Swept (Swept Trilogy)

by Becca Nyx

  I finish up in the shower, dry off and get dressed I have plans to see Caden, and then I have some classes. If I want to make a difference in people’s lives I have to do my best to get my degree. Thinking of which I need to declare my major. When I first enrolled I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was mentoring, but it was before I started my blog and saw the impact it was making. I’ve inspired other people around the world to get involved and make a difference. It’s amazing what a little blog on the internet can do.

  I leave the dorm and hop on my motorcycle; I’m just stopping by to see how Caden is. I’m not taking him anywhere. Justin would have been happy about my motorcycle. It was his favorite form of transportation. It was just too bad that it was also the cause of his death, but he was always happiest riding his bike. I just wish we could have had one ride together before he died.

  I pull up to the curb, park my bike and walk up the door, I knock and Caden’s mother lets me in. I go to his room, he’s in his bed with a pile of homework in front of him and he looks sad.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask him and sit down next to him

  “This sucks,” he says, not looking up at me and hanging his head.

  “I know I’m sorry.” I sympathize and pat him on the back.

  “I can’t even write. I broke the arm that I write with.” He says holding up his arm that’s covered in a bright green cast.

  “I didn’t even realize that you broke your dominate arm.” I say and rub his back, and he frowns. “You just have to stay in there and try. I broke my right arm, it was so bad that the doctor had to put metal plates on both sides of the bone and screw them in. It took six months for my arm to finally heal. Do you want to know what I learned to do while my arm was in a cast?”

  “What?” he asks; his eyes wide in fascination.

  “I learned how to write with my left hand.”

  “You did? Was it hard?” He gasps.

  “Of course it was hard, but I really didn’t want to get behind in my school work and make bad grades. My school work was one of the few things I could count on from myself.” I tell him hoping to motivate him and cheer him up.

  “Can you still write with your left hand?”

  “Yeah, want to see? I’ll sign your cast with my left hand.”

  “Awesome!” He says and smiles at me as he hands me a black marker.

  I hold the marker in my left hand and scrawl, “This is the best restaurant I ever ate in.” across his cast. He stares at his arm, then looks at me confused. “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. It was something my friend wrote on my cast when I broke my arm.” I smile as I recall Justin writing the same thing on my cast.

  “He did?”

  “Yeah, and one of these days maybe you’ll write it on someone’s cast. Maybe you’ll teach someone how to do tricks on a bike or a skateboard.”

  “You really think I will?”

  “Sure, why not, you can do anything you want to if you set your mind to it.” I say and pat him on the shoulder.

  “Do you think I can learn write with my right hand?”

  “I don’t see why not, all it takes is practice.”

  “I going to try.” He says with determination

  “Good, work on it and you can show me the next time I visit.” I encourage him.

  “You’re leaving?”

  “Yeah, I have class, that I have to go to, but I’ll come back soon, I promise.” I stand up, “I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay,” he says and starts trying to write with his right hand on a piece of paper.

  I leave his house, hop on my bike and ride back to campus. I feel so glad I was able to make him feel better even if it was just for a little while. I smile; now I have other things to look forward too, like Crystal. I plan on stopping by later and surprising her. Something tells me that she’ll like it.

  Crystal

  Chapter Seventeen

  Talk

  Looking down at the table full of books in front of me I sigh heavily and sniff as my tears dry up; So much for trying to get home work done now. I need someone to talk to someone who can help me sort out my feelings. There’s only one person who comes to mind. I leave my dorm and decide to go see Kelly. I hope she can shed some light on the situation while I vent. I knock on her door and an unfamiliar face opens it.

  Yeah?” She asks

  I look around, “Is Kelly here?”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m her friend, Crystal.” I hold out my hand, but she doesn’t take it, instead she turns her head and yells, “KELLY! CRYSTAL IS HERE!”

  I wince and thank her as Kelly appears and walks me back to her room.

  Kelly smiles after releasing me from a hug, “Hi.”

  I sit on her bed, “I need to talk to you.” I wring my hands, anxious about what I’m about to tell her and what her reaction will be. There’s a chance that I will never hear the end of it from Kelly after this and I’m not sure if I’m ready for that, but I have to talk to somebody.

  She sits down next to me, “Of course, what’s wrong?”

  I bury my face in my hands. “Oh, Kelly! I’m so confused.”

  She leans her head down towards mine trying to see my face. “I’m sure it’s not that bad, what are you confused about?”

  “Gabriel broke up with Emily, for me,” I sob.

  Kelly looks thoughtful as she tries to understand, “I don’t see what the problem is.”

  I close my eyes, “It’s a long story, and it’s complicated.”

  She rubs my back, “So start from the beginning.”

  I look into her eyes, “Are you sure you have time for all of this?”

  She leans close to me and puts her arm around me, “Of course I do, I’m your friend, Crystal, that’s what I’m here for.”

  “Okay,” I sigh and take a deep breath. “From the beginning,” I exhale and launch into the story telling her about Gabriel, when I met him and why I chose this college. She just listens thoughtfully as I explain our date, our kiss and the fight between Gabriel and Ryan.

  She frowns, “Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

  I stammer, caught off guard, I thought she knew, “I-I don’t know.”

  “Is he still there?”

  “No,” I answer, “But there’s more.”

  She nods for me to continue and I tell her about my threesome with Gabriel and my phone call with my mother. I start to cry as I tell her how much I miss my mom; she pats and rubs my back. I take a deep breath and tell her about Ryan, how he came to my dorm telling me that he loves me and asking me to forgive him and give him a chance.

  I pause again, “I don’t know what to do. I really care about Gabriel, he’s amazing, but I don’t want to lose Ryan. He’s been there for me and I don’t know what I would do without him.

  Kelly hugs me, “It’s about time he tells you how he feels.”

  I stare at her in shock, “You knew?”

  Kelly smiles, “It was obvious. He would fumble all over himself to help you and you didn’t even notice and he was always defending you. It was sad to watch; all he wanted was for you to notice him and you didn’t. I knew he was upset with you the other day, when you were talking about Gabriel. I told him to either tell you or let you go. I never imagined it would turn into this.”

  I close my eyes, listening Kelly’s voice. It makes so much sense now. How did I miss it? “How come I didn’t notice? I never knew, Kelly.”

  “You were focused on other things, and Ryan has always been there. He’s always been a friend to you. It happens.”

  “Oh my god, I feel so horrible. This whole time, and all the other guys I’ve dated. Gabriel. Oh my god!” My head is spinning.

  “I’m sorry this is so hard on you,” Kelly sooths.

  “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I feel about Ryan. I know how I feel about Gabriel, but it’s like Ryan threw a curve ball at me”

  “Does Ryan know that you’ve been with
Gabriel?” Kelly asks, smoothing my hair.

  Tears flood my eyes again, “No, he doesn’t know about any of it. When he told me how he felt I started crying.

  Kelly hugs me again, “Oh, Crystal. Go talk to Gabriel. Tell him what happened, see what he says. Don’t say anything to Ryan until you’re ready to see him. Just be honest.” Kelly advises

  I hug her back, “Thanks, Kelly.”

  Kelly strokes my hair, “Any time, I’m here whenever you need to talk.”

  I smile, comforted by her words, “I know, thank you. I’ll let you know how it all goes.”

  Kelly smiles back, “You’d better.”

  I leave; my mind clear and a plan is beginning to form. As I’m walking back to my dorm I hear my name, “Crystal!” Gabriel’s voice calls. I turn looking for him and I see him walking towards me. I wave and he waves back. I walk towards him and hug him when we meet. He lifts my face and looks me in my eyes, and kisses me. I could really get used to this, if this is how he will greet me each time.

  He pulls away smiling at me, “I’ve missed you.”

  I smile back, “I’ve missed you too.”

  Gabriel’s gaze is distant and I turn looking in the same direction as him. There are papers all over the lawn, blowing in the breeze.

  “What is that?” I ask

  “I’m not sure,” He replies walking towards a paper and picking it up. His hands shake as he reads the flyer.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask walking towards him.

  Gabriel turns to me, “Crystal, I’m so sorry.

  I take the paper out of his hand and stare at it. It’s a picture of me naked. I can see Gabriel next to me, but his defining features have been cropped out. At the very top of the flyer are words written in big bold print. “Crystal Hamilton: Man Stealing Whore.”

  Tears well up in my eyes, “What? How?” I ask unable to complete the questions that are forming in my mind, too quickly for me to grasp.

  Gabriel takes the flyer out of my hand and crumples it in his fist. “Emily.”

  I gasp as I realize she must have taken the photo when we were all together. “Oh my god!” I yell. “Did you know about this?” I ask my face red with anger as I confront him.

  “No, I would never let something like this happen.” He says his voice calm.

  My body relaxes, the look on his face tells me that he’s being truthful, “Why would she do this?”

  “She wants revenge. I had no idea she could be like this, I’m so sorry, Crystal. I’m going to take care of this. I’ll talk to the authorities, believe me, she will pay for this.’

  Tears flow again, my voice is thick, “Oh Gabriel.” I sob

  Gabriel hugs me, “I’ll fix this I promise.”

  “It’s not that,” I pull away.

  “Then what is it?” He asks grabbing my hand.

  I tell Gabriel about Ryan. I watch his face change as I explain Ryan’s feelings for me and about seeing Kelly. “I don’t know what to do.” I finish, my eyes falling to my feet.

  Gabriel lifts my chin up so I’m staring into his eyes, “Go talk to him.”

  “Talk to him?” I sputter; this is not what I thought he would be telling me.

  “Yes, go talk to him. I can tell he means a lot to you. It’s important that you two work this out.”

  “But what about us?” I ask holding his hand that rests on my shoulder.

  “Crystal, I will not be the reason you lose a person who is important to you. I care about you too much to do that. You need to talk to him and figure this out. I do not want you ignore him and then regret it the rest of your life, wondering what if. In the mean time I will be here waiting for you and ready to be whatever you need me to be. You will not lose me over this, I promise.”

  I hug Gabriel, amazed that he can be this selfless, “Thank you,” I whisper in his ear.

  “I’d do anything for you, remember that.” He releases me, “I have to go and sort this mess out.” He adds indicating the flyers strewn all over the lawn.

  “Thank you,” I say again as I turn. Gabriel grabs my hand and we stare, then I leave, our hands breaking apart slowly. I wonder if this is goodbye, and a tear trickles down my cheek.

  When I’m back in my dorm, I stare at Ryan’s number in my phone. I know this is the phone call that will change my relationship with Ryan forever. I’m not sure if I’m prepared for it, but I don’t think I ever will be. I dial the number, and agonize as the phone rings. By the second ring I want to hang up, then I hear Ryan’s voice answer on the other end. I explain to him that I want to talk to him. That I understand how hard it was for him to tell me how he felt about me, and that I’m willing to go out with him whenever he is ready. He sounds excited as he sets a time to pick me up tonight We say our goodbyes and Ryan hangs up. I listen to the click on the other end, It echoes as I realize that I’m going to be going out with Ryan and it won’t be as friends. I pace the dorm nervously, how will I act? What will I say? Will we kiss? I try to imagine Ryan’s lips on mine and it just seems weird. I don’t know if this will work at all but one thing I do know is that I’m going on a date with Ryan and I’ve never been more nervous in my life.

  Gabriel

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dammit

  What a way to ruin a good day. Everything was fine until Crystal told me about Ryan and I saw those flyers. What the hell was Emily thinking doing that? Doesn’t she realize she’s about to ruin Crystal’s life and her own? Now Crystal won’t be able to set a single foot inside a classroom without someone saying something to her about it. This may be college, but not much is different from high school. I start picking up the flyers, it seems like an impossible task there are thousands all over the grounds and possibly more inside the building. How did I not even notice them until now? I find the campus police, and let them know what has happened, they tell me that they’re already working on the issue and write up a report.

  I’m so pissed off I need to blow off some steam. There’s way too much stuff going on for me to try and go to the rest of my classes today. I hop on my bike and go for a ride. I let the wind sweep through my hair as I speed down a back country road. The air is still warm, but the scent of autumn fills the air. Most of the trees are still green, but I see a few scattered brown leaves sprinkled across the road. What is it about Crystal that I like so much? She’s beautiful, I’ll give her that, probably one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen, but there’s something more than that. She seems down to earth, like I’ve known her for a long time. There’s something about the way she talks, the way she holds herself that I just can’t shake. There’s something there, but I don’t know what. I can see myself being happy with her the rest of my life and yet I don’t really know her.

  I’m worried I might lose her. I encouraged her to talk to Ryan, but I had to. I can’t have her wondering what if. Regret is a terrible place to be and will get her nowhere. Of course Ryan has to choose now to tell her how he feels. It’s almost unfair. She likes me, and I like her too, I want to show her the kind of person I am. I want to get to know her better and I want her to know me too. I want to tell her everything about me, and I want to hear everything about her. I want to love her, I want to laugh when she laughs and cry when she cries. I want to be her everything and I want to show her new things, but then there’s Ryan. How am I to compete with someone that’s known her possibly her whole life? He knows her so much better than I do and regardless of what I think of him, he’s her friend and it would be terrible of me to try and turn her away from him. I need her to know what she wants. I need her to choose me with a clear head and with all of her heart. I can’t have her torn between the two of us, stuck in limbo. I need to find a way to prove what kind of person I am. I need her to know how much I care about her. I can’t let Ryan win, not tonight, not ever. He’s had all this time to step in and be her man and he never did. Somehow, someway I’m going to find a way to make her fall for me. I’m going to be there tonight when she gets back. I can�
��t let her be alone with him tonight when she gets home. I want her to know that I’m here, and I’m going to sweep her off her feet.

  Ryan

  Chapter Nineteen

  Promise

  I startle awake, there’s a loud crash. “Help!” My mother cries out, her voice sounds pained. I jump up, “Mom where are you?” I yell.

  “Stairs,” She yells back.

  I run and see her crumpled body lying at the bottom of the stair well, “Oh my God, Mom!” I yell and run down the flight. “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know,” she says, she sounds groggy; there’s blood around her head.

  “You’re bleeding.” I mumble. She closes her eyes. “Mom,” I call her name, her eyes don’t open. I shake her, trying to rouse her, but she doesn’t respond. I run back up stairs and get my phone and dial 911. The dispatcher asks me my emergency, and for the address. She instructs me not to move my mother and to wait for the ambulance. After she talks me through the process she hangs up the phone. I call my dad, and tell him that mom has fallen down the stairs, he tells me he’s on his way before hanging up. I pace the floor as I wait for the ambulance. How did she even fall in the first place?