night as I tried to hold onto her again when my knees started to give out under my weight.

Something was definitely wrong.

"Not this time." She slammed an imaginary door in my face and stormed out.

Riley left me dumbfounded, with my mouth hanging open in the bathroom.

Riley's voice snapped me out of my trance within a few seconds. She was talking to someone on the opposite side of the house.

"JD was my ride. Do you think you and Brynn can drive me home?" She asked.

"Sure. Are you ready to go now?" Aiden responded.

I tore down the hall to where I thought I heard the voices coming from. When I got to the light at the end, Brynn and Aiden were sitting at a table in the kitchen with Riley standing between them.

"Like hell you are." I roared at Aiden and jumped between him and Riley.

"Dude, we're just going to take her home. You can talk to her tomorrow when you sober up a bit." Aiden was on up his feet and stepping towards me like he was going to fight me over her. After surviving a round with JD, I was pretty confident that Aiden wouldn't even resemble a challenge.

"The only person she will be leaving with is me." I stepped up to take Aiden on.

"Enough. Ezra, just take me home." Riley sighed loudly behind me and ran her hand along my back.

"He's been drinking. Don't go with him, Ry." Aiden argued back with her.

The drinking wasn't even an issue. I could handle the amount easily after all the pills I had been ingesting lately. Besides, my head was much worse because of the fight with JD than my vices tonight.

"You heard her. She wants me." I grinned wickedly at Aiden, celebrating my victory.

"Aiden, I promise I will be fine. I will text you when I get home." Riley placated him.

Aiden opened his mouth to start to say something to manipulate her into staying and I wrapped my arm around her waist to guide her outside before he could change her mind.

Tonight would be the last night Aiden would ever go near her again.

Riley had made her decision and she chose me.