Page 2 of Ricochet
An invitation.
He wanted me to fight this. To scream and shout, demand to be let out. He wanted me to entertain them, but I wasn’t going to do that. They thought they lost everything that night, but they weren’t the only ones.
The difference was, I knew the truth. They didn’t.
“Did you miss us, little bird?” Cillian took a step closer, while I took two back. He laughed, pushing me closer to the fireplace with every new step. “Because we sure as hell missed you.”
Seven Years Ago
“What do you mean,you’re breaking up with me?”
I stood in front of Ronan Carson, his voice grating on my nerves. Why did I ever think dating him would be a good idea?
“I just don’t think this is working out,” I told him. “And with summer break coming, I might be going out of the country.”
I glanced around the stadium, making sure we were still alone. The last thing I wanted to do was make this a public spectacle because his ego was hurt. Ronan didn’t love me. He was simply infatuated with me and everything I represented—status, money, fame in this little town. For most of my life, I was invisible to people like him, but without Theo and his friends at school scaring the ever-loving crap out of everybody, and Maya going away, I was the last Aster left to conquer.
And they tried.
The moment I started school last year, they swarmed around me like locust. They invited me to their parties, football games, you name it. Two months ago, I finally succumbed to Ronan, and I liked him. He was fun to be around when he wasn’t talking about football—he was the quarterback and all—or when he wasn’t trying to arrange a hangout with the Nightingale brothers… Okay, maybe he wasn’t as fun as I thought he was, but he was harmless.
“Is there somebody else?” My eyes snapped to his face, unease rolling through me.
“No.”Yes.
Did I feel awful about lying to him? Yeah, yeah, I did. Ronan wasn’t a bad-looking guy, and half of the girls at our school told me how lucky I was to have his attention. But his sandy-blond hair never did it for me. Neither did his blue eyes, no matter how many times I tried to forget the onyx ones.
And every time he kissed me, I imagined somebody else’s lips on mine. It wasn’t fair to him, and it wasn’t fair to me. I could see he wanted more from me, but I wasn’t willing to give him something that belonged to someone else.
“I really am sorry, Ronan.” I stood up and waited for him to say something. Anything at all, but it never came. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
I could hear the bell ringing, and I knew these bleachers would be filled with students in the next couple of minutes. When he kept staring out at the stadium with a very visible tick on his cheek, I took it as time to go.
I passed a group of cheerleaders sneering at me, and I couldn’t even imagine their behavior once word of our breakup got out. The last two months, the jocks and their girlfriends were, I could say, civil toward me, but I knew it was only because I was dating one of their own. Next year was going to hurt. I could already feel it.
I wasn’t going to dwell on that right now. I was adamant on making this the best summer of my life.
School was officially over for the year, but everybody still lingered around, talking about their summer plans, parties they were going to attend, people they were going to meet. I had no interest in any of it.
Instead, I walked by the main building of our school, heading for the cliffs overlooking the ocean. If I looked to the left, I could almost see my house down in the valley, nestled next to Nightingale Hill.
I always wondered which presumptuous prick named the house as if it were a small town in an already small town. Half of the town already had their names plastered on shops, billboards, and whatnot. Even Ava always joked that her ancestors must have been compensating for something else, if you know what I mean. In my opinion, both of our families were just a bunch of assholes controlling this town.
Hers more than mine, but still.
I took a deep breath, inhaling a familiar scent of the Atlantic Ocean, reveling in the sound of crashing waves against the cove beneath the cliff. Families were milling on the beach, taking advantage of the warm weather. June was always a tricky little bastard. It would be sunny in the morning, and then suddenly, a wave of rain would sweep through the town in the afternoon, confining everybody to their houses.
I loved both, but I preferred the sun over the clouds on any given day. Summer solstice was upon us in ten days, and half of the town would be filled with tourists, running away from their cities, seeking some sun and ocean. I still didn’t know what our plans were, but I had no doubt they involved the Nightingales and some sort of a resort for at least a week. It didn’t really matter as long as I had Ava with me.
“Phee!” Speak of the devil. I turned around, seeing a flustered Ava walking toward me. She always reminded me of Snow White, with her black hair, and round blue eyes, a complete contrast to her pale skin. Some people in school called her an elf, thinking it would bother her. If anything, she reveled in the nickname. I couldn’t recall how many times she made me watchThe Lord of the Ringswith her, fawning over Legolas and later on his father whenThe Hobbitcame out.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she huffed, plopping down on the stone next to mine. “What are you doing here? I thought you were with Ronan.”
“I was with him.” I chuckled at the scowl on her face. For a person that got along with almost everybody, she hated Ronan’s guts. “We broke up, you psycho, so you can remove that look on your face.”
“Oh, thank God. I was going to punch him in the face.”
For such a little thing, she was one of the fiercest people I knew. When she loved somebody, she loved with her whole being, giving them everything. But if she didn’t like you. Jesus, just run away.
