Sunset Rising Read Online Free Page B

about it.”
    “Why? I need to understand why you keep putting him off .”
    “My dad is useless on his own , and I miss my mother horribly.” Tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. Crying was such a weak thing to do. “Things are changing so fast, and I don’t want them to. I need to be me for a little longer. You know, before I become Reyes’s wife. Before I become someone’s mother.”
    I wasn’t sure where the words were coming from, but it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. When my tears began to spill, there was no way I could stop them. I handed her the towel and busied myself getting dressed. Summer wrapped the towel around her and turned to look at me. Her expression was sad.
    “You should never have postponed your marriage in the first place. I really think your mom wanted you out on your own before she went.”
    I was pretty sure my mom wanted me married off before she left too, but how could I abandon my own father? Maybe he hadn’t been the best dad in the Pit, but he was my dad.
    Summer put her hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it away. I regretted that immediately. She was my best friend. We met on the very first day of school and had been inseparable ever since. No matter what happened in my life, she was my support.
    “I don’t mean to upset you, but you need to accept that things will never be the same again ,” she said. “Reyes loves you, and that’s the greatest gift any of us can ever hope to get.”
    I wanted to tell her that she was right as usual, but I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat. I nodded. I was a fool to keep Reyes waiting and yet powerless to leave my father.
    Suddenly Reyes yelled my name from the other side of the locked bathroom door. By the sound of his voice, he knew I was being sent upstairs. I quickly dried my eyes.
    Summer dressed hurriedly. “Meet me by the stairs, and don’t be late.” She picked up our towels and opened the door to leave.
    Reyes bolted through the door and almost threw Summer out of his way to get to me. “Is it true?!”
    “Is w hat true?” I hoped to downplay the importance of my serving that night. I could see by the wild look in his eyes that he was ready to explode.
    “Are you se rving at that bachelor party tonight?” He grabbed me by the shoulders.
    “Yeah, but it’s no big deal. ” I couldn’t even look him in the eyes.
    “You can’t. You have to back out.”
    Now I did look him in the eyes. “We both know I can’t do that.” I would be beaten, quite possibly to death, if I didn’t report to work for such an important event.
    “How did this happen? How did you get picked?”
    “We were late, Reyes. Bailey was going to fire me if I didn’t agree. Dad has already lost his job. I can’t lose mine too.”
    “You should have let her fire you and come to me. We could have gotten married and been assigned our own apartment. You know that!” He was losing his composure. I had never seen him this upset before.
    “Reyes, I can’t ju st leave him,” I said softly. I laid my head against his chest.
    He shifted his arms to encircle my waist and pulled me tight ly against him. “Sunset. Do you know why your mother named you that?”
    “ Because of the color of my hair.”
    “Did you ever wonder how she knew what a sunset looked like?” he asked as he pulled away from me and tilted my chin up to look at him. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but your mother was sent upstairs when she was young, too. If the stories are true, she was requested for dinner parties a lot.”
    The empathy I ’d had for Reyes suddenly turned to anger. I pushed against him, trying to break out of the circle of his arms. “Who told you these lies?”
    “Maybe I shouldn’t h ave told you.”
    “No, you shouldn’t have! Why do you always have to find some way to hurt me when you’re mad?” I pounded my fist on his chest. Finally, he released me. “I can’t be late,” I said with disdain and headed toward the