Page 44 of Broken Butterfly
“Breakfast!” I call out. Ryder and Fallon are where I left them, mirror images of each other as they sit back, legs splayed out in front of them, grins on their faces. Fallon turns his head my way and winks at me. Ryder stands up and smacks him on top of the head as he walks over to me. My breath goes all wispy watching him come nearer, and my hands shake, causing the cart to rattle. “Is everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better.” He smiles. He places his hands on mine to still my jittery nerves. “Baby, everything is good. Stop worrying.” He kisses me lightly and peels my fingers from around the cart’s handle. “I heard we’re going to Venice.”
I shriek with happiness. “You’re coming?”
“Couldn’t keep me away.”
I spin around doing a happy dance, and Ryder shakes his head with laughter. “I love you! I love you! Thank you, Ryder!”
“Hop on,” he tells me, and I eagerly jump on his back. “I’m starving and this breakfast looks fantastic.”
I ride piggyback on him to the table and then jump off and hug Fallon. “You’re the best,” I enthuse.
“Damn straight, kitten.”
Ryder goes back for the cart, and we all dig into our food but leave the entirety of the coffee to Ryder. He needs it much more than we do.
“Since it’s just the three of us here, I want to know the story behind the two of you,” I tell them. Then I say to Ryder, “I thought I knew everything about you, but apparently I don’t. You visited Fallon in the hospital?”
“You told her about that?” Ryder looks at Fallon, bewildered.
“Like I said, she knows more of my secrets than you do now. I trust her.”
“Well, hell. Um, okay. You may not like what we tell you.”
“I love you, and if we’re going to be together, there can be no more secrets. I will tell you anything and everything you want to know, and I’ll answer any question you ask of me. I expect the same in return.”
“She’s a feisty thing, isn’t she?” Fallon quips, slinging his arm across the back of my chair.
“She’s perfect,” Ryder replies and leans over to kiss me while also pushing Fallon’s arm away. “She’s alsomywoman. Hands off.”
Fallon smiles his approval and I roll my eyes. “Stop delaying. Spill. I want to know. What is the deal between you and Fallon?”
“No one knows about this, not even Jay or Julien.” Ryder takes his time pouring himself another cup of coffee as I wait patiently for him to begin. “Fal and I worked for this guy stealing and stripping cars.”
Mind blown. “What? How the hell did I not know about this?”
“Ry and I first met at the Fields when I was like, what, eleven and you were ten?” Fallon asks Ryder. “I saw Ryder racing his dirt bike and I thought he was one cool motherfucker.”
“Ah, the beginning of the secret bromance,” I say.
Fallon laughs. “Call it what you will. As you know, I hated being home and loved getting in trouble. My family name caught a lot of attention, even when I was young. One day, this guy approached me while I’m watching Ryder race his bike and asked me if I’d be interested in doing a job for him. I guess he saw something in me that he liked. Rebelliousness. Recklessness. A young boy who didn’t give a fuck. Hell, I don’t know. Anyway, he explained how he needed someone on the inside to get access to certain luxury cars and told me I was perfect for the job because no one would suspect a kid my age. He asked me if I knew how to drive, which, of course, I did—but that’s a story for another time. The guy told me all I had to do was keep my eye out for certain cars and let him know which ones I found. He would then tell me which car he wanted me to jack. Once I did, I would drive it to his garage where it would be stripped for parts or sold, illegally, of course. I was bored, so I said yes.”
“But you were eleven!”
Fallon gives me his famous head tilt as if to say, “remember who you’re talking to.”
“Fal and I had already become friends by that time. We’d hang out at the Fields or he’d come to Dad’s garage when I was there.”
“You also let me bunk in your room a time or two by then as well,” Fallon reminds him.
“Fal told me about the guy and said his first job was to swipe a Mercedes SLR. I didn’t want him going by himself, so I told him I was coming along to make sure someone had his back.”
Again, I scoff at how young they were. “But you were ten! How did Faith and Randy not notice? Or Brea or Jamie?”
“It was easy sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. Earlier in the day, I would hide my bike in some bushes down the street and then once I was able to sneak out of the house, I would meet up with Fallon.”
“Needless to say, I’m glad Ry had my back because we got into a lot of fights, even as kids. I never knew people were so damn possessive over their cars. Do you remember what happened that first job with the Mercedes when I set the car alarm off?” Fallon looks at Ryder, a mischievous grin splitting his cheeks.
