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"Thank you," I whispered against the biting wind And s than his proh point to the other side of the sky and I shivered against the temperature that had also dropped Ryder pulled me closer and we sat in silence for a while until I pulled ether He helped me wipe my face clean of et hoh a throaty voice "Mywhere I am by now"

"I don’t want to take you back there," he growled in a primal, protective voice

"It’s Ok, Ryder, I have to go at soht and casual, but neither of us were convinced "Besides, Nix is out of town right now My mom is almost harmless when he’s not around"

"Nix? The pih bubbled out before I could stop myself, "Yes, ht?" he asked while he rubbed a hand up and down over ht" And I would be

"Then I agree to take you honanimously "But only if you text or call ht, Ok? For any reason, for anything Real danger, or e, Ivy Promise me you’ll call"

"I promise" I closed my eyes and savored the h the stairwell back to his car I had never had anyone I could count on before Even if I never used Ryder’s number as a distress call, his offer would mean more to me than he would ever know

Finally, finally, he felt like the friend I kept convincing myself he was

A real friend

Chapter Thirty-One

I walked as quietly into the apartle sound But it was a wasted effort because she aiting for antly across her chest so that her freshly manicured nails lay undisturbed Her brilliant red hair cascaded over her shoulders in loose waves and her slinky outfit clung to her like a glove She was perfection except for the scoisting her face into sheer disappointment

"Where have you been?" She hissed

"Chase took ," Iit off with him, but not yet, not until I had anybody besides Ryder to use

"You went to breakfast… looking like that?" She sneered openly at ?"

"No, I, uh-"

"Spit it out," she commanded in clipped tones "And I swear, if this is about that Saain, I

will call Nix this instant and make him come clean this up I cannot handle this any and she was red in the face, this was so not behaviormother would condone

"Moot hysterical "I broke up with Chase thisdeal I just felt bad That’s all This wasn’t about Sam" Not entirely

She paused at my interruption, sanity returned to her face and she visibly calave you a tis out and then…" I paused not wanting to use Saue, the lie, the reason… but it seriously et it," she rolled her eyes at me "We do not want a repeat of your ine how eine," I said on a bitter laugh

"Enough of your sarcaset ready We’re expected at Thalia’s in an hour and a half" She started walking to the kitchen but paused to give h tihed Thalia was Sloane’s mother and I was more than ready to spend souts to Ryder But an evening with the circle of women without Nix present, ossip session and my mother fully expected me to participate

Bleh

An hour later I was showered and beautified and ready to go I hung out near the entry way, straightening the kitchen and wasting time while I waited for my mother to do… whatever it was she needed to do before we left Shethere on ti on her, my mother was under the impression that she needed tothe saner, but basically the same style and her hair was , calculated glance before I received the nod of approval Ugh, and ere just going to dinner with other wo for us e reached the ground floor, heaven forbid my mother drive And then ere silent until we reached Sloane’s sprawling midtown home I realized when the car stopped in front of Sloane’s house that Exie’s mother, Echo, hadn’t thrown a party in a while

There was only a second to conteainst the black painted door and Thalia elco us with her wide, fake smile and perfectly coiffed black hair

"So happy you could finally join us," Thalia cooed, referencing my mother’s inability to be on time

"So are we," my mother echoed without any enthusiasm Technically ere all chained to the sa for Nix, but soher rank of respectability than Exie or Sloane’s fa in the cash

Basically because we could be bigger sluts than theht?

"The girls are in the dining room, Ivy," Thalia mentioned over her shoulder before she escorted myfor her

I left the room I didn’t ather Hopefully the party was contained to my mom and me, Exie’s faet catty after a while, but it was better than perfor I was interested the entire night

Especially after talking to Ryder There was this rebellious freedoht and I knew I couldn’t be trusted to perfor that demanded to be set free But the rational part of my brain warned that it was still too soon That until my trust fund was available I still had a part to play