I fished my cell phone from my purse, set on yelling at Jason for making me wait, when someone halted in front of my table.
I looked up and gasped. My heart stopped for a quick second.
Caryn. The only thing different from four years ago was that she looked like she was thirty-five, instead of twenty-one. She still wore low-rise jeans, which were at least two sizes too small, a tight top with deep cleavage, showing her fat boobs and her belly, five- or six-inch wedges, and her hair was trimmed to her shoulder, but still dyed a horrible neon yellow. She had red lipstick and chewed her gum like a cow.
“I heard you were back, but I knew I would only believe it when I saw you,” she said. And her voice was still the same too. High pitched and nasally. “And here you are.”
I stared at my drink. “What do you want?”
“Nothing, really. Just looking at you.” She sat in the chair across the table. “Did it solve anything, moving up there?”
I glared at her. “I didn’t invite you to sit with me.” I grabbed my drink and stood.
She stepped in my way. “Oh, the princess is mad.”
“How old are you? Fifteen? But let me tell you, you look forty.”
Her brown eyes became two enraged stones. “You.” She pointed her finger at me, pushing it against my chest. “Who do you think you are?”
I retreated a step. “Jesus, what did I ever do to you? If I remember correctly, it was you who did pretty bad things to me.”
She walked forward. “Of course, the innocent.”
“What are you talking about?”
I glanced around, noticing that people were starting to stare.
She leaned over me. “You weren’t the only one in love with him, you know?”
I had my suspicions, although, at the time, I thought it was more of an infatuation.
We had been at the tracks all afternoon for a race—a professional one. John, Ethan’s uncle, was there with some other big names in the motorcycle racing world, watching the races and taking notes.
That week, Ryan had been so excited and nervous. And I didn’t think he slept the previous night, though he stayed quiet beside me in my bed. This was it for him. He could be discovered right here.
Before the final race, the one where Luke and Ryan had to show everything they had, the guys stood beside the track, talking and waiting. The girls and I were seated on the bleachers, directly behind them, but several rows up.
I was fighting my instinct to go down and kiss Ryan good luck in front of everyone, when Caryn strolled to him and halted by his side. She wore a cheerleader-like outfit and moved her hips in a suggestive way. My stomach rolled with sour envy. Not because of her looks, but because she put her hand on Ryan’s arms and smiled at him, getting a smile in return.
Everyone in town knew Caryn. She was the pretty girl who had taken the wrong path. Some still thought she could turn around. Right now, I couldn’t care less. All I wanted was for her to take her hands off Ryan.
Caryn leaned closer to him, her breasts brushing his arm, and she spoke with her neck stretched, aiming for his ear. Bitch. Meanwhile, Ryan’s attention was on her. However, I couldn’t really see the expression on his face to know if he was looking at her to be polite or if he was genuinely interested in her.
John ran up to the group and told them to get ready. Ryan stepped away from Caryn, but she closed her hands around his bicep and pulled him back. She kissed his cheek and smiled coyly.
“Good luck,” I read her lips.
He nodded before jogging to join John and Luke.
That night, when Ryan climbed in my window and crawled into my bed, he was so excited about doing well and being invited to a big race the next weekend, I decided not to spoil his happiness and ask about Caryn.
Instead, I chose to ignore the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right and shoved her from my thoughts to focus on the guy beside me.
My mistake.
I shook my head to get rid of that painful memory and turned around to walk away, but Caryn grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.
“Come here, you bitch. I’m not done with you!” she yelled.
I didn’t think, just acted. I threw my iced coffee at her face and chest. Shocked, she released me, and stared down at her top. “I’ll kill you!” she snarled.
I raised my arms to defend from the punch I was about to receive, but strong arms closed around my waist and pulled me back.
Jason appeared between us. “Hey, hey, stop it!”
I looked down and saw the arm still firm around me. My breath caught when I recognized the tattoos on his skin.
“I’ll kill her!” Caryn bellowed, pushing against Jason.
Jason spied over his shoulder. “Take her to the truck.”
Instantly, the arm around my waist pulled me farther back, and I stumbled against his chest. Gently but firmly, Ryan held my arm and helped me turn, aiming for the truck.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded, fighting the shaking wave that was threatening to overcome me.
“Ryan!” Caryn yelled. “She’s a bitch, Ryan!”
“Shut up, Caryn,” Jason hissed.
“I’ll kill her,” Caryn yelled again.
“Ignore her,” Ryan said, his voice low. While crossing the street to the truck, he kept his face low, and I noticed that we had gathered quite the audience. He was hiding, probably embarrassed to be seen with me.
I pushed against his hold and gave a step away from him. “I’m fine.”
He stared at me for a second, and then nodded.
I dashed to the truck and slid inside through the passenger door. In front of the coffee shop, Jason still tried to reason with a neurotic Caryn, while Ryan leaned against the truck and waited.
A few moments later, some worker or owner from the place came out of the building and talked to them, his face none too happy. Jason turned away and left Caryn yelling alone.
I put my hands over my mouth and held back a sob. Jesus, I wasn’t one for crying, not after I moved to Cleveland, but I hadn’t expected such a scene. The anger, the guilt, the disappointment, and all the memories took me by surprised, and I suddenly found it hard not to cry.
Jason stopped by the truck’s door. “Come on,” he said to Ryan.
Ryan shook his head. “You know that’s not a good idea. I’ll walk to my apartment.”
Apartment? What happened to his parents’ house?
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Jason glanced at me, and I averted my eyes. “All right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Nodding, Ryan walked away, in the opposite direction Caryn was headed.
Finally, Jason joined me inside the truck. “Are you all right?”
I glared at him. “It’s your fault. If you had been here on time, I wouldn’t have run into her.”
“Hey, what did you expect?” He inserted the keys into place and turned the truck on. “To come back and not see anyone from your past. Newsflash, but you’ll probably have to face a hell of a lot more while you’re here.”
I let out a frustrated scream, and Jason watched me with disturbed eyes.
“And what was he doing with you?” The question was out before I could make good reason of it.
An eyebrow cocked, Jason pulled the truck into the street and drove away. “He was helping me with my bike. I planned on leaving him at his place before picking you up.”
I bit my tongue before I could ask what “his place” meant. I was too deep in this mess already. I didn’t need to bury myself more and more.