Ray of Love (Ray #3)

by E. L. Todd

  Now I wondered the same thing.

  ***

  I called Kayden for answers. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, but I also wanted an excuse to talk to her. When I brought her soup, we didn’t say much. The phone rang a few times before it went to voicemail.

  “Hey, it’s Rex. Just calling to check in and see how you’re doing. Haven’t seen in you in a while…” My voice echoed over the line, and I suddenly felt incredibly lonely. I didn’t bother mentioning what I saw with Rae. It didn’t seem important anymore now that I was talking to her answering machine.

  I called Jessie next.

  She answered. “Hey, Rex. What’s up?”

  “I have a bone to pick with you.”

  “I’m not giving you free haircuts anymore. Look, you make money now, and I should be paid for my work.”

  “No, not about that. But, we’ll get back to that because I actually do need a haircut.”

  “Not a free one,” she countered.

  “Whatever. I’m pissed right now, and you’re going to give me some answers.”

  “Pissed?” she asked. “About what?”

  “What the hell is going on with Rae?”

  Silence. Long silence. Her tone changed from confrontational to bewildered. “What are you talking about?”

  “Rae’s not in New York. I just saw her having a drink with Ryker in some bar.”

  “What?” Now she sounded as shocked as I was. “With Ryker? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I stared at them for fifteen minutes.”

  “Oh god…”

  “Jess, why did she lie?”

  “I don’t know why you think I know anything—”

  “Because you do,” I snapped. “I can tell. Why would she lie about going to New York but stay in Seattle? I know my sister does stupid shit, but I really can’t figure this one out.”

  Jessie remained quiet, unsure what to say. “Look…I don’t know.”

  “Bullshit. Tell me.”

  “Rex, I can’t.”

  “You can’t?” I asked incredulously. “No, you’re gonna tell me.”

  “I promised her I wouldn’t.”

  I met a dead end, and I didn’t like it. “Why would she make you promise something like that?”

  “Rex…I swore I wouldn’t say anything. And I can’t. I know you must feel really confused right now, and I feel bad about that. But I promise this whole thing has nothing to do with you.”

  “She’s not trying to get away from me?”

  “No.”

  “Is she back together with Ryker?” That was the worst scenario.

  “No.”

  “Are you just saying that?”

  “No,” she said. “I have no idea why she was with Ryker, but her hiatus has nothing to do with him either.”

  “Then who does it have to do with?”

  She sighed into the phone, and that was the only answer I was going to get.

  “Don’t tell her I’m on her trail.”

  “Rex, the second we get off the phone, I’m giving her a heads-up.”

  “No. She promised she wouldn’t lie to me again.” I couldn’t stop the hurt from escaping my voice. “I’m going to give her some space to come clean to me when she supposedly comes back.”

  “Rex…if you knew why she lied, you wouldn’t be angry with her.”

  My thoughts turned bleak. “Please don’t tell me she’s sick…not anything like that.”

  “No. I promise. Nothing like that.”

  I felt better, but now I couldn’t think of any justifiable reason for her behavior.

  “I understand why you’re mad, Rex. But if you knew what was going on, I promise you wouldn’t be mad.”

  “Yeah…but I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “I’m sure the shit will hit the fan soon.”

  “So, are you not going to tell her I know?” Jessie was very devoted to Rae, so the odds of getting what I wanted weren’t good.

  “I don’t know…”

  “Don’t tell her, Jess.”

  She sighed into the phone again.

  “I thought I was your friend too.”

  “Of course.”

  “Okay, you kept a promise to her about this little hiatus she made. And now you’re going to make a promise to me that you won’t tell her I spotted her.”

  After contemplating what I said, she finally agreed. “Fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Just remember…she’s going through a hard time. Don’t be a jerk.”

  Rather than being angrier, I was hurt Rae didn’t tell me whatever was going on in her life. We were roommates, and we were family. But I didn’t tell her everything either. Obviously, I never told her about Kayden. But I never snuck off for two weeks and lied about it. “We’ll see.”

  ***

  Rae walked inside with her fake luggage and smothered Safari with kisses. “I missed you so much, boy.” Safari licked her entire face, swiping his tongue along the side of her nose and even in her ear. “Wow, what a great kiss.” She hugged him before she stood up again.

  I stared her down and forced myself not to explode right then and there. “How was New York?”

  “It was great. Had a lot of fun.”

  How could she lie so easily? Was she a psychopath? “Good…”

  “But I’m glad to be home. Living in a hotel got old.”

  “Yeah…I’m sure.” Especially a hotel just a few blocks away.

  “How was your vacation from me?”

  “It was okay. I spent all day cleaning the house yesterday to hide the horror I caused.”

  “Well, at least I don’t have to look at it.” She pulled her luggage into the bedroom. “I’m going to shower and do some laundry. Can you order a pizza?”

  I watched her walk away, feeling my face turn bright red in anger. Like nothing happened, she pretended everything was perfectly normal. How did she do that? The only thing stopping me from screaming was the fact Jessie told me Rae did this for a specific reason and that she was going through a hard time. And more importantly, I would feel bad for giving her a hard time.

  That was the only thing that held me back.

  ***

  Jessie came over while Rae was still getting dressed. She looked at me and saw the anger still burning in my eyes. It’d been there since Rae came home yesterday. “You look…pissed.”

  “Because I am.”

  “I’m guessing you haven’t said anything to her.”

  “No.” But it was getting more difficult with every passing hour.

  “I’m proud of you. But I also think you should let it go.”

  Like I’d ever let this go. It was an insult she couldn’t be honest with me—her family.

  “I think—” She stopped talking when Rae came back into the room. She quickly changed the subject so it wasn’t obvious we were just talking about her. “I think we need to pull Kayden out of her cave. She’s been sick forever. There’s no way she’s still sick.”

  “I agree,” Rae said. “We’ll stop by her place and drag her with us.”

  My mood picked up slightly. The thought of seeing Kayden again brought a slight joy to my step. I hadn’t seen her at all since I ended our arrangement. I found myself thinking about her all the time, wondering if she needed anything while she was ill. I brought her soup so I could spend time with her, but she wouldn’t even let me inside.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jessie said. “And you look hot, by the way.”

  “You look hotter,” Rae replied.

  I cleared my throat. “Eh-hem.” I brushed the invisible dust from my shoulder.

  “What?” Rae stared at me blankly.

  “I look hot too, right?” I gave them my signature smolder.

  “You want your sister to call you hot?” Rae asked incredulously.

  “No, idiot,” I snapped. “Jessie.”

  “Just tell him he’s hot so we can get going,” Rae said. “Otherwise, he’ll bitch and complain t
he whole time.”

  “I don’t bitch and complain,” I said. “That’s all you.”

  Jessie looked me up and down. “I think you look hot, Rex.”

  My ego hung on to her words even though I knew she didn’t mean a word she said. “Why, thank you very much.”

  “Can we go now?” Rae walked out the door with Jessie, not bothering to wait for me.

  “Shut up. I’m coming.”

  ***

  “Open this damn door!” Jessie nearly broke it down with her fists. “We know you’re in there, brat!”

  “She’s really going to want to come out now…” Rae’s voice was full of sarcasm.

  “I don’t care,” Jessie said. “She doesn’t even know you were in New York for ten days. That means we seriously need to talk.”

  My anger started to bubble again.

  Rae gave it a try. “Kay, it’s us. How sick can you be to not open the door?”

  Finally, Kayden snapped the door open. She was in baggy sweats and a t-shirt. Her hair was thrown into a bun, and her face was free of makeup. She looked much skinnier than the last time I saw her—dangerously skinny. She opened her to mouth to say something, and then her eyes landed on mine. A short burst of panic overtook her face. Then she quickly hid it. “You almost broke down my door.”

  “I would have if Rae hadn’t stopped me,” Jessie said. “Are you still sick or what?”

  “You don’t look sick,” Rae said. “Just tired.”

  Kayden closed the door more so we could see less of her. “I feel a lot better now. It was really nasty for a while there. I’ve just been taking the last few days easy so I can fully recover.”

  “What did you have?” Jessie asked.

  “The flu,” Kayden answered. “And then I got bronchitis.”

  “Damn,” Rae said. “No wonder you were off the map.”

  “Yeah…” Kayden continued to eye us on her doorstep. “I would let you in, but I haven’t scrubbed down the place since I’ve gotten better. I don’t want you guys to get sick.”

  “That’s okay,” Rae said. “We actually wanted to pick you up. We’re going to the bars and you’re coming along.”

  “Yep,” Jessie said. “Get dressed.”

  I hadn’t said a word. When I looked at her, I froze.

  “Uh…” Kayden turned around to look at something behind her.

  “You’re coming with us,” Jessie demanded. “So don’t fight it.”

  “Well, do you guys mind if I change real quick?” Kayden turned back to us.

  “Not at all,” Rae said.

  “That’s the spirit,” Jessie said. “We’ll wait out here.”

  “Alright,” Kayden said. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

  ***

  Like she just stepped out of the salon, Kayden looked like a beauty queen. With beautiful and shiny hair and a tight little dress that showed off her incredible legs, she looked like Miss Universe.

  I couldn’t stop staring.

  After we arrived at the bar, we got our drinks and entered a booth in the corner. I sat right across from Kayden and had to force myself to gaze around the room so I wouldn’t stare at her.

  “Where’s Zeke?” Jessie asked.

  “He’ll be here soon,” I said. “Rochelle got off work late.”

  Jessie immediately turned her gaze to Rae.

  Rae met the look then quickly turned away.

  What was that about?

  Kayden sipped her drink and didn’t make eye contact with me once. She was silent at the table, searching the crowd and not participating in the conversation at all.

  “You’ve lost a lot of weight,” Jessie said. “You need to eat it back pronto.”

  “Or it’s the best diet ever,” Rae said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, I know,” Kayden said with a weak voice. “Every time I would eat something, I’d just throw up.”

  Jessie cringed. “That sucks. Sorry, girl.”

  “It’s okay,” Kayden said. “It’s over now.”

  Jessie’s focus turned to a guy at the bar. “Ooh…he’s hunky.”

  Kayden followed her gaze. “Yeah, he is.”

  “I’m thinking about going for it,” Jessie said. “But I’m kinda boxed in.”

  “Well, I’m gonna get up.” Kayden pushed her drink away. “But only because I’m going to hit on him.” Without another word, she left the booth and walked to the man sitting at the bar. She gave him a friendly smile, opened with some kind of joke, and then she was sitting beside him in the chair and making small talk.

  Ouch.

  Fuck, that hurt.

  “Damn,” Jessie said. “Did you see that?”

  “I know,” Rae said. “Being locked up for nearly three weeks probably made her go a little crazy. The ultimate dry spell.”

  “I would be jealous,” Jessie said. “But I’m too impressed to feel anything less than admiration.”

  “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kayden hit on a guy like that.” Rae stirred her cocktail before she took a drink.

  “I guess she really wants that D,” Jessie said. “Good for her.”

  I kept staring at Kayden as she flirted with the handsome stranger. She said something to make him laugh, and then he ordered a round of drinks for both of them.

  My stomach bubbled with acid.

  I felt sick.

  Like, worse than the flu and bronchitis sick.

  “You alright, Rex?” Jessie asked.

  I turned back to them and tried to mask my depression. “Yeah, this beer isn’t for me. Too sweet.” I made a face and pushed it away. Truthfully, it was perfectly fine.

  “I hate it when that happens,” Rae said. “A waste of eight bucks.”

  “Yeah…” I refused to let myself look at Kayden again. It just bummed me out.

  “Zeke is here.” Jessie spotted him enter the bar. “And she’s with him…”

  Rae purposely looked down at her drink and downed nearly half of it.

  Zeke and Rochelle got a drink from the bar then joined us in the booth. “Hey, what’s crackin’?” Zeke slid in first, and then Rochelle sat down right after him. Rae had to scoot next to me, followed by Jessie.

  “Nothing much,” I said. “Just hanging…”

  Rochelle said hi to everyone. “Hey, guys.” Then she focused her attention on Rae. “How was New York?”

  Rae was quiet for so long it seemed like she didn’t hear the question. She gripped her glass tightly and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  I eyed her with interest, unable to recall a time when my sister was speechless.

  “It was good,” Rae finally said. “But I’m glad to be home.” She never made eye contact with Rochelle. She didn’t look at Zeke either.

  Jessie stared at her with a look full of pure sadness. Then she cleared her throat. “Kayden is here.” She pointed across the bar. “Picking up some man candy.”

  “Oh, she is?” Zeke asked with genuine excitement. “I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

  “Me neither,” Rochelle said.

  “Good for her,” Zeke said. “That must have been a really nasty cold.” He turned back to Rae. “When did you get back?”

  Rae seemed revolted by the attention he was giving her. If I didn’t know how close they were, I would think she hated him. They’d been in the same room together since I told her how he used to feel and she didn’t behave differently then, so I knew that had nothing to do with this. “Yesterday.”

  “Was the house in disarray?” Zeke teased.

  Rae didn’t get the joke at all. “Uh, no.”

  Zeke’s eyebrows rose. “Everything okay, Rae?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice cracked when she spoke. “I think I’m coming down with whatever Kayden had…” She touched her throat like she was looking for swelling.

  “I can check your lymph nodes…” Zeke reached across the table.

  Rae practically slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me.�
��

  Everyone at the table stilled at the harshness in her voice.

  Jessie was the only one who didn’t seem surprised. “So I cut this kid’s hair yesterday and nearly cut off his ear.”

  We launched into a conversation about that, taking the attention off Rae. But I certainly didn’t stop thinking about it. Jessie told us about her restless client and then talked about this hot guy she had right after him. Rochelle cozied up to Zeke and pressed her face right against his neck, cuddling with him like they were at home. Zeke turned to her, smiled, and then gave her a small kiss on the lips.

  That’s when Rae nearly pushed me. “Get up, Rex. I need to go to the bathroom.” She bossed me around a lot, but the tone in her voice was different this time. I immediately obeyed because it felt like life or death.

  Rae stormed off like she couldn’t get away fast enough.

  Jessie watched her walk off then continued sharing her adventures at work even though her story wasn’t really that interesting. It seemed like she was telling it just for the sake of talking.

  I sat down and tried to think of what could be bothering Rae—because something clearly was.

  “Rex, what’s up with Rae?” Zeke asked me point blank. “Seems like something is really bothering her. Did something happen in New York?”

  “Not that I know of. But then again, she doesn’t tell me jack shit.” My anger seeped out like hot wax.

  Zeke clearly picked up on the tension but didn’t ask about it.

  Rochelle spoke next. “Maybe someone should check on her—”

  “I’ll do it.” Jessie immediately slid to my side of the booth so she could get out.

  My patience was waning, and now I really wanted to get to the bottom of this. My sister lied to me about where she was for ten days, and now she was acting strange all over again. What was the big deal? Was she pregnant? Did Dad contact her? What could it possibly be that she wouldn’t tell me? “No. I’m gonna check on her.”

  “I got it,” Jessie said quickly. “I’m her best friend—”

  “And I’m her brother.” I slid out of the booth and marched to the bathroom, doing my best to ignore Kayden flirting with the guy at the bar. She was back on her feet and ready to mingle, and I hadn’t even asked a woman out yet.

  I walked to the hallway where the bathrooms were, and fortunately, there wasn’t a line. I opened the door to the girl’s bathroom because I knew that’s where she would be. As I expected, Rae was standing in front of the mirror. She gripped either side of the sink and stared at the drain.