Page 91 of Forever Mine
“And now she’s choosing me,” he replies gravely.
I don’t like the half smirk that forms on Jay’s face. He’s about to go for the jugular.
“She will never be truly yours. I was her first love. Her first kiss. Her first time.”
Ry flinches.
“She was going to marry me. Spend the rest of her lifewith me.” Jay’s voice breaks, and he spears Ry with a gaze full of spite. “Her memories are coming back. She’s remembering, and there is no kiss, no touch, no word you will ever say that will prevent her from running back to me the minute she does. It’s only a matter of time. So enjoy your second chance while you have it.”
It breaks my heart when I see Ry’s slight tremble at Jay’s vitriolic words, each one like an arrow shooting straight through his heart. For the first time in my life, I’m ashamed of mybrother. I want Ry to say something, defend himself. But he says nothing, so I do it for him.
“Liz wants to be with him. She chose him. Ry respected her choice when it was you. He deserves the goddamn same from you now.”
Elijah completely takes me by surprise when he says, “Babe, I have to agree with Jay. If Liz gets her memory back, she’s going to break Ryder’s heart.”
I love this man more than anything, but I can’t stand by and say nothing when he’s wrong.
Liz never cheated on Jay. She didn’t leave him to be with Ry. With the situation reversed, she won’t do that to Ry either, memories or no memories.
“She wouldn’t do that. And stop enabling him by feeding into his delusions that she will.”
“Thanks a lot. Fuck you, too,” Jay gripes.
Elijah stares me down, hurt and emotional, waiting for an apology. One I want to give him, even when I don’t agree with what he said. But he never gives me the chance.
“You’re too involved becauseit’s Liz.” Turning his back to me, Elijah cuffs Jayson’s shoulder. “I’m here if you need me. Call anytime.”
“Thanks, E.”
And then, Elijah walks out. What the fuck?
“Where are you going?”
“The dorms,” he says and slams the front door closed.
The anger that had been building erupts. “This shit has to stop. Both of you need to grow the fuck up and act like adults. I’m not putting Elijah through any more of the Ryder-Jayson-Liz love trifecta from hell. Liz deserves to be with whoever she fucking wants to be with. She isn’t a toy to be fought over or a prize to be won. Hasn’t she suffered enough? Haven’t we all?”
Leaving that to sink in, I storm out to catch Elijah.
“E, wait!” I shout when I see him crossing the parking lot to his car.
“Not in the mood to fight.”
I jog over to him, back him up against the driver’s side of his car and kiss him. It’s not a sweet or soft kiss. It’s a kiss that stands on top of the mountain and shouts to the world, “I love you!”
“Who says we’re fighting?”
I kiss him again.
A goofy smile appears. “Okay.”
I pickpocket his keys and double-tap the button to unlock the car doors. “Want to get out of here?”
“Where to?”
“Wherever fate takes us.”
Streetlights illuminatethe interior in fast succession as we drive down a quiet side street.
