Chapter 6Little by little, Riley relaxed. Gabe and Laura worked in the kitchen, Raphael helped Quillian prepare the bonfire, and Rook fixed things here and there. Sometimes he was left alone, but for the most part, someone was talking to him. No one walked around with a beer bottle in their hand, and no one leered at him or touched him. It took a couple of hours, but he was starting to believe it wasn’t going to be like one of Mark’s parties. It wasn’t over yet, things could still escalate, but when Rook gestured for him to sit on the couch in the living room, he did, and he didn’t move despite Rook dropping down next to him.
“Now we have to wait until it’s dark, right?” Rook more or less melted into the backrest. “No point in lighting the fire while it’s daylight.”
“Not many hours left.
