Page 60 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

“Because you like it.”

I smiled and shook my head, and Ryland even smiled a little too.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I whispered against him. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to be here,” he said. “For you. But then I saw what she did—”

His rage was returning, so I tried to calm him.

“I can imagine how it must have looked to you,” I said. “But she’s an addict. And she is still my mother.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it. Instead, he kissed me on the forehead and took me by the hand as he led me through the parking lot.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Home,” he stated firmly. “As far away from this place as we can get.”

---