Page 72 of Broken Butterfly
Chapter 21
“Good morning, running buddy!”
I think I jump about five feet. Liz is leaning back against the railing across from my front door. “Christ, you scared the shit out of me.”
Biding my time, I bend down to re-tie and double knot my shoelaces, secretly happy that she’s here. I do a few stretches and Liz does the same. She has her hair pulled up in a high ponytail and is wearing long exercise pants, a Randy’s Custom Auto hoodie, and gloves since it’s cold out this morning. Her cheeks and nose are already rosy from the chilled air. God, I’ve missed her.
I take off at a slow jog, my feet finding a steady rhythm. Liz keeps pace, staying at my side.
“I think I may drop out of CU and become a tattoo artist.”
She’s trying to cut through the tension between us by making light banter. I give her side-eye but say nothing.
“Apparently, I’m very good at drawing on people. I think I scored an entire opera of musical notes on Ryder’s body with permanent marker. Oh, and I wrote a song for you last night. It’s called ‘I’m sorry and I love you and please don’t be mad at me anymore because I miss you and need you in my life.’”
The snort of laughter escapes before I can stop it.
“I can sing it for you.” And she does. She uses the beat of our feet pounding the ground to keep time with the words as she chants like an army drill sergeant. A few other joggers give us bemused looks as they pass by. I know she’s making up the lines as she goes, but it’s funny as hell and very endearing—and I give in. I love this girl too much to stay upset with her.
I come to an abrupt halt, causing her to trip over her feet and slam sideways into me. We fall on the frost-covered ground in a heap of tangled limbs.
“You’re relentless, you know that?” I playfully admonish from my supine position.
“Do you forgive me, Julien?” The hopeful puppy dog expression on her face would have done me in if I hadn’t already surrendered.
“You knew full well that I couldn’t stay mad at you forever.”
“One day of you being mad at me feels like forever, and it’s been days which means longer than eternity.”
I stand up and her pull her with me. “That’s not even mathematically possible.”
Strands of her ponytail are sticking to her face. I take each piece and gently push them back into place. And because I’ve missed her so damn much, I plant a smacking kiss on her frosty pink lips.
“Don’t leave me again. I’m serious. If you need to escape or need room to breathe, let me know. Send pigeon carrier mail for all I care. Just let me know.”
“It may have to be pigeon mail. Fallon confiscated my phone while we were away, but he texted Ryder almost every day. Didn’t Ryder tell you and Jayson?”
“He told us, but it’s not the same as hearing from you. And I was envious that Ry was the one Fallon was communicating with and not me.” I reach for her hand and loop it through my arm at the elbow. Liz snuggles into my side and we start walking.
“You going to tell me what the hell is going on between you, Jay, Ry, and Fallon? Jay said that the two of you were back together. That’s clearly not the case, is it?”
A cloud of vapor rises up like smoke as Liz exhales hard. “I feel like I’ve been on repeat the past few days explaining the same things to everyone.”
“Let me make it simple. Are you and Jay back together?”
“No. But I did make a very, very big mistake the night my memories came back. That’s why I ran away. I had to sort things out in my head. You know how much I loved Jayson.”
I can only interpret that very big mistake to mean they had sex. I also catch the last sentence –lovedJayson, not love in the present tense. A slip of the tongue?
“I will always love Jayson. But I don’t love him the way I love Ryder.”
“And Fallon?”
“As much as you, Ryder, and Jayson care about me, you couldn’t help me in that moment. Us being around each other would have only made things worse for everyone. Fallon was dead on when he told me that. That’s why I went with him. He understands me in a way that the three of you couldn’t. I know how that must sound, especially since we’ve been inseparable for most of our lives, but Fallon was the only person who could help me. I don’t regret going with him. He literally saved me, Julien, and I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life.”
I chew on that for a minute, wanting to ask more about what’s going on between her and Fallon. There’s clearly something deeper there.
“Where does Ry fit into all of this?” I ask her.
