Star-Crossed Secrets

by Kali Brixton

  “I promise,” I say, pressing a kiss on her nose. “For someone who’s such a badass, you sure are becoming mushy here lately. You’re not turning into a softie on me, are you, Evergreen?”

  She swats my shoulder. “Careful. You’re only a foot away from two of the knives I have stashed in the room.” Her eyes grow soft as she pulls her head back to look at me. “Maybe I’ve just had time to think about things.”

  I nod in understanding. Me too. “You want to hang out tonight? Kieran’s got a study session at Veronica’s.”

  She hesitates for a moment. “I wish I could, but I’ve got something planned with the girls already.”

  “I think it’s good that you all hang out so much together.” I’m truly glad that Ev has Lia and the girls because although she’s always super nice to others—well unless they piss her off—she doesn’t let many in.

  The world’s a lonely place without someone to have your back.

  Glancing at the clock on her wall, I realize her roommate should finish her exam any moment now. “I’d better go. Knock ‘em dead on that Earth Science test, Ev.”

  “Good luck on the project.” Her lips press against mine sweetly as she holds my face. “Will you text me and let me know how things went?”

  “You got it. I lo—” Fear grips me as I realize what I was about to say. She looks at me with confusion in her eyes. “I, uh, love that you’re so responsible. Most people in a dorm would wait until the day they have to leave to pack.”

  She laughs. “Thanks…I think.”

  In all the steps it took me to get from Ev’s dorm room to the parking lot, I still was in a haze over almost telling her I love her. Which is completely ridiculous because I do, but I want to tell her after I address a few things with my dad and carve a new path for my future.

  Wrapped up in my thoughts, I fail to pay attention to the person coming towards me until it’s too late.

  “Hey,” Kieran says as he gives me a confused look then flicks his green eyes, exactly like Ev’s towards the building. “What are you doing over here?”

  “I…I was…” I look around. No classroom buildings, no campus offices, no restaurants, or anything that I could reasonably say I was in the neighborhood for. I’m locked in at the intersection of I’m fucked and Let’s just hash this shit out because I love your sister and I’m tired of having to sneak around behind your back to be with her. Although, I doubt they make signs that long for intersections.

  He gives me a knowing smile, which unnerves me to no end. “I think I know.”

  I swallow hard. “You do?”

  “It’s okay. You can come clean, Luca…” Halle-fucking-lujah. Let’s address this and go on with—“This is where Mystery Girl lives, isn’t it?”

  I blink a couple of times. “Yeah, she…yeah.”

  Mystery Girl was the name Kieran had unknowingly given to Ev. He had noticed all the times I was sneaking out to see someone and when the apartment was cleaner more so than usual, so he knew I’d had someone over numerous times while he and Dreidan were gone. It stuck, so I changed Ev’s name to Mystery Girl on my phone when he first started calling her that, just in case he ever saw a text I received from her. Ev didn’t know about the Mystery Girl title because I didn’t want her freaking out, thinking her brother was on to us, so it was a delicate balance to strike.

  This double life shit is hard.

  “Hell yeah, my boy’s startin’ his day off right.” He raises his hand in a high five which by law, you have to return to your best friend—or really, to anyone. Otherwise, you’re a horrible person who hates newborn babies, puppies, and all the other wonderful things in life. I shake my head at my luck. Just hang in there until you tell her, then you can deal with him. “You didn’t bump into Ev up there, did you?”

  Only with my dick. “Saw her on my way out.”

  “Mystery girl’s on her floor?” And there goes all the luck. Christina Aguilera’s pipes ring through his phone. “Shit, hold on.” He looks up towards the left side of the building. “I’m outside your dorm.” There’s more incoherent chatter that I can’t hear, which gives me an excellent opportunity to make a break for it. I wave at him, only to have him grip my shoulder. “He’s here with me. Why?” I wonder if it’s Ev calling to ask him about moving. “What’s in it for me?” A pause. “Does a reindeer have antlers? But I want some blueberry cake ones if they’ve got ‘em.” He brings his phone down to his chest. “Ev wants to know if we can help her move her stuff out on Saturday. You free?”

  I nod affirmatively, keeping my smile at bay.

  “He’s in. I’ll get Dad to trade me vehicles and I’ll bring the truck Saturday.” He pauses again as he waits for her response. “Want any donuts?”

  I shake my head no.

  “Blueberry cake for him too.” He silently cackles and gives me a thumbs-up, obviously thinking he pulled a fast one over on her.

  Such an idiot sometimes. As Ev would say, bless his heart, the poor thing don’t know no better, do he?

  “Hold on, I’m getting another call.” He mouths Later and turns towards the door, giving me a wave and granting me a chance to escape.

  I had almost reached my car when a call came through on my phone. Pulling it out of the pocket of my joggers, I smile when I see the name that pops up on the screen. “You just saved my ass back there.”

  “Good thing too. It’s a nice one.” I can’t contain the smirk that slaps itself on my face at her words. “I’m guessing he was giving you the third degree?”

  I shake my head. “He’s gonna make a hell of a detective one day.”

  “Dad will be so proud.”

  I glance around. “How’d you know?”

  “Look up and behind you.”

  I do as she says and count up seven rows to find Everleigh standing at her window, waving. I cock a brow, even though I doubt she can see it. “Were you watching me walk to my car?”

  “I might have been looking out the window and just happened to notice you bumping into my doofus brother.”

  Oh, she was totally watching me.

  “One last thing before I have to go…” she pauses and leans forward, perching her arms on her windowsill. “You didn’t ask for blueberry cake donuts, did you?”

  Always so sharp. “I’m more a maple bacon kind of guy.”

  Even up high up, I can see that megawatt smile and a nod. “Duly noted.”

  We hang up and I hop in my car, unable to wipe this goofy grin off my face as I drive toward campus where my next class is.

  There’s a lot of things my father and I need to discuss concerning my future this weekend, and for the first time in my life, I have a direction I’m willing to go in.

  Especially if she’s willing to come along for the journey.

  7

  Luca

  After helping Ev and Kieran bring her stuff to their childhood home and getting it unloaded, I receive a handshake and hug from Everleigh’s dad and mom along with an invitation for dinner and to spend the night in the guest room. Because after all these years, they still know how much I hate being under the same roof as my father for any length of time.

  Walking through the door of a place that should have been a safe haven for Lia and me, I couldn’t help but cringe at the gaudy decor and everything meant to scream, “We have money!” as soon as you cross the threshold. It’s ridiculous and I’ve always hated it, knowing I could never be this person but was never given an option to become anything other than a well-crafted younger version of my father.

  Hopefully, after today, that would all change…

  I look in the mail bin on the side entry table and see the Emory University insignia on a letter, making my heart skip a beat. Flipping the letter over, I see that the envelope has already been disturbed, no doubt by my father, and its contents already read. Swallowing the anger back at my lack of privacy in this house, I open it up and unfold my future.

  Dear Luca,

  Congratulations! You have bee
n admitted to Emory University and accepted into the Emory University School of Law, Class of…

  My eyes quickly absorbed the good news. I’m in. It actually happened. I take out my phone and snap a picture, sending it to the one person I knew would be the happiest for me.

  Mystery Girl: OMG! I’m soooooo proud of you! *applause emojis*

  Mystery Girl: We’re gonna have to celebrate this! *party horn emoji*

  Mystery Girl: Pick your poison and the next time the roomies are out, takeout’s on me.

  My heart pricks at the thought that in keeping everything with me and Ev under wraps, it also meant not being able to just go out and have dinner like a normal couple. Not that we’re officially a couple or anything…or that Ev has expressly stated that she wants an actual relationship with me, but I’m hoping she does. Either way, I hope after this talk with my dad, I can be honest with Kieran and actually pursue her the way she deserves.

  She’s settled for brief moments away from prying eyes instead of being paraded on a man’s arm because he’s proud to show the world that she’s his.

  After today, though, I’m going to tell her exactly how I feel about her. It’s time to show her in every way I can how honored I would be to call her mine.

  Starting with the man whose office is at the top of these stairs…

  “I thought you were going to meet me at my parents’ house?” Lia’s voice sounds distressed as she talks to someone on her phone. We’re sitting in Ev’s new-to-her Jeep, which narrows it down to two or three people it could be on the other line. “Ev, Luca, and Kieran.”

  I can hear a raised voice and deduce that it’s her husband, Giacomo, who’s every bit the asshole his father is. About the only tolerable one in the family is his much younger sister, Gianelle, who seems to be a sweet kid from what I know of her. Ah, the joys of having your life sold away by your own family to protect the precious Italian progeny of your father’s close associates.

  The call drops, and my sister looks crestfallen. “Can you drop me off on the way through?” she asks Everleigh, who just got her first vehicle, one that she is over the moon about. Kieran and I are over eighteen, so her first excursion into car ownership at her age meant we got to tag along in the backseat at Rian’s behest.

  “Let me guess… The cocksucker can’t let you have an hour to yourself?” she questions Lia, who looks so defeated.

  “Please don’t start, Ev.” At this point, it was futile because she’s been married to asshat for a while and in our family, divorce isn’t an option.

  Ev’s face is stony. “I’ll drop you off. Although, I may just kidnap you and we’ll go on a cross-country trip this summer—or for life.”

  She throws a wink at my sister, which garners a small smile from Lia. “We can always dream, right?”

  Nolie’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, a silent pleading for me to say something—anything—to make things better for her. But, as much as I want to, I can’t. In our family, our lives are not our own.

  Being the coward I am, I look out my window and ignore the two sets of eyes boring into me at the moment.

  It’s silent until Kieran returns with a receipt for the gas he just put in Ev’s tank. He climbs into the backseat and is buckled up before I chance another glance back at the rearview mirror. Only a green pair of eyes stare back at me, this time with an entirely different look in them—disappointment.

  Ev pulls out from the gas station and heads toward the drop off point for Lia.

  Kieran, trying to help break the silence he walked into when he entered the Jeep, throws a question my sister’s way. “Nolie Cannoli, how’s dance class coming along?”

  Her frown at Kieran’s nickname for her turns into a genuine smile. “It’s…good, actually. The teacher’s showing us some new moves on Monday.”

  A cocked eyebrow my way lets me know Kieran’s up to no good. “Got any hot, flexible classmates that’d like to hang out with a sexy college freshman next weekend?”

  “I’m sure she does,” Ev interjects. “Which is why they won’t be calling you.”

  Kieran narrows his eyes at his sister, who grins with pride.

  The ride is short to meet Giacomo, which means my sister’s reprieve away from married life is short-lived. Before she gets out of the vehicle, she and Ev hug tightly. “Call me if you need anything, okay? I’ll bring Osiris and a shovel. We’ll have to stop for the lime, though,” Ev tells my sister, making Lia laugh, though Ev didn’t even crack a smile.

  “Love you. Bye, guys,” she addresses us, giving me a last look through the window before turning toward her old ball-and-chain. As soon as she enters Giacomo’s car, I see his pissed expression, which worries me for my sister. His windows roll up and they now conceal Lia from all of us, a sinking feeling growing deeper in my stomach.

  Giacomo and Everleigh leave the parking lot in different directions. Another stubborn silence settles inside the Jeep.

  After driving a few miles, I notice Ev keeps flicking her eyes at me. “What is it, Ev?”

  She shakes her head. “Do you seriously not see it? How he treats her?” She demands answers, answers that I don’t know how to give. “Or do you just not care?”

  Caring versus being able to actually do something to change her circumstances without severe consequences are two very different things right now. “Ev, you don’t know what it’s like to be in our family—what our futures hold. Choice isn’t in the cards...for either of us.”

  “That’s a steaming pile of horseshit and you know it.” Her biting words can’t change what is.

  “That’s reality. Not everyone has the family you guys do.” I scoff, so incredibly jealous at the amazing parents they are both beyond blessed to have. “Freedom’s an illusion, anyway.”

  “What do you mean?” she asks as she turns down the road our homes are on.

  I draw a deep breath, trying to think of a way to break it down to two people who don’t get what it is to be under someone’s thumb all the time. “Everyone’s beholden to someone else. Whether it’s for blood, love, or debt, everyone has someone else pulling their strings.”

  For a brief second, there’s a wisp of understanding in her eyes, which is quickly crowded out by visceral resolve. “Then you tug those strings back until they snap,” she instructs, determination heavy in her voice. “Or make them so tangled that the bastards hang themselves trying to unravel them.”

  And there it is. That fire I saw in her when she kicked Kieran’s ass, sparing for the first time, blazing.

  “Damn, Ev,” Kieran rolls his eyes at her, laughing sarcastically. “That’s violent.”

  “No, Kieran,” she replies to him, her eyes leveled at me in the mirror, the heat of her stare consuming and contagious. “That’s war.”

  Even three years later, I remember how her words stirred something within me, especially when everything went to shit with Lia. I knew fighting back against my father would be pointless, but I still didn’t fight back how I should have—for Lia and for myself.

  Yet, even though I failed, I can’t help but hope maybe things will turn around once I secure the footing to make some decisions on my own.

  And today, the first step towards that is to tug back on the strings…

  My knock is swift on the huge mahogany door. A muffled voice beckons through it. “Come in.”

  Entering, I find my father, whose dark Italian features are pinched as he pours over a stack of papers. “Father,” I address him, knowing he prefers the formality of that name as opposed to being called Dad.

  “Son,” he says curtly, pointing his pen to the vacant seat in front of him, never looking up from his paperwork.

  I sit quietly, waiting for him to acknowledge me. After about five minutes, he puts the pen down with purpose, then draws his hands to the edge, interlacing his fingers. “I took the liberty of opening your letter from Emory.” Of course, you did. “It’s an expensive school.”

  In preparation for this speech, I’ve
practiced every angle in my mind, hoping to strike the right chords. “I plan to get a job, starting this summer, and take out loans when necessary. Emory’s program is intensive and prestigious, so it will look good on a resume, especially to a few of the law firms here that have alumni within the senior partner ranks.” If my father were sentimental, I’d add that Emory’s right where I belong, in Atlanta, and that it feels like the best fit for me. My father detests sentimentality. “I’ll make it work,” I add pragmatically, showing that I’m resolved to do what’s necessary to stay here, especially since I have a huge reason to keep me here now. A reason that makes my heart feel like it's on fire—a burn I’ve grown to enjoy and welcome with open arms.

  “That won’t be necessary.” His voice is level, which isn’t out of the ordinary, but it’s the fact that he won’t look me in the eye that concerns me. “I’ve already sent them a letter, stating that you decline your spot.”

  My temper flares for the first time in front of him. “You what?” I had come prepared to argue my case, not to have it already closed before I walked through the door.

  Not even a flicker of emotion shows on his face. “You’ll be going to law school abroad. Antonio has agreed to pay for your schooling, so you’ll go where he decides you’ll go and you’ll practice in his family’s firm there until it’s time for you to come home.”

  If the first part was a sucker punch, that last one’s a sledgehammer to the face.

  Abroad. A-fucking-broad. “Like hell I am!” I bellow, my fists pounding on the top of his desk.

  His facade of indifference slips, fury seeping through. “Excuse me?”