Page 56 of Composed
“Did you get the g—”
He spears Axel with a steely glare, shaking his head once.
I twist my fingers and roll my tongue stud across my teeth.
The air crackles around us, the dull hiss of electricity buzzing through the walls.
Saint lights a cigarette, Axel taps the leather couch, Riley rolls her cube, Carter lingers on the edges, and Cole sits there like a statue, stare vacant as he looks across the room.
Guess this really isn’t going to be a walk in the park.
Chaptereighteen
Cole • Now
Over My Head (Cable Car) – A Day To Remember
“SoRosy,likeyourcheeks?” Axel watches the woman sitting beside him, scanning her face for any reaction to the nickname.
Carter scoffs from his perch on the wall. “Rosy like your cheeks? Fucking hell, dude.”
“Do you have anything better, Daddy?” Axel asks.
He might be teasing, but I can see in his eyes he really wants to give her a nickname.
Been there, done that. Bought the fucking T-shirt.
“Not your dad.”
“One day he’s going to accept me as his child,” Axel tells Riley. “Now, what’s your story, Rhubarb?” He shakes his head and hisses. “Nope. Even I know that sounds stupid.”
“I don’t have one,” she says, simply.
“Everyone has a story,” Saint says, head titling curiously.
“Not me. Twenty-eight, book editor, live with Hendrix. That’s my life.”
“How did you and Hendrix meet?” Axel asks.
“At a library.”
“Let me guess." I brush my thumb over my lips, smoothing away my grin as Hendrix toys with the sleeves of her black hoodie. “Rixie was checking out records?”
“Yeah,” Riley says, bobbing her head. “Yours.”
Hendrix drops her gaze to the floor, cheeks reddening as we all look at her.
Riley doesn’t seem to notice, as she continues, “I was looking for Shania Twain. And there she was. She was the first person in my adult life until that point who didn’t look at me funny for the fact I was wearing ear defenders and had a fidget in my hand. She just handed me the record and went about her day.”
“Because I’m not a cunt,” Hendrix states.
Riley taps her pinkie to Hendrix’s. “We saw each other again a week later. Then the week after. From then, we just existed in each other's lives.”
“And now you live together?” Saint asks.
Riley nods, eyes trained on the cube in her hand. “Yeah. I needed out of my mum’s, Hendrix had a spare room, the rest is history.”
“You’ve been friends for a long time?” Axel asks.
