“Who did you think she was at first glance?” Justin looked at me, seeming unwilling to answer. “You,” he breathed. “I thought this was us until I saw the headboard from the Inn we’d gone to during spring break. It had all those seashells on it.” Justin shivered and then returned his eyes to mine. “Where did you get these?”
I explained it to Justin as John had explained it to me.
“Why would Valerie want photos of me making out with Alden?” Justin asked.
John and I kept quiet, allowing him time to catch on. It only took a moment. “Because it looked like me and you—not me and her.” Justin’s posture fell and his eyes went dull. “This.” He held the photo in the air. “Is why Ryan married Katie, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” John answered for me. I sat quietly, waiting for Justin to react. He looked so distraught. He scooted his chair away from the table. “I need a minute,” he said and then went outside.
“I should go,” John said. “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to process,” he added, before letting himself out.
47
Ryan
My dad called and asked me to meet him. He wouldn’t say why, but his seriousness worried me. He’d parked on campus by the baseball field. I got out of my car and into his.
“I need you to think before you react to what I’m about to tell you,” he said.
“What’s going on?” I asked, feeling the blood drain from my face.
“Have you seen this before?” he asked, holding a photo of Annie and Justin together in my face.
“Yes, I’ve seen it. Why are you showing me that? I told Mom to burn those pictures.”
“She’s been keeping them in a safety deposit box at the bank.”
“So, I’ll burn them,” I told him, attempting to snatch the photo from his hands.
“She didn’t show you all of them.”
“Dad, I know. She said the ones she kept from me were worse.”
“She lied, Ryan. The ones she kept from you prove the girl in the photos isn’t Annie.”
“Yes, it was. She was wearing her ring—the ring I gave her.”
“This is the girl.” My dad handed me a photo; her face looked nothing like Annie’s, but from behind…
My temper raged. “Mom set this up?”
“She had to have.”
“How’d she get Annie’s ring?”
“Annie thinks the girl took it while she was in the shower. I did a little digging. She’s an actress, Ryan. She was involved with Justin for a short time. I don’t have proof, but I think your mother hired her. Even if she didn’t, she knew it wasn’t Annie.”
I couldn’t breathe. “But I saw them kissing when I went to talk to Annie about the pictures—Mom didn’t stage that.”
“I don’t know what that kiss was about, but this,” he held up the stack of photos, “isn’t her.”
John reached into his pocket and held out Annie’s promise ring. “I found this in the box, too.”
I didn’t bother asking why. I was sure Annie had given it back after my mother told her that Katie and I had gotten married. My mind was swirling. I couldn’t think. I reached for the door handle. “I need some time,” I said and got out of the car.
I heard my dad’s voice call to me, “Be careful, Ryan.”
Unsure if I should go home and calm down before confronting my mother, I circled the block, realizing that I would not be calming down anytime soon, and drove to my parent’s house.
I let myself in and ran upstairs. My mother was seated at the bar in the kitchen with her hands folded together.
“Your father called and told me you might come by,” she said, as if I’d stopped in for tea or something.
“Why? You knew how much thinking Annie cheated on me hurt. I’ve been a mess for months!”
“It was an honest mistake, Ryan.”
“Mistake! What the hell is wrong with you? Those photos were meticulously planned! I saw her face, Mother. I know you saw it, too. You knew it wasn’t Annie!”
“I knew nothing of the sort,” she said, unwavering.
“Was Katie in on it, too? She told me she’d seen Annie and Justin holding hands a few days before the photos surfaced. Why would she have done that if she didn’t know you’d hired someone to fame Annie?”
“I hired no one. As for what Katherine witnessed—“ “Cut the bullshit, Mother! I should have known better than to expect you to tell the truth.” I stepped closer to her, staring into her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re so miserable, or what I ever did to make you treat me the way you have, but I don’t deserve it, and I’m not ever going to let you hurt me again.” I turned and walked away.
“Ryan,” she said, her voice soft. “Ryan,” she repeated, when I didn’t stop. “I was only doing what was best for you. Archer and I have an agreement; he’s bringing you into his company—do you know how important that is to your future? What an honor? Ryan!” she screamed when I slammed the door behind me.
48
Katie
I was folding laundry on the kitchen table when Ryan came in the house.
“Where’s Jake?” he asked.
“Napping,” I answered. After seeing his expression, mine wilted. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Were you working with my mother to break up Annie and me?”
“What?” I asked, because I didn’t know what else to say.
“Did you see Annie and Justin holding hands or did my mother put you up to telling me that?”
This was a pivotal moment. If I lied and he found out, he’d be done with me. If I told the truth and begged for forgiveness, then I might have a shot at keeping him.”
“She made me say it. I didn’t want to, but she threatened to send me home with nothing.”
I’d never seen Ryan so upset. He ground his teeth, but didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“You’re sorry?” he gasped. “You lied to me, Katie.”
The disgust in his expression angered me. “You say that as if you’ve never lied to me, Ryan.”
“Did you help her with the pictures, too?”
“What pictures?”
“The ones that made it look like Annie was sleeping with Justin?”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“I don’t know who or what I should believe anymore,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair. And then he cried, which frightened me.
“I’m so mad!” he yelled. “This is so unfair. I can’t believe I let this happen. I played right into her hands.” Ryan looked blurry eyed at me. “And you helped me do it.”
“I didn’t know what she was planning. I was only doing what I thought was best for Jacob and me.”
“You sound just like her. She does all this evil shit and that’s how she justifies it—by saying she thought it was best for me.”
“You can’t blame me for your choices.”
“No, but I can hold you responsible for yours.”
“Get off your high horse, Ryan. You used me to hurt your girlfriend—” “And you let me. You said yourself that you knew I didn’t love you. Since you’re so worried about being sent home with nothing, you can keep this place. I’m leaving.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it!”
“How do I know that, Katie?”
“Because I’ve told you, you’re what I want. I want our family to stay together.”
“Then you shouldn’t have lied to me.”
“What the hell? You lied to me, too. Does that not count? Does the great Ryan Mullins get a pass for what he’s done wrong?”
“I’m filing for an annulment.”
“Of course you are,” I said, my eyes welling with tears. “That’s a slim excuse. Why not be honest and say you’re getting rid of me so you can get Annie back?”
Ryan glared at me, pushed the door open, and left. I felt everything I’d worked so hard to accomplish toppling to the ground because Ryan couldn’t
get over his first freaking love.
I put down the laundry and called Valerie.
“Hello, dear, she said.
“You faked photos of Annie cheating on Ryan.”
“Calm down. I didn’t fake anything. It was a misunderstanding. From behind, that girl looked exactly like Annie.”
“You set it all up and you used me to do it. Who’s the girl?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“It is my concern! Ryan’s gone. He’s filing for an annulment.”
“You can fight it, dear. Just because he wants it, doesn’t mean he’ll get it.”
“Is Jacob Ryan’s, or did you orchestrate that, too?”
“Of course Jacob is Ryan’s.”
“If you screwed with my kid for whatever reason, I will ruin you,” I threatened.
“Better women than you have tried and failed. Good luck, dear.”
“I’m telling Ryan everything you did.”
“Katherine, why do you think so many of our conversations have taken place over the phone?”
I shook my head, feeling incredibly stupid. “Because you recorded them, didn’t you?” I exhaled hard.
“Yes, my favorite is the one where you pretended Jacob was sick to keep Ryan from talking to Annie. Ryan’s already been here. He’s furious with me and I have nothing to lose by revealing everything, but if I don’t, I can still salvage my relationship with him, so if I were you, I’d be a good little girl and stay quiet, because if you try to take me down, I’ll take you with me.”
49
Annie
I found Justin a couple hours later at Grey and Nina’s. I walked up beside him, put my hand in his, and squeezed tightly. He looked at me, his blue eyes pained.
“It doesn’t change anything,” I said softly. He gave me a hard smile and kissed me on the head.
When we went home, Justin showered then lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He’d been quiet most of the afternoon. I knew pretending John hadn’t been here would be impossible, but I wanted to try.
I lay down with Justin and rested my head on his chest. He didn’t move. It was so quiet that I was afraid to talk.
Finally, he said something. “It all makes sense to me now,” he mumbled. “I met Alden in front of Pam’s store, and she was so eager to meet you and never complained when I was with you.” Justin forced out a hard breath. “That morning, after you got in the shower, she came into my room. I was changing and before I could get my shirt on, she pushed me down on the bed, got on top of me, and pulled her shirt off. We made out a little and then she said she thought her phone was ringing. When she came back, she said she had a family emergency, and rushed out.”
“I’m sorry that Valerie involved you.” I exhaled stiffly.
“Don’t you feel cheated, Annie? Aren’t you pissed off that John came here and dropped this shit at our feet?”
“He said he struggled with the decision to tell us.”
“He didn’t struggle enough in my opinion.”
“At least I know why now,” I muttered. I’m angry, but I can’t do anything to change it.”
“You can’t ignore what John told you. You have to deal with it.”
“I’m not ignoring it,” I said. “I’ve already told you, it doesn’t change anything for me.”
“It hasn’t changed anything yet, but the realization that Valerie stole something you wanted hasn’t set in yet. Ryan’s going to want you back.”
“I don’t care what he wants, Justin. He should have trusted me enough to ask if what Valerie had portrayed to him was true. He knows how conniving she is.”
Justin was quiet for a long time, staring at the ceiling. I wanted him to touch me, to comfort me. He usually held me until I fell asleep and now he wouldn’t even look at me. I twisted onto my side, putting my head on his pillow to watch him. I brushed my fingertips down his arm and when I still didn’t get a response I moved my head to lay back on his chest.
I wanted to feel his arms around me, but he wouldn’t even acknowledge that I was in the room. I slid my hand over his stomach, under his shirt. “What are you doing?” he grumbled, pushing my hand away. “Sex isn’t going to fix us.”
“I didn’t know we were broken.”
“We’re not. I just can’t… while you’re thinking of him.”
“I’m not thinking of him, Justin,” I hissed.
“You are thinking of him. You have to be, because I am, and I don’t want you trying to distract me from it with sex.”
“That’s not what I was trying to do.” I put my hands on his face forcing him to look at me. “That’s not what I was doing. I just want to be close to you and you won’t even look at me. I don’t want you to pull away from me because of this. Valerie did a terrible thing, but if she hadn’t, then you and I wouldn’t be together now.”
“Exactly,” Justin sneered. “You were going to marry Ryan, Annie, and you had all these plans with him, and now you’ve found out that he didn’t choose Katie over you, because he didn’t want to be with you. He chose her because he thought you were sleeping with me.”
“He still chose her. It doesn’t matter why.” I moved my face closer to his. “Ryan and I are done, Justin. We have been for a long time and I don’t want worrying about the past to tear us apart because it doesn’t change anything for me.”
“Don’t you think it’ll change something for Ryan?”
I sat back up. “What will it change? In the morning he’ll still be married to Katie, they’ll still have a child together, and I’ll still be in love with you.” I could tell that my words affected him. “I want to be with you and I need to feel that you still want that.”
“I do. I want you, too.”
“That’s all that matters to me,” I whispered. Justin opened his arms; I fell into them and didn’t leave his embrace until the morning.
50
Ryan
I walked into my first class of the second half of the semester and my heart nearly stopped. I knew Annie was studying psychology, but Harmon is a large university. I never thought I’d end up in the same class as her.
The room was small, only seated twenty, but it was an eight a.m. class. Most of my friends didn’t take a class before noon. I had to get mine in early to keep my afternoons free.
Annie quickly looked away when she saw me.
Since my dad told me about the photos yesterday, I’ve thought nonstop about how I would handle seeing Annie, and what I would say.
I’d stayed at a hotel last night and hadn’t slept much. Jacob was also on my mind. I hadn’t thought before I left Katie that I’d also be leaving him.
Seeing Annie was hard, but I imagined there’d never be a time when it wouldn’t be. Her hair was wavy again, flowing down her back, framing her face. I tried not to stare, but couldn’t help myself. I’d always thought she was beautiful.
“Good morning my early risers. I’m Professor Rice. Since we have such a small group, I’d like to ask you all to move to seats in the middle of the room.”
Annie and I had been in the same row on opposite ends. As I moved closer, she stepped back and sat a couple rows behind me.
“That’s better. Let’s get started on chapter one, shall we?”
“I had to order my book, the campus store was sold out,” I told Professor Rice.
“Who wouldn’t mind sharing their book with… what’s your name?” she asked.
“Ryan Mullins.”
Every girl in the room, apart from Annie volunteered.
“What’s your name?” Professor Rice asked her.
“Annie Reynolds.”
“Ms. Reynolds, why didn’t you volunteer to share your book with Mr. Mullins?”
“I guess I’m not in a sharing mood today.”
“Ah,” Professor Rice cooed. “You two have history.”
Annie didn’t respond, but she didn’t have to. The tension between us was obvious.
“Well, Ms. Reynolds,
since this is a human behavior class, I think we’d all be interested in seeing what happens when you and Mr. Mullins share a book for an hour.”
“She doesn’t have to,” I interjected.
“Oh, but she does,” Professor Rice said. “This is my class, I make the rules.”
“I’d prefer to sit with someone else.”
“Too bad. You should have come to class prepared.” I couldn’t help not having my book.
Professor Rice pushed the desk beside Annie’s against hers. “Come. Sit,” she said to me. I reluctantly got up and changed seats. Annie didn’t move. Or look at me.
“Interesting,” Professor Rice murmured, and then started the lecture.
A few minutes in, Annie raised her hand.
“What is it, Ms. Reynolds?”
“I can’t sit next to him.”
“You’re doing fine.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“That’s private.” Annie looked at me. “Move. Let me up.”
“As I stated, Ms. Reynolds, this is a human behavior class. You two have unresolved issues. Working them out now will make the remainder of the semester more pleasurable for all of us.”
“I’m dropping this class,” Annie said.
“Avoidance,” Professor Rice noted.
“Ryan didn’t talk to me before believing a very large lie. How’s that for avoidance?” she asked.
“I did try to talk to you, but couldn’t, because your tongue was in Justin’s mouth. I drove to his house after my mother showed me the pictures and saw you leaned against your car kissing him.”
“The headlights. That was you,” she said softly.
“After that, I didn’t need to talk to you to believe that supposed lie.”
“It wasn’t what it looked like. That kiss was innocent.”
“It didn’t look innocent to me.”
“We were saying goodbye. He was going back to school and I was supposed to be going back to you! You should have talked to me. Who sends their mother to break up with their girlfriend?” she said bitingly.
“I was angry and didn’t want to see you.”
“As much as I forgave you for during our relationship, you owed me an opportunity to explain before marrying someone else. Now let me up!” she groaned, trying to push my desk away from her.
Breathe (Sway Part 2) Page 25