Page 41 of One Mistake

It really wasn’t my business except I was losing a lot of sleep listening to her get her head banged against the headboard every night. I shook my head and walked back into my bedroom. She was an adult. Same as I was.

But I was worried. And that was why when I heard her bedroom door squeak open, I opened mine a crack and peeked out. And my heart broke. She wasn’t kissing just anyone. She was kissing Ryder freaking Kennedy. My Ryder.

She’d been leading the crusade against him for months. And months. While I tried not to hold it against her. Tried not to remind her that she’d crawled into bed with him, that the video didn’t show any force despite what spin she put on the day’s story.

But now, she’d crossed the line. Broke the unwritten rule. Traded on our friendship so she could get off at an inappropriate decibel. Bitch.

I waited until he was gone, because no man was worth that humiliation, then flung my door open. “Really, Beth? Really?!” My blood burned. “You’re fucking Ryder? My Ryder?”

She held out her hand like she was approaching a wild animal. “You have to let me—”

“Explain? Explain how you ask for his head on a spike for months and now you’re fucking him in the bedroom next to mine? I think I’ve heard enough from you.” This was too much. I had to get out now. Had to decide how much this bothered me so I could decide if I hated her forever or if I just hated her for now.

I snatched my coat off the rack beside the door, strode past her as if she wasn’t standing there with her mouth hanging open, for once speechless or maybe—and even far less likely—quiet because I’d asked it of her. The apartment wasn’t big enough for both of us. Not anymore. Not if she could do this to me.

Since I was dressed for it—a tank top/sports bra combo and leggings—I went running. Across campus, past the gym, the science building, the law library, the regular library, Chancellor Hall, the food shops and cafeteria, freshman dorms, to Fraternity Road. I was halfway down the street before it occurred to me where I was. All the houses were lit up. Lights burned in every room down the block, until the Alpha house. It was dark. Even though only four of the boys had been in trouble, the Greek Council revoked this year’s permission for the Alpha house to operate and put them on probation for next year. All the jocks had been moved to dorms or rented apartments on their own off campus. Next year, they would start again.

I leaned against a tree, the same one Jameson had found me hiding behind when I was just trying to get a better look at Ryder. Wow. Things had been so simple back then. Beth had been my best friend. I’d had my one wild night. Gone back for seconds as myself. And still…

No point in thinking of that now.

I ran some more. Through town. Past the butcher shop, the beauty parlor, the ice cream parlor, coffee shop, insurance agency, ladies’ clothing boutique, straight back to the apartment. I was sweaty, out of breath, and tired, but I didn’t want to see Beth. I just couldn’t face her. Or more, I couldn’t face what she’d done.

I turned away from my place and headed to Felicity’s. We’d only just become friends, but she loved a good story. And tonight, I had one.

16

Ryder

My entire family was on a collision course with implosion. It wasn’t ten minutes after Dad called that I got the call from Eduardo, Mom’s personal valet. But never did I expect that as soon as I stepped from the car she’d sent to “collect” me, that she would be waiting on the steps, tears streaming, arms wide as I walked toward her.

When she wrapped me in her version of a hug, I tried not to stiffen, but she wasn’t really a hugger. Not in my entire life, so I didn’t really know how to act or what was going on.

She kept her arm around me and led me inside. When we were in the sitting room, tea poured and cooling in front of us, she scooted closer to me. I watched her from the corner of my eye. Her chin quivered and her hands shook as she brought them to her mouth. “All I can think is what if you would’ve had kids, or found a woman you loved, or…” Her voice quivered and she brought her fist to her mouth. This sentiment was so out of character, I couldn’t…but she’d been through so much in the last few hours—finding out about Dad and Beth Cooper, finding out he’d stolen the family fortune, all the skeletons out of the family closet.

“Mom, it’s okay.” It wasn’t. Even on our best day, the relationship between us was strained. And we hadn’t had a best day since I went to my first day of kindergarten and made her an ashtray a month after she quit smoking.

“It wasn’t you.”

I shook my head. “Some of it was.”

“Your father let you accept all the blame, spend forty-three weekends in jail. Pay back all that money.” She shook her head and more tears fell. In all my years I’d never seen her cry. Not when my grandparents died or her dog, although I’d always suspected that the little purse puppy was more of an expected possession than a pet. “Did you know what he’d done?”

“Cheating?”

She scoffed. “No. He was never very good at hiding that particular sin against our family.” Her tone went dry until I nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me he was the one who uploaded those videos?”

I didn’t point out that she wouldn’t have believed me. Not yet. I really wanted to see where this was going. “I don’t know. But I made the videos so…” I shrugged. One sin was as bad as the other.

She looked down and picked up her tea for a drink, set it down with nary a wobble of cup against saucer, then looked at me again. “He stole your trust fund.”

“It wasn’t mine anymore anyway.”

She sighed. “I know you didn’t want it anymore. That was why I found your ransom prank so curious, because even though it was dwindling fast, there was still plenty of money in there. More than you asked for anyway.”

My brain hitched on didn’t want it anymore. “Hold on. What does didn’t want it anymore mean?” My stomach ached. I’d never tried to take money from the account. He’d always done it for me. Paid my cards, my bills, my school tuition. I wasn’t even sure how to get money out of the account.

She closed her eyes and looked down. “I understood when I came back from Madagascar that you’d wanted to move out, to go away and try to start again. And doing it on your own was…admirable…” She sniffed and I shook my head.