Page 56 of Forever Mine
“I’m in love with him, Julien. I don’t know how it’s possible to feel that way for someone so quickly, but I do.”
In love?Seems that she remembers more than she realizes. Her memories may be stuck in some hidden place in her subconscious, but her heart knows the truth.
The beating organ in my chest cracks for my brother. Tiny fissures open, and the hope inside leaks out.
“You used to love Jay, too.”
Liz looks me dead in the eye, and there’s a fire inside them that I’ve never seen before.
“I’m not your old Liz anymore. I’m not the girl from the pictures on the swing or waiting by the window for Jayson to climb into my bedroom. Those are just stories you told me. The person I amnow, her heart belongs to Ryder.”
That’s the irony of it. Her heart has always belonged to him.
Those invisible cracks splinter apart and gape wider. Jay really has lost her. For good this time. He’s not going to understand. This is going to kill him.
“Are you happy?”
She swipes at the tears that drip down her cheeks. “Very happy. It’s bizarre, but I feel like I’ve loved Ryder most of my life.”
She has. I’ve always known, deep down, that it would be her and Ryder, not Jay. Jay knew it, too. It’s why he tried to hold on to her so tightly.
But it’s like Elijah has told me more than once. You can’t help who you love. Your heart wants what it wants.
Trying to be a supportive friend, I say, “Ry is one of the best men I have ever known. The sacrifices he made to allow you to find your happiness with Jay—his capacity for loving you is boundless, Liz. Ry will walk through hell for you. Make sure you will do the same for him because Jay is going to hate him once you tell him.”
This is going to change everything. It will forever alter our childhood friendships. Possibly destroy them. And I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place between my brother and my two best friends, all three of them my family and people I love dearly.
Liz kicks at a dissipating wave that rolls to shore. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I can’t pretend to feel something I don’t or be someone I’m not.”
I absolutely understand where she’s coming from. I tried to be the guy everyone expected me to be and deny who I really was. I was miserable.
Our fingers link and hold. “Neither could I. If you and Ry want to be together, don’t hide it, especially from Jay.”
She nods slowly before saying, “Totally changing the subject, but what’s the deal with this Fallon guy? I keep hearing his name passed around campus. I know he and Ryder are friends. Ryder says he and Elijah are tight. But when I ask Ryder about him, he gets all cagey.”
We begin our way back, following the ghost trail of our footprints that have mostly been washed away.
“Where do I begin? All I can say is that I think Fallon had a thing for you, but you never gave him the time of day.”
She makes a sour face. “Jayson, Ryder,andFallon liked me? Are you sure I wasn’t a whore in high school?”
Horrified she would think that about herself, I set her straight. “Absolutely not. You never cheated. Ever.”
Liz pops up on tiptoe and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Julien. For listening and, well, everything.”
She spots Ryder and Jayson floating on their backs in the swells and runs off to join them.
“The two of you were gone for a while. Everything alright?” Elijah asks when he gets to me.
Needing to hold him, I enfold him in my arms and bury myself deep.
“Liz and Ryder hooked up.”
“Oh fuck.”
Oh fuck indeed.
Chapter Sixteen
