Lost King Piper Lennox (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📖

I remember it perfectly.

But Theo’s changed.

As I drop the phone back in and slowly reclaim my place in Theo’s arms, I feel that relief come back.

I’ve changed, too.

I may not deserve his trust right now, but I’ve got it. And I’m going to guard it with everything I have, from now on.

30

“You can’t leave yet!”

The twins say this in unison as I shut our luggage in the back of the Jeep and give Wes a slap-hug combo in the driveway.

I turn to tell them sorry, it’s just how it is, when I realize they weren’t talking to me. They’re hugging Ruby goodbye.

Wes calls to Clara to get back inside before she freezes; she’s sporting Toms in four inches of fresh snow. To me, he says, “Looks like your girlfriend earned the official Hurley stamp of approval. They love her.”

I smile to myself. It’s a weird kind of flattery, everyone liking the first and only real girlfriend I’ve brought around.

Our drive through the snow is nerve-wracking, but we keep the mood light, joking about all the ways we can stay warm if we get stranded in the Jeep. I love this feeling we’ve got, right now: like everything’s okay. Our talk last night really helped.

What doesn’t help it is the string of texts she gets, the second we’re at the base of the mountain.

“Callum?” I ask, because I’m too stupid for my own fucking good.

I feel her stare on the side of my face. “Yeah. I’m blocking him later, don’t worry.”

In addition to explosive anger, Durhams are also notorious for our smart mouths. It’s an interesting trait to have, considering the nosedive our intelligence takes when we’re mad.

“Why put it off?”

Ruby bristles at my tone. “Like I’ve said before,” she answers measuredly, “he’s got a lot of problems. Blocking him right now, out of the blue, is going to end badly. I know that for a fact.”

“Uh-huh. And waiting until after dinner will magically avoid that?”

“Wow. Are you going to be this much of a dick the entire drive?”

The rage burns through me again. I bite it back. I don’t like being called a dick, but I’m fully aware that’s what I’m being.

“Look,” she sighs, wedging her knees against the dash, “I just need to contact a few people, first. Friends of his, who can keep an eye on him if—no, actually, when—he does something dumb, after I tell him.”

“You think he deserves to be warned, or get an explanation?”

“Probably not. But I’m still going to give him one, whether you like it or not.”

Her comeback crackles in the silence. It pisses me off, but also shuts me up, because I can’t think of anything to counter it. I’m kind of grateful.

She sighs and leans against her door, watching flurries of snow scatter around us. “Theo…you know how your mom leaving, and your friends talking shit about you, made you wonder who you could trust? You’re not the only one who’s felt like that.”

I feel her look at me, but I stare ahead to the strips of salt on the road.

“Something happened to me once that...that made me not trust anyone, either. And Callum was there for me. When I couldn’t feel safe around anyone else...I felt safe around him.”

She looks away. “I know he’s not the same anymore. And being there for me back then doesn’t justify anything he’s done lately. Just because he was a good friend once, doesn’t mean he’s one now.

“But he used to be. So giving him an explanation, it’s for my sake. So I can feel at peace about ending my friendship with him. Not who he is now…but who he was.”

She ends her speech with a hard jab to the radio, turning Christmas music up until we can’t hear each other breathe.

“I’m sorry.” It took a couple hours and many silent miles, but I finally get my apology out, at the entrance to Ruby’s complex.

“For?”

“Being a dick.”

Her smile’s slow to form, but bright when it does. “You’re not. I’m sorry I called you one.”

I shrug. My smartass mouth, at least, deserved the title.

“But,” she says, clicking her tongue, “now you know the truth: you’re not the only one with a temper.”

“I’ve noticed.” My hand rests on her thigh as I pull into the lot. “I like it, though. Getting put in my place.”

She laughs, either at my joke or the way my hand starts sliding where it shouldn’t.

As soon as I park, her phone pings. The peace shatters.

“I promise, I’m telling him tonight,” she says, throwing her phone into her purse without checking the message. “It’s as good as done.”

Tight-lipped, I nod. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, something dumb will come out.

“Hey,” she says. “Look at me.”

I rub some gunk out of my eyes, then take a breath and swivel my head her way.

She pushes up on the console to kiss me. I both love and hate how easily it wipes my brain clean.

“I care about you,” she whispers, touching her forehead to mine. “I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t.”

“This isn’t a jealousy thing.”

Her mouth lifts into a smirk. “Sure looks like it.”

“Fine, it’s a little jealousy.” Her laugh makes the confession worth it. “But it’s mostly just...not wanting anything to mess this up. You and me.” I button her coat up the rest of the way, then fix her scarf. “And I’m worried about you. He sounds dangerous.”

“Which is exactly why I need to do all this, the blocking and no-contact stuff, in a pretty specific way. I don’t like it any more than you do, but I know how he is.” She pauses. “So trust me.”

Hard as