Page 60 of When You Stayed
The dots danced for a minute or so before the screen transitioned to an incoming call.
“Connor?”
Yelling echoed from the background before he shut a door. “Wanna tell me why the fuck Royce and her sister just pulled up to my house with a box of her old stuff, asking why I gave it to you?”
Oh, fuck.
Running my hand over my jaw, I blew out a breath. “I’m on my way.”
Another female shout echoed from his side of the phone. “You better fucking hurry, Ford. I should not be dealing with this.”
I ended the call, about to pocket my phone when Rook’s text appeared on my screen.
Rook: I’ll try, but there’s some shit that’s a bit complicated…I don’t know how long I’ll be here.
I shot back a quick reply before sliding the device into my front jacket pocket.
Me: Okay, stay safe.
I arrived in less than ten minutes because Connor’s parents lived in an older neighborhood near the river. I didn’t see Royce’s bike anywhere, or Taryn’s. Instead, there was a familiar Jeep that I remembered the Quinn sisters sharing in high school, parked in front of Connor’s garage. I parked on the opposite side, in case she had the inkling to hit it or something.
Connor had told me last night that his parents were in New York visiting his little sister, so they weren’t home and no one was there to protect Connor from the Quinn sisters murdering him. I jogged up the front steps and pushed through the front door, already hearing Royce yelling from somewhere near the kitchen.
It was a straight shot from the small circular foyer to the long hall that would connect to the kitchen and open-concept living room. The hardwood gleamed as I kept my gaze low, still trying to figure out what the hell I was going to say, and then Connor’s dark head of hair came into view. It looked mussed from sleep, skewed and sticking up everywhere, but my focus was on the familiar black hoodie he was wearing.
On instinct, I swung my gaze over to Taryn who was watching me with furrowed brows and panic stamped across her features. She was worried I’d say something about it. I raised my brow at her, as a way of silently reminding her what I had said about going to war with me.If she tossed me some help in this situation, then I wouldn’t bring any attention at all to what her big sister’s ex-boyfriend was wearing.
“Ford, fucking finally!” Connor sighed. His arm swept wide as if to hand the entire conversation over to me. Royce’s scowl was so intense I took a step back.
“You called him?”
Connor sounded exasperated. “Of course I called him. He’s the one you have the issue with, not me.”
“That’s my stuff, Connor. You had no right to give it to Ford.”
Connor was about to defend himself when I finally spoke up. “He didn’t.”
Blue eyes rimmed in white glared back at me as Royce crossed her arms and waited for me to expand. Except I didn’t want an audience for this.
“Can we talk somewhere private?”
Taryn’s nose flared as she swung her gaze to her sister and back to me. I knew she had something to say, but she was fighting it. Royce seemed to think so too as she glanced over at her sister expectantly.
“We can talk here.”
I shook my head. “It’s private, and if you broke in to my house, then there’s shit you missed. At least let me give you all of it.”
“I’m not going to your house, you’ll probably mur?—”
“Aww fuck. He isn’t going to hurt you, Royce. Just go talk to him. You’ve been badgering me for almost half an hour about this shit, and he’ll answer all your questions, go with him.”
Indecision flickered in her expression as she checked back with Taryn silently.
“You should go, Royce.”
Royce still didn’t seem convinced and blew out an angry breath as a way of showing it. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you, Ford. I hate you and want nothing to do with you.”
That hurt, but I’d been dealing with her apathy toward me my entire life. So it was nothing new.
