When we approach Liz and Fallon, Jules, always the peacemaker, sits down next to him, and I take a possessive seat next to my girl. I reach across the back of the bench, making sure Fallon notices my position with Liz. He does. He smirks at me. Asshole.
I sit back and listen to Fallon, Liz, and Julien go back and forth. Just mundane stuff about Julien being scouted by the men’s soccer team and everyone’s college plans. Liz asks Fallon why he’s even at CU and he shocks the hell out of me and Jules when he says he’s here for Ry. I can’t wait to bring that up with Ry later. I have no clue what he means, but from the looks passing between him and Liz, it seems like she understands perfectly. Then Liz stands up.
“I’m meeting Ryder at the cafeteria. You guys coming?”
I bend to pick up her bag off the ground. “I’ve got this, Liz.”
Julien and I start walking with Liz toward the cafeteria, but she stops.
“You coming?” she asks Fallon.
Fallon’s face lights up and my jaw tics. “Whatever you say, kitten.”
It annoys the hell out of me when he calls her that.
Me: Heading to the cafeteria now.
Ry: Just got out. On my way.
We meet Ryder at the front of the cafeteria building. His eyes scan over Liz then move to Fallon.
“What’s up, man?” Ry fists bumps Fallon.
“All’s cool, hoss. You can relax.” Ry and Fallon seem to have an entire conversation with their short exchange. Ry’s tense posture relaxes, and he claps Fallon on the back before acknowledging the rest of us.
Liz gives Ryder a hug that seems to linger a little bit longer than I would’ve liked, then he turns to greet me and Julien. Several girls have slowed down as they walk past our group. We’re all known around campus, especially Fallon. Girls seem to want to ride his rich dick all the time, even though he’s an entitled ass and treats them like shit. Julien gets the attention of girls that want to hook up with someone from a sports team; it doesn’t matter which sport. I get the attention of crazy girls obsessed with fighters. Like I’m going to be all Christian Grey in bed or something. Ry has his fair share of racing groupies. I hear one girl say my name and I scowl at her. She just giggles and sends me a flirty wave, so I ignore her instead.
The five of us walk into the cafeteria and a high-pitched, surprisingly loud voice yells out Elizabeth’s name. Some short girl with dark hair is jumping up and down, another dude sitting beside her at one of the back tables. By the look on his face, he is not happy. What’s this fucker’s problem? Then Fallon steps forward and leads the way over to where they are.
Liz towers over the smaller girl and has to bend down to hug her before taking a seat next to her. The rest of us follow.
“Guys, this is Meredith and Trevor from my Lit class. We do the study group together.”
So this is the infamous Meredith who Liz talks about. The girl is already chattering on like a squirrel on crack.
“I only have like ten minutes before my next class. Shit, Elizabeth. You weren’t kidding. You guys are all so hot,” she winces. “Sorry. I have no filter. Which one of you is Jayson and which one is Julien? You both look exactly the same, so even if you tell me your names, I’m going to call you the wrong one. You can’t get annoyed because I’ve already warned you,” Meredith says and sends us a huge, toothy grin.
“I’m Jayson. The bigger, scarier one.” I wink at Liz and she laughs.
“You got that right,” Liz replies.
“Glad to hear you think I’m hot,” I say back.
“I never said that.”
“Your girl just said you did.”
Meredith scowls at me. Okay, I think. Don’t tease Liz in Meredith. Got it.
Liz, however, aims pursed lips and narrowed eyes at me and all that does is turn me on. I would give anything to kiss her pouty mouth again.
Fallon’s tipping back in his chair, eyes never wavering from the new guy across from him. The strained energy between the two of them is like two gunslingers at high noon, and I have no idea who will be the first to pull their trigger.
“Elizabeth, you want anything?” Ryder asks her, acting like there isn’t an impending war about to happen at our table.
Julien is already up and walking to the fridge section to grab something nutritious and wholesome I’m sure. Once he’s in training mode for soccer, he sticks to a meal plan designed by one of the team’s nutritionists.
“Their gluten-free cheesecake and a salad, please.”
“Jay? Fallon?”
I just ate at home so I’m good. I shake my head no. Fallon does the same.
Meredith is talking Liz’s ear off, so I copy Fallon’s posture and wait, enjoying the stare-off between Fallon and Trevor. It’s Trevor who breaks first.
“What?” Trevor clips out.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Fallon throws back at him.
“Fuck off, Fallon.”
The girls stop talking.
Fallon scoffs. “Fucking prick. Just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” That danger I was talking about that lurks within Fallon is starting to claw its way out.
Trevor doesn’t seem to care. “And I said fuck off. You know I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.”
“So should you, little brother.”
And there goes the bomb. I’m surprised that half the campus isn’t burning in its aftermath.
Meredith looks at Trevor. “Brother?”
“You need to leave, Trevor. Now,” Fallon threatens, sitting up straighter and leaning forward.
“Wait a minute,” Liz says. “Fallon, shut up.” He sits back in his chair again. “You’re Fallon’s brother? His older brother?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Okay.” She looks at me, eyes raised. I shrug my shoulders. I didn’t know either.
Trevor stands up. “We’re not doing this in front of her,” he says to Fallon, and I want to know which her he is referring to, Liz or Meredith. “See you tomorrow, Wildcat.”
Fallon jumps out of his chair, the noise from it toppling over onto the floor is enough to get us an audience. Awesome. That’s all we need. Fallon is slipping into a dark space quickly and things are about to get real bad, real quick. I feel its energy crackling around us. It’s the same energy I feel when I fight.
“Don’t you fucking call her Wildcat. Stay away from her, Trevor. I mean it.”
Ryder and Julien return to our table wondering what the hell is going on.
“What does that mean?” Liz asks Fallon.
“Trevor, why don’t you walk me to class? Come on.” Meredith nudges him. He doesn’t move.
“I apologize for my little brother’s behavior. As you can see, we clearly can’t stand one another.” Like a gentleman, Trevor helps Meredith out of her chair and prepares to leave. “Talk to you later, Wildcat,” he says to Liz knowing he’s poking the caged lion, and Fallon lunges at him. Ryder is quick to pull him back and check him as Trevor walks away, Meredith rushing after him.
“Calm down,” Ry tells Fallon then turns him and pushes Fallon toward the side doors, I assume for them to go off and talk in private. I wonder if Ry knew about Trevor. Julien and I had never met the guy before. I didn’t even know Fallon had a brother.
Julien slides Liz’s food over to her. “I’m guessing I missed something important?”
Liz is texting on her phone.
“Turns out that guy, Trevor, is Fallon’s brother,” I tell him.
“No shit. Really? Didn’t know he had a brother.”
“Seems so. They hate each other.”
“That’s too bad,” Julien says and tears into a plain piece of grilled chicken.
I think back to my argument with Julien at the beach. Julien and I may fight, we may say some stupid, hurtful shit, but we still love each other. He’ll be my brother to the end. Nothing will change that. I wonder if that’s what Ryder is for Fallon. A replacement brother for the older one he clearly despis
es. One thing’s for sure, there’s more to the story. Like why did Fallon tell Trevor to stay away from Liz? That alone will have me keeping a closer eye on him. No one messes with my girl.
“So, that was fun.” Liz looks up from her phone.
I change the subject. “When’s Daniel arriving today?”
Liz’s eyes brighten with happiness. “He arrived this morning. I saw him before I came to campus. He’s staying at the dean’s house. They’re old college buddies or something. After chem, he’s meeting me at my place for dinner.”
“When are we meeting him?”
“He’s only here for a few days and will be leaving on Friday morning, so how about I arrange something for Thursday evening? I have study group tomorrow and Wednesday night. We have to finish up a major project for Lit class.”
“That’s the study group you do with Meredith and Trevor, right?”
“That’s the one.”
Julien pouts. “No running buddy all week? That sucks.”
“No, this week you get two. Daniel runs every day too. I’m sure he would love to join us, if that’s okay? Just no breakfasts after.”
“As long as I don’t have to promise him bad karaoke.”
Liz’s roll of laughter shoots sparks through my blood. I’m trying to be good and give her the space and the time she asked for. But goddamn, it’s hard to do. I just have to trust in what I told Julien this weekend - that her memory will return and I will get my woman, my love, back.
Ry and Fallon don’t return by the time Liz and Jules have to leave for organic chem. The two classes I have today are evening classes, so I’ll go somewhere for an hour and meet them after. My first stop is to see a girl I know in the student records office. She comes to all the underground fights and has had her eye on me for months. I think I can flirt my way into finding out more about Trevor if I can convince her to access his student file.
Chapter 22
Elizabeth
“How was your day, sweetheart?” Daniel asks me as he cuts up the grilled chicken into thin slices. Drew is joining us on screen from my phone which I have propped up on a stand and set on the counter island.
The apartment smells of sautéing garlic and olive oil. I finish julienning the carrots and spring onions and toss them into the preheated wok with the sweet pea pods before Daniel slides the chicken in. I add some tamari sauce and toss. A splatter of hot oil arcs out of the pan and plops with a sizzle against the cold granite countertop.
“It was a weird yet fascinating day,” I answer.
“How so?” Drew asks. He’s lounging in bed with a book splayed open on his lap and a cup of herbal tea next to him on the bedside table.
“I talked to someone else this morning who knew me. He’s a bit eccentric. Found out he has a brother who happens to be one of my study partners. His brother is the guy I told you about who I met at the beach.”
I stop tossing the wok and turn off the heat. Daniel places two bowls partially filled with steamed rice next to me, and I pour half of the stir-fry into each.
“Your world seems to be a small one. You keep running into people there,” Drew replies. “I hope you know just how sorry we are that we never tried to find out more about your life and friends while we were there at the hospital.”
I stop Drew before he can continue. “Drew, stop it. It’s no one’s fault. Why does everyone feel guilty about me? You guys feel guilty, when in fact, you two saved me. You took care of me when I had no one else. Julien feels guilty. Ryder feels guilty. Jayson feels guilty. So just stop. Everyone needs to stop. Please. No more guilt. This is officially a guilt-free zone from now on.”
Daniel reaches over and hugs me. We take our seats at my small eating table and I bring the phone stand over so we can continue talking to Drew.
“I do have something I would like to share with you guys.” I look at Daniel. “Ryder, the one who came with me this morning? We’re together. Dating. In a relationship. However you want to say it.” I clear my throat and take a sip of water. “I’m in love with him,” I say into my water, making eye contact with the table and not them.
Daniel pats my hand. “I know, honey.”
I look up. “You do?”
“Well, I don’t,” Drew says.
“He’s a very nice young man, Drew. I met him this morning.”
“Is he the one who was missing the other week when you were at your friends’ place?” Drew asks.
“That’s him. I know it may seem soon or too fast, but from the first moment I saw him, I just knew. My memory may not remember him, but my heart does. He told me he’s been in love with me since we were nine years old. If that doesn’t melt your heart and make you swoon, Drew, I don’t know what will.”
“Okay. I have to agree. That was completely swoon-worthy.”
“Thank you.” I smile at my phone.
“Don’t think that because Drew easily accepts your new relationship that this discussion is over,” Daniel says to me.
“Let her enjoy it, Dan. After everything, she deserves to be happy and experience young love.”
“You make me sound like I’m twelve and kissing a boy for the first time.”
“Changing the subject now,” Daniel interjects, and Drew and I both laugh. “I’m taking Elizabeth to her appointment tomorrow, but I’ll call you once we’re done. Are you being well taken care of?”
“Yes, love. The staff you hired are doing an excellent job. I went outside and enjoyed the garden today. The weather was quite mild and lovely. Wish you both were here to enjoy it, as it’s so rare an occurrence.”
“Me, too. Drew.” I link my hand with Daniel’s, knowing it must be hard to be away from his husband right now.
“I love you. Stay safe,” Daniel tells him.
“I love you too, Dan. And you too, Elizabeth. I’m happy that you’ve reconnected with a friend and found someone that cares for you as much as we do. He must be a really good guy for you to feel the way you do about him.”
“Love you, Drew. And yes, Ryder is a really great guy.”
He blows us kisses and logs off.
“Oh, Daniel,” I say sadly, squeezing his hand.
He shakes me off with a watery smile. “So, what is the plan for the rest of my visit?”
“I told Julien that we would join him for his morning runs. We meet at five sharp.”
“The running has been good for you. You look so strong and fit. Any problems we need the PT to address?”
“No pains or anything.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“So tomorrow, we can run with Julien, then my appointment with Dr. Clairemont at nine. I’m free from then until my two afternoon classes until my study group at the library at seven. I would blow it off but we’re finishing our first major presentation. It’s due Friday and it’s a group effort so I have to do my part. I figured we could decide on the rest of the week tomorrow night. Late dinner okay?”
“I am here for you this week, Elizabeth. Whatever you plan will be fine with me.”
“I would love to show you the campus and medical center. Ryder took me to the botanical gardens and they were very lovely, so I thought we could go together. The art museum here is fabulous. I would also love for you to see Ryder race. He is just phenomenal when behind the wheel of a car. Like a pro driver, he’s that good. We can also go to the beach since it’s so close by.”
“You seem happier, Elizabeth. I think you were right about coming back here. I’m glad you pushed to come. This seems to be the place you were meant to be.”
“I am happy. The boys make me happy. Ryder makes me happy,” I say that part with a breathy sigh. “I feel like this is becoming my home.”
“Elizabeth, why haven’t you called the detective back yet?”
I bite my thumbnail. “I’ve been busy?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?” He gives a resigned sigh. “He reached out to my office again. He just wants to ask some follow-up questions. Since I’m h
ere, I can come with you if that would help.”
“Daniel, I really, really do not want to do this right now.”
“Sweetheart, there will come a time when you have no choice.”
Choices. A memory flickers then vanishes.
“Just think about it. Now, let’s enjoy dinner before it gets cold.”
What is it about Daniel mentioning choices that makes me miss Ryder?
On impulse, I take my phone from its stand.
Me: I gave you a key for a reason. xxxooo
There. Hopefully he’ll get the message. I bite my lip and grin.
There was another silver origami star waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home today. Today’s note read: “Hearts of fire, hearts aflame, my love eternal only knows your name.” I hung it with the others from my bedroom ceiling. My ceiling is covered with hanging stars. I’ve gotten fifteen so far. Some with love notes. Some with the sweetest things, like what our daughter will look like. All of them make me fall in love with Ryder even more. I’ve been waiting for him to bring it up, but he’s remained silent, like it’s a special secret between the two of us.
After dinner, Daniel and I curl up on the couch and talk until he leaves around eleven. I’m just finishing up washing my face and applying body lotion when I hear the front door open and the alarm disengage then reengage.
I eagerly stand in the middle of my bedroom, waiting. Seconds later, Ryder appears in my doorway.
“I see you got my message.” I pull my tank top off and throw it across the room. Ryder’s hungry gaze roves across my upper torso and down to my bare breasts before making a slow perusal down my stomach.
“That I did.” He lifts his shirt off and drops it, letting me get my fill of his golden, tanned skin and defined pectorals.
“I missed you today.” I pull my shorts down and kick them to the side. No underwear.
“Not as much as I missed you.” Ryder pops the button on his jeans and sheds them in one movement. He went commando today.
We take a lengthy moment to eye-fuck each other.
“How did dinner go with Daniel?” he asks as his copper eyes linger on my lips, my butterfly tattoos, my pelvis, then drift slowly down my legs and back up again. My legs almost give out from the sensual visual inspection he’s giving me.
Paper Stars Rewritten: Fallen Brook Series: Book 2 Page 19
