“It’s a moot point anyway, isn’t it,” I said indignantly. “Seeing as I’m not going back.”
“You didn’t take any of them down to the bunker, did you?”
I dropped the knitting into my lap. “What? No! The last thing I need is the dean getting some sort of alert from the security system down there and catching me with a guy.” Especially if that guy is her son, my brain offered up, unsolicited. “Anyway, it wasn’t like that. I’m still...never mind. It wasn’t like that.”
He glanced over, his own face a bit pink at the topic. Good, I thought, serves him right.
“Yeah, I made that up about the system having a log.”
“Jerk,” I said.
He shrugged, unapologetic. “It’s for emergencies only. I was worried you wouldn’t take me seriously enough.”
I picked up my knitting and cursed; three stitches had slipped off the needle.
“You really suck at that,” Robert said as he glanced over and watched me struggling.
“You really suck at that,” I said, pointing a needle at the TV. Of course it wasn’t true, but baseless insults are pretty much the heart of any sibling relationship, aren’t they?
“Nice try,” he said, not believing me for one second. And then he proceeded to shoot some guy in the face.
“Charming,” I said, poking him in the side with my knitting needle.
“You know it, little sister. I am badass.”
“Right,” I said. “You’re badass.”
Robert snorted. “More badass than you.”
Funny how he was using the same word I’d been thinking a lot about lately. How I wanted to do something badass, daring, risky.
Well, if making out with a twenty-six year old former secret ops agent wasn’t all of those things, I didn’t know what was. Not that my brother needed to know about that.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked, obviously paying more attention to me than I realized.
“Oh nothing,” I said casually. “I was just thinking that you’re probably right.”
That should shut him up, I thought.
Yep, shut him up like a charm.
Family Meeting
The next morning, I was sitting at my desk reading The Elements of Style when Robert threw open my door without even bothering to knock, making me almost pee my pants. “Family meeting,” he said.
“What?” I squeaked, willing my heart to slow. “Family meeting? About what?”
He shrugged, his hand still on the door handle. “No clue. Let’s go.”
With that, he turned and left. I got up and followed him into the living room where I joined him and my parents. Mom smiled at me and patted the couch beside her, so I knew I wasn’t busted for anything.
“What’s up?” I asked, looking from her to Dad and then back again.
“I’m not getting another little brother or sister, am I?” Robert asked.
Gross.
Dad looked at Mom, eyebrows raised.
Mom rolled her eyes. “No. You’re not even remotely warm.”
Dad winked at me. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to let you kids know that I just accepted a new job.”
My heart sank as I contemplated more change and upheaval. “What kind of new job?” I asked.
“Well, it’s actually a demotion.”
“What?” Robert said, seemingly surprised at this—I kind of figured he’d be in the know with this stuff now, but apparently not. “What happened?”
“I’ve decided I’ve had enough of field work. I’m going to Virginia to teach and be a consultant. It’s not an upward move, but it’s fine; I’m tired of putting my family at risk. I’ll be a desk jockey again, which I’m okay with. I’m fairly sure your mother is pretty happy about it.”
One glance at Mom told me she wasn’t just happy about it; ecstatic was probably a better descriptor.
I blinked several times as I processed this. “You mean,” I said. “Virginia, Virginia?”
Mom nodded. “Virginia, Virginia. We’re going home.”
Excitement, shock—a whole whirlwind of emotions—bubbled up in me. “What does this mean?” I squeaked, looking between my parents, not daring to think what I was hoping it meant.
“It means,” Dad said, looking at me over the top of his glasses. “If you want to go back to that school...”
He didn’t get any further before I threw my arms around him.
“I guess that’s a yes,” he gurgled.
“Oh my God! Thank you so much,” I said into the side of his head. “Thank you!”
Dad laughed at my enthusiasm, but endured the hug until I finally let him go. “You’re welcome. I’d always planned to go back, but with all that’s happened in the past few months, I was needed here. They will need me for a few more weeks to tie up loose ends and debrief my replacement, but you can return now; you’ve already missed too much.”
I swallowed and nodded, thinking of everything I’d missed in the weeks since I’d left Rosewood, though little had to do with the schoolwork my father was obviously talking about. “Really? You’re not just messing with me, are you? This isn’t one of Robert’s pranks, is it?” I glared at my brother, who held up his hands in innocence.
“Nope,” he said. “This is all on Dad.”
Mom reached behind herself and pulled some folded papers out of the couch and handed them to me. I unfolded them and gasped: a boarding pass. That meant: “I’m going tomorrow?”
She nodded. “If you want to.”
I swallowed. “Yes. I do. More than anything. Thank you both so much.”
Mom shook her head. “This is all on your Dad,” she said, echoing what Robert had said just a moment before.
I smiled at my father. “Thank you,” I said again.
He smiled back. “Better go pack.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
~ ♥ ~
“It’s Brooklyn,” I said as I knocked on the door, on one hand feeling better about not having to refer to myself as Cinderella, but at the same time, a tiny bit sad that Tristan and I were only ever going to be friends. Still, it was as a friend that I was here now.
He opened the door, fully clothed, sunglasses in place. “Hi,” he said and by the look on his face, I could tell he knew. Then he confirmed it: “You’re here to say goodbye.”
I nodded but then remembered he wouldn’t see it. “Yes. And bring you salmon puffs,” I joked to ease some of the tension I was feeling.
“Come on in,” he said, the tiniest of smiles turning up the corner of his mouth. “Leave the salmon puffs in the hall.”
“Thanks.” I toed off my shoes and followed him to the couch, sitting beside him. “I can’t stay long; we’re leaving for the airport soon.”
He fidgeted his fingers in his lap and his head was down, as though he were looking at them. I wondered if he was imagining what his fingers looked like from memory.
It felt like a long time before either of us spoke. But when we did, it was at the same time:
“Again, I’m really sorry,” came out of me as he said, “I’m going to miss you.”
We both smiled, but I let him go. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’re good. And I meant it; I am going to miss you.”
Even though I was so excited to be returning to Rosewood and the life I’d started to make for myself there, it was the absolute truth when I said, “Me, too. And not just because of the May-December romance thing that obviously wasn’t going to work out anyway.”
He smiled. “I think the term is May-September, especially since I’m only twenty-six. I’m hardly elderly.”
“Well I don’t know, there is all that gray hair you have,” I said and had the pleasure of seeing his smile falter for a second before he realized I was joking.
“Minx,” he said, giving me one of his lopsided smirks. I barely even noticed the scar on his mouth anymore. Actually, that’s not true; I did notice it, but it was just him. Maybe if I’d known him b
efore his injuries it might seem odd, but to me, it was as much a part of him as his nose.
“Old man,” I said back.
He pressed his hand over his heart and feigned a little heart attack. We laughed and then both fell silent. I watched him as the smile dissolved, his expression turning pensive.
“Are you staring at me?” he asked, almost shyly.
“No. I’m texting my friend,” I said, even though my phone was still in my pocket.
“Liar,” he said.
“Yes.”
On a whim, I pulled out the phone, which would be disconnected by the end of the day, and took a photo of him, forgetting about the telltale click.
“Did you just take my picture?” he said indignantly.
“Yes,” I admitted, suddenly worried he’d be pissed, but not regretting taking the picture.
“I hope it turned out good,” he said.
I looked at the photo. “Yeah, it did,” I said, though I would have preferred one of him without the sunglasses.
“Here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let me see.”
I gasped, looking at him wide-eyed. “Wha?”
A slow grin spread across his lips. “That was for the gray hair comment. You should see your face, though.”
“Shut up,” I said, realizing he’d almost gotten me again. Good thing I wasn’t the one in the agency program; I was so gullible sometimes.
“Come on,” he said standing up and holding out his arms. “Give me a hug and then you’d better go.”
Though leaving him was so bittersweet, I knew it was time. I stepped into the circle of his arms and he wrapped them around me, pulling me into him. He hummed, his warm chest rumbling under my ear as he pressed a very non-romantic kiss to the top of my head.
Finally we pulled back, but his hand slid down my arm and held onto my fingers for a second, squeezing them before letting me go. “It was nice knowing you, Brooklyn.”
“Likewise, Tristan.”
He gave me one last decisive nod, which I took as my cue to go. I walked to the door and slid into my shoes.
“Safe travels,” he said.
“Thanks.”
He nodded. I opened the door, not bothering to hide my tears.
“Brooklyn?”
I turned back toward him. “Yeah?”
“See you in five years,” he said with a grin.
I grinned back at him, even though he couldn’t see it; I knew he’d hear it in my voice. “Five years.”
I walked away from him, forcing myself not to look back, only hearing him close the door when I was well past the elevator.
Deep Thoughts
I probably should have given them notice, but I’ll be honest here and admit that I was terrified of what I was returning to. Not that I was terrified of my friends, per se, but terrified that after I’d earned their friendship and trust and then stomped all over both, they wouldn’t let me back into their ranks.
Kaylee had forgiven me and understood, but what about Emmie and the rest of them? And with Emmie it was even more complicated, thanks to my brother mucking things up with her. I didn’t think she was the type to hold that kind of thing against me, but after everything, I couldn’t be sure.
I had many hours on the flight back to the States to think about and obsess over all this, meaning I got very little sleep. At least there was the entertainment system in front of me, so I was able to take my mind off it a little.
Still, while the plane had Wi-Fi and setting up a new Gmail account would be the work of a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to try to get a hold of anyone to let them know I was coming. Maybe it was immature, but if it was going to be bad, there wasn’t much I could do about it at thirty-five thousand feet, so I may as well wait and hash it all out in person.
I turned and looked at Robert who was tucked under a blanket beside me with his earphones on, eyes closed and obviously asleep—his eyes darting around behind his eyelids. I smiled and wondered what he was dreaming about. Catching bad guys? Playing Grand Theft Auto? Hooking up with Emmie? Ugh, I did not want to think about that last one. Though I still felt bad for him. He wasn’t coming back to Rosewood except to drop me off on his way to his training center, but maybe he’d want to see Emmie and at least make amends with her somehow. He’d said she sent him an e-mail forgiving him, but hadn’t received anything since.
I just hoped she’d meant it and that she would be as forgiving with me.
But of course, returning to Rosewood wasn’t just about friends. I’d be lying to myself if I tried to pretend I wasn’t excited to see the Westwood guys, too. Dave, Jared, Declan, Jenks: all the guys who’d become my friends (and some more) since my arrival.
And Brady, who I guess was technically a Westwood guy, but who I thought of in a different class altogether because I mostly only saw him on the Rosewood campus. I wondered if he still had his cast on. I had no idea how long casts needed to stay on after injuries like that. But knowing him, he’d be chomping at the bit (pardon the pun) to get it off and get back to training.
Speaking of, I looked forward to taking up my own training again; six weeks of sloth around the flat had me itching to get my body moving and back to where I was before I’d left. I’d managed to not completely let go, but my jeans were definitely feeling more snug, which explained the sweatpants I was wearing on the plane.
So yeah, getting back to riding would be great. I missed my horse Charlie and all the smells of the barn and even getting up early and grabbing a coffee and apple on my way out to the stables.
But yes, Brady probably was what I was missing most about the training, if I was being honest. It felt almost like a betrayal of Tristan to be thinking of Brady that way, but I guess I’d always known that the thing with Tristan wasn’t going to turn into anything. As scorching as it was (and I’m fairly sure there are volcanoes that generate less heat than we did), like Kaylee’d said, it was doomed from the get-go and deep down I knew that and had known it all along.
But Brady...well...yeah, I guess that was another doomed thing. But maybe...I mean, what do they say? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? The more I thought about him and the last time I’d seen him in the Rosewood dining room at Thanksgiving, the more I ached to see him again. So much so that it was a physical thing in my chest.
Maybe he was feeling the same. Maybe he’d missed me just as much.
Or maybe he’d found someone else. One of the girls he didn’t coach who wasn’t off-limits, like Chelly or someone I didn’t know. The thought of him kissing someone else made me suddenly feel like I was choking, unable to get enough air. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I fought to take deep breaths. Was I seriously having some sort of panic attack just thinking about Brady with some other girl?
“What’s the matter?” Robert said, startling me.
I turned and saw him looking at me, his eyes sleepy and half-closed but full of concern. He’d pulled his earphones down, the disks resting on either side of his neck.
“You okay?”
I nodded and cleared my throat. “Yeah. Just tired and a bit nervous about going back, I guess.”
He nodded and rubbed my forearm with his hand. “It’ll be fine. Mom was going to contact the dean about your schoolwork.”
I nodded again.
“That’s not what you’re worried about, though,” he said, not a question.
“I’m worried I really messed things up with the girls when I left,” I said, not about to tell him what I’d really been thinking.
He rearranged himself under his blanket, settling in for more sleep, but gave me a pointed look. “I got to know Emmie fairly well and Chelly a bit, too. They’re nice girls and I don’t think they’ll hold what happened against you. You can’t tell them details, obviously, but now that Dad’s relocating, you can at least explain why you had to do what you did. They’ll understand.”
I nodded. He was probably right. Though I did wonder if Brady would understand. Not that I’d exact
ly run out on him, since we’d agreed we’d just be friends, but I felt like I should have said goodbye at least.
And then there was the whole subject of Dave. When I’d left, we were on the verge of dating and if I hadn’t had to leave, I’m sure we would have been a couple after Thanksgiving. But now...it felt like so much had changed.
The thing with Tristan made me feel differently. I don’t know how, just, more mature maybe? Is that cliché? I didn’t know quite how to put it, but being with him, as fleeting as it was, made me look at myself differently. And I guess that shift in how I saw myself was changing how I saw those around me and how they fit into my life.
Where did Dave fit?
I honestly had no idea. Maybe I just needed to see him and it would all fall into place. That made sense to me in that moment, and anyway, no important life decisions should be made on a transcontinental flight. With that thought, I made myself more comfortable and closed my eyes, finally settling my thoughts enough to allow myself to doze off.
Catching Up
“Do you want to come in?” I asked, desperate for Robert to accompany me and act as my security blanket. Rationally, I realized I probably had nothing to be afraid of, but for some reason the big Rosewood building felt just as imposing as it had in the fall on move-in day. Maybe more so because I knew what I’d been missing these past weeks. I didn’t want to mess this up.
It was mid-afternoon on the Sunday before school started up again, so it did feel like move-in day all over again, as parents were dropping their kids off after the holiday break. I knew Kaylee was already on campus, since she’d come straight here from London, and Emmie was probably here too, now that I thought of it.
“No,” Robert said, pulling me out of my reverie and forcing me to backtrack through my thoughts to remember what I’d asked him. Right: did he want to come up with me to see Emmie.
“You sure?” I asked as I watched him tug my suitcase out of the trunk of the rental car and put it on the ground beside me. He glanced up toward windows that were suspiciously near my former (and hopefully to be again) dorm room, making me wonder if he’d spent any time in my room with Emmie after I’d left. Maybe better not to know.
Making Ripples Page 13
