Chapter 10
I’ve been keeping to myself the past few days mulling over Julien’s words, still angry at Jayson, missing Elizabeth like crazy.
It breaks my heart when I see her name light up my phone before I hit decline.
She’s been calling and texting constantly, begging me to talk to her.
I’m hurting her with my silence, but I’m not ready to face her yet, because I know I will have to face him as well.
Julien has checked in on me a couple of times.
He stopped by the house last night and we just hung out.
Heck, even Elijah came over saying he wanted to get my opinion on how to tweak his dirt bike.
I have a feeling Julien had a hand in that visit
My dad and I talked for a long time that night.
He’s an old romantic at heart. Told me that if Elizabeth was the one, then I should be patient and give her time to explore her feelings, that we are young, and things change as we grow older.
Well, my sixteen-year-old self says screw that.
I’d been waiting for seven years already
We’ll be leaving for the beach in a few days and knowing that I’m going to be stuck in the same house with all of them, seeing Elizabeth every day, seeing Jayson and her act like boyfriend and girlfriend, being forced to put on a happy face when all the while I want to ram my fist down his throat. It’s going to be utter hell.
To help keep my mind off everything, I’ve been working with Dad in the garage from morning to night. He totally surprised me yesterday when he drove a Hellcat into the work bay, got out, and threw the keys at me.
“That's a gorgeous car. Custom job order?” I inquire, thinking that it’s one of his clients who wants some upgrades done.
“Nope, it’s yours.”
My mouth drops open and closes like a fish. “No way.”
Dad’s lips tip up in a half grin. “Since you're now sixteen, your mother and I decided that you shouldn’t have to rely on always having to borrow one of our cars, and we wanted to get you something that you could work on and truly make your own. I’ve seen your drawings, Ry, your designs.
I would like to help you create your dream car if you would let me. ”
My dad is the greatest. I go over to him and pull him in for a hug. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
He thumps my back hard three times. “I love you too, Son.”
It’s a gorgeous car, and I am itching to begin work on it.
I know exactly what I want to do, down to the paint color and interior.
I’m taking this bad boy out to the Fields as soon as I’m done with it.
After so many days feeling like awful, it’s nice to have something to feel good about. Something to work toward.
I’m looking over the car, clipboard in hand, making notes of the things I want to change, replace, or modify. I don’t know how long he’s been standing there, hands pushed deep in his back pockets, shoulders hunched, when I notice him.
“What do you want?” I growl.
He flinches as if I hit him. The urge to do exactly that is overwhelming. “Liz has been trying to get in touch with you. She’s worried. She doesn’t know I’m here.”
“She’s not my problem anymore, remember?”
“That’s a stupid thing to say. Of course she’s still your problem, because she’s still your friend. Her heart is breaking because she misses her best friend, and I promised her I would fix it.”
“Get out of here, Jay. I’ve heard enough of your lies.” I turn around and decide to ignore him. Apparently, he’s not taking the hint.
“Look,” he grabs me to turn me around to face him, “I messed up. I’m sorry.”
Flinging my clipboard down, I throw my arms up in the air in exasperation.
“What more do you want from me? I came to you and Julien. I looked you dead in the eye and told you how I felt about her and what I was going to do about it. How I was going to tell her how I feel. And you just ran as fast as you could over to her house and laid claim. You didn’t care about how I would feel.
You didn’t care about how much that would hurt me.
You took our friendship and stomped all over it.
” Fed up with him, I storm off, not wanting to hear anything else that comes out of his mouth.
“She loves you, you know.”
I stop.
Exhale.
I turn around.
Jayson pulls out a metal stool and sits down on it like he has no more energy to stand, the heaviness of our situation taking its toll on him. He leans forward, arms propped on his knees like that night in my backyard.
“She loves you, and it kills me knowing that. I couldn’t deal with it.
Couldn’t deal with the fact that I could lose her.
She has been my universe since the day I gazed into her gorgeous green eyes.
God, I remember that day like it was yesterday.
” He looks up at me then. “I know she loves me, but I. Am. Terrified. I’m terrified that maybe, just maybe, she loves you a little bit more. ”
“You should have told me that instead of bolting.”
“I panicked, man. You are the better person here. You always have been. I’m sorry, Ry. I’m sorry for all of it. I wish I could go back and do things differently.”
“Do you?”
He shakes his head. “Elizabeth is the one getting hurt here. She needs you in her life. I need you in my life. You’re my best friend. Is there any way you could forgive me? I will do anything to make this right.”
I want to shout back at him, Well then give her up, but I keep quiet.
Knowing Elizabeth saw me the other day in a full rage, fists flying, makes me feel two inches high.
Seeing her cry, throwing herself on me, begging me to stop, and now ignoring her texts and calls.
Jay’s not the only one who should feel ashamed.
I think about what Julien asked me. Do I love her enough to let her go, make her own decisions, and find her happiness, even if it’s not with me?
“I’m not saying that I forgive you. It’s going to take time for me to even want to be in the same room as you. You broke that trust. You’re gonna have to earn it back. But this is not Elizabeth’s fault. She shouldn’t have to suffer because of us.”
I hold out my hand to his. No fist bump this time. This time we are shaking hands like men.
Jayson said he had to run out for a bit and would be back later.
We are officially going on our first date tonight.
Seeing as he’s still grounded, I wonder exactly where he thinks we’ll be going.
The fact that his mom even let him out of the house to run an errand this afternoon is a miracle of its own.
Over the past several days, the swelling on his face has disappeared, leaving the fading, yellowish bruising on his cheek and eye.
It doesn’t bother me because all I see is Jayson.
What does bother me was seeing Ryder and Jayson fighting, a scene that keeps playing out in my nightmares every time I fall asleep.
Hailey and I are enjoying some quiet time out on the back patio.
I can’t believe it’s almost the Fourth of July, and we’ll be spending it at the beach.
I hope that I’ll be able to get through to Ryder since he’ll be a captive audience, so to speak, for a week and won’t be able to hide from me or ignore me like he’s been doing the past few days.
Hailey throws a water bottle at me before sitting back down in her lounge chair.
I have my earbuds in, listening to music, while I read a book on my tablet.
The summer heat is picking up, so I’m wearing one of my new bathing suit tops, the blue halter one, and a pair of shorts, hoping to soak up some sun or at least get a nice rosy blush going on my pale skin.
I twist the cap off the bottle of water and tip it back, the chill of the water a relief on my parched throat.
Then I choke. Ryder is standing in front of me.
Hailey rushes over to pat me on the back as I continue to sputter.
“I’m fine.” I wave her off.
“I’m going to head back inside now.” Very subtle Hales.
I wait until she closes the sliding door. I feel awkward, then sad, then mad.
“Where have you been? Unless your phone was abducted by aliens, you’ve been ignoring me for days.”
“I know. I needed some space.”
“Ryder, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. Please forgive me.”
“No. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit Jay. That was a despicable thing for me to do in front of you. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Ryder looks terrified that I might say yes.
“No, no,” I assure him. “I’m fine. I’m worried about you, though. Please don’t hate me.”
“I don’t. He, um, actually came by today and apologized.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. He did. I can’t promise that Jay and I will ever be friends like we used to be.” I frown. “But I can promise that I’m not going anywhere. You still have me if you want me, I mean, as a friend.”
“Absolutely! Yes! Best friend?”
“Best friend.” Joy floods me.
I’m so happy to hear those words from him, I leap off my lounger into his arms. He’s still for a moment, unsure of what to do, but within seconds his arms band tight around me and he hugs me back fiercely.
“Thank you, Ryder.”
“You’ll always have me, Elizabeth.”
A throat clears behind us, distinctly male. Without turning around, I know it’s Jayson. What must he think seeing Ryder and I hugging? Before I can get words to tumble out of my mouth, Ryder releases me.
“I was just leaving,” Ryder tells him. Ryder brings his hand to my cheek, gently cradling it, his thumb a whisper across my cheekbone.
“I’ll see you around, Elizabeth.”
All I can do is nod. I watch Ryder walk down the back patio steps and disappear around the corner of the house.
“So,” Jayson says.
“So,” I smile at him. “Thank you for keeping your promise.”
“Always, princess.”
“Where are we going on our date tonight?” I ask, changing the subject.