“We don’t have to go in.”

I shake my head and squish my eyebrows together. “It’s fine, but I don’t do well at parties.”

He nods, knowing my distaste for them. “Just a few hours, baby.” His hand wraps around my waist as we make our way to the door. Robert murmurs something next to us as he gets out of the car, but I don’t acknowledge him. He doesn’t think Stiles and I are right for each other. Even though he likes him, he doesn’t think he’s right for me. Or maybe it’s more about the fact that I’m not right for Stiles.

Walking up to the front door, Stiles doesn’t have to know that fact. The door is already open, and people are shuffling through the house with drinks and smokes in their hands.

It’s a large house. Did I expect anything less?

I’d heard the rumors about his father. Stiles’ hand stays on me. He likes to keep me near him at all times with his hand somehow, somewhere, always touching me. It turns me on, and he knows this. Because eventually that hand and his magic fingers start to make their way between my legs.

“This is packed. Do you even know most of these people?” Robert asks Stiles.

Stiles skims the room then comes back to Robert. “Nope.”

We make our way through the house, and apart from the decorations, it’s pretty bare. No family pictures, mementos or anything hanging on the walls.

“Who the fuck are these people?” Robert mumbles next to me, making me smile.

“They would be my employees.”

We all turn to see Ryken and Cane behind us. Ryken looks me up and down, making Stiles grip me tighter, before he looks to Stiles. “You’ll find the football team outside in the pool.” Ryken doesn’t look to me while he says it.

“Thanks... and happy birthday.” I pull a small present out from my bag and pass it to him. He looks to me, then to it.

He doesn’t take it, just looks at me. “You got me something?”

I nod my head. “It’s your birthday,” I reply like it needed some sort of an explanation.

“Doesn’t mean you have to buy something,” Stiles says laughing.

“Oh.” I go to put it back in my bag not knowing people don’t do that. It’s his birthday, isn’t a present required?

“Give it to me, Barbie.”

I shake my head, and he steps closer so I can smell him. He smells good, he always does.

“Barbie...” he says my name again, so I pull it back out and hand it to him. He takes the present and goes to open it, but thinks better of it holding the box in his hands. “Thank you, Barbie.”

“You’re welcome.” Everyone falls silent, and it feels awkward. Turning to Stiles, I touch his chest, looking up at his staunch face. “Drink?” I offer a wave to Ryken before we start walking off, Robert following next to us.

“I didn’t know you bought him something?” Stiles says, letting me go to make me a drink.

Shrugging my shoulders. “I thought that’s what you do. Aren’t birthday parties for the presents? I mean that’s what the girls say at school.”

Both Robert and Stiles shake their head. “No, Saskia, but you're sweet for doing it.”

“Real sweet,” chimes in Robert.

“What did you get him anyway?” Stiles asks, handing me my drink.

I don’t want to tell him, so I lie. Just a small white lie. It can’t hurt. Right?

“Just a wallet.” They nod, liking that answer, and the subject is ended when Stiles is called out back by the boys. We go to follow him, but Livia walks past. Stiles stops but then keeps walking when she says “hi” to me. Robert even walks away following Stiles, so it’s just Livia and me with music blasting all around us.

“You came.”

“Stiles brought me,” I say, looking over to where he went. He nods his head to me before one of his friends pulls him into him.

“I see. You two going good?”

I smile because we are. I enjoy his company. “We are. How about you and Ryken?”

She smiles, but it’s forced as she looks at me. “He told me he loves me.”

I take a step back without realizing I’ve done it.

He said those words... to her.

It doesn’t seem believable.

Ryken has trouble with emotions. He proved it when his mother died.

“You look... upset.” Her head leans to the side as she studies me.

“No. No. Of course not. I’m happy for you.” The smile that touches my face is forced. I want to be happy for her, but I’m not going to say that didn’t sting. Just a bit. Her name is called as Cindy walks up to her, pulling her arm and taking her away from me. Offering a small wave as she goes, I turn ready to go outside, but I’m pushed by something hard on my back.

“Move.” Ryken’s hands are touching my sides as he pushes me to a staircase. I start climbing then arrive at a door which he opens. Turning so I can face him, he locks the door, pulling the present I gave him from his pocket then tearing the wrapping off. He looks up at me, surprise written all over his face.

“I’ve seen you wear it. You touched it when you spoke of your mother.” It’s an Emerald stone, the same stone he has in his ring.

“It’s perfect. It’s the only present I got today that I actually love.”

I shake my head and furrow my brows. “I didn’t know that we shouldn’t bring presents.”

He steps closer to me, his hand skims out, pushing back my blonde hair behind my shoulder. “If I were a decent guy I would walk away right now and not kiss you.” He steps closer again.

My heart takes off, the beats are so hard, ferocious, I can feel them rumbling through every bone in my body. He’s consuming me.

“You should... walk away, that is.”

He nods his head like he agrees with me, but makes no move to actually go. The music seems to disappear as my heartbeats become harder, deafening me with their sound, so all I can see and hear is him.

“But I’m not.” His hands are on me fast. His fingers through my hair, he pulls it back so it’s a ponytail, then he yanks my neck back so he can kiss it. He’s demanding, controlling, and wrong for me on every level.

Yet, do I say so? No.

Do I walk away or even push him away? No.

I let him take my mouth. Then I spread my legs as he steps between them and with his other hand he pushes up my skirt. His lips bruise mine then he leaves them, kissing down my neck, my hair still firmly grasped in his hand.

“It feels good to be bad. Doesn’t it, Barbie?”

Shaking my head, I attempt to pull away, but his hand slips further up my legs until he touches that spot. My mouth opens with a moan, and he takes that opportunity to kiss me even harder, his tongue sliding in with mine.

Biting his tongue, I pull back breaking our lips as he fucks me with his fingers.

“I’ll be forever branded in your pretty little head, Barbie. There’s no escaping me.” He pushes harder until I can feel my eyes close, my fingernails digging into his chest. My leg lifts and my shoe drops from my foot as I angle it around him.

As I come, he pulls me to him, kissing me again. My lips now bruised, red and swollen.

“Ryken,” I say, trying to pull away. My foot lands on the floor, and a scream rips from my lips. This time not because his lips and hands are all over me, pleasing me. No, this time it’s because of the pain. Looking down I see the broken glass, then the blood. “Fuck,” I say being careful to not put my foot back down. Thank God my other shoe is still on.

Ryken lifts away from me, walking into his adjoining bathroom then walking out holding a cloth. He comes to me, places his hands around the back of my legs and lifts me to his bed. He’s careful when he puts me down, then raises my foot to inspect it. “You won’t need stitches.”

The door starts to rattle, and both of us look to it at the same time.

“Ryken...” Livia says his name and I look to him.

Shaking my head, I tell him with my eyes to make her go away. To not tell her I’m in here.

“Give me a few, Liv.”

“Everything okay?” she asks, clearly not going anywhere.

“I’m on the phone with my father.”

“Okay, come find me when you’re done.”

We stay quiet listening for her footsteps until we’re sure she’s gone. He looks up to me with that darkness in his eyes. It’s been hiding all night until now. Going to stand, I realize I shouldn’t. My foot is still bleeding, and I need it wrapped. My foot goes to his lap as he pulls it to him then he starts to wrap it up. We sit in silence until it’s done. Then I see if it hurts to put pressure on it. It does, but I want to try and walk downstairs.

“Oh my God,” I say, shaking my head and dropping it between my legs trying to catch my breath. “What have I done?”

“You didn’t do anything. He won’t even know.” Looking up, I smack him with my hand on his chest.

“I don’t want to lie to him. It shouldn’t have happened. You love her, not me. So why are you doing this?” Shaking my head, I manage to stand, careful of the glass on the floor.

“I do love her, Barbie.”

His words hit me hard in the chest, much harder than I thought they would ever hit me.

How did he get the power to do that?

I didn’t give him permission to have any pieces of my heart, yet with each word he’s just said, it hurt. Much more than it should have.

That’s twice now he’s broken pieces of my heart. Hopefully, it will be the last. Because I don’t want to feel this type of pain again. It hurts. It really fucking hurts.

“Stop it then, Ryken. Fucking stop it!” Pulling open the door, I step out, my feet halt as I almost run into her. Livia looks to me then behind me to Ryken. I can see her heart breaking before my eyes. It’s almost unbearable, even more so seeing as I’m the one who put that pain there. Me. One of her biggest cheerleaders, now most likely her worst enemy.

“Livia...” Ryken says from behind me, stepping up to me. He doesn’t look at me, his eyes this time stay solely on her. “It was nothing, Livia.”

Livia looks at me, tears in her eyes as she looks back to him. “You told me you loved me.”

He nods his head. “I do.”

She looks back to me. When she speaks, she says it to me, but it’s most definitely directed at him. “Do you love her?”

“No! She’s nothing to me.”

Boom. Another crack. He’s eating away at my heart. Why am I letting him? This crack was barely hanging on and now has entirely fallen away. Second time’s a charm.

“Tell her to leave, Ryken. Tell her now.” Her eyes look down to the floor, to my feet. Looking at him, I wait for him to tell me, but before he can open his mouth I reply, “I was leaving anyway. You two deserve each other.”

Walking out, I try to not look back, but I hear the door shut as I walk down the stairs. When I get there, Robert and Stiles are in the kitchen, and Stiles has his phone to his ear as he looks around. When he spots me, he hangs up and walks to me.

“You disappeared.” He looks down to my limping foot and helps me. “What happened?”

“Glass.”

Robert looks to me then up the stairs. He knows it’s more than glass. But right now isn’t the time to tell him more.