[Moreno Brothers 01.0] Forever Mine

by Elizabeth Reyes

  Sarah chuckled. “Yeah, well, Angel thinks you’re a girl.” The expression on his face made her laugh. “He assumed when I told him about my best friend, Sydney, that you were a girl, and I never corrected him.” She held her breath, not sure what to expect.

  He smiled slowly. “Well, Lucy, we both have a lot of ’splaining to do.”

  Sarah giggled and slid her hand in his as she’d always done before. “I was gonna tell him today. My mind was totally made up. Why do you think I’m wearing this get up? But then you showed up.”

  Sydney checked her out from top to bottom. “You know I was gonna say something earlier. Then thought I better not.” He shook his head, still taking it all in. “Damn, Lynni. I almost didn’t recognize you at first.”

  Sarah blushed. “It wasn’t my idea, okay?”

  “Oh, I didn’t say it was a bad idea. Just sayin’, wow.”

  Sarah laughed feeling self-conscious. “Stop.”

  “All right, all right, but yeah, tell him as soon as possible. And, Lynni, if you need me to talk to him, I will.”

  Sarah smiled. She just didn’t think that would fly with Angel. She just couldn’t picture him listening to another guy talk about his relationship with her, even if it was Sydney.

  “I’m starving,” she said.

  “Anything good around here?”

  Sarah didn’t care about good. All that mattered right now to her was being discreet. “We’ll find something.”

  ***

  Angel stood still for a moment. He knew it couldn’t be, but Romero sounded so convinced. He took in what he’d just heard, then shook his head and started walking again. “Nah, dude,” he said. “She’s babysitting for her neighbors right now.”

  “Call her then,” Romero said.

  Romero’s dogged tone made him uncomfortable. He was so sure. Angel stood quiet for a moment. “Did she see you?” What was he doing? This was ridiculous. There was no way Sarah would be out with another guy. He trusted her.

  “No,” Romero said.

  “I didn’t see shit!” Eric yelled in the background.

  “Yeah, well, he would’ve if he didn’t drive like a girl. By the time we turned back, they were gone,” Romero said.

  They’d actually gone back to check? Angel picked up the phone at the hostess desk without mentioning it to Romero. “So what was she doing?” He dialed Sarah’s cell phone number.

  “Talking, I guess,” Romero said. “I saw her as we passed the car, and I had to do a double take, but Eric was driving so fast and wouldn’t slow down. She looked different.”

  “’Cause it wasn’t her!” Eric yelled again.

  Angel listened to him with one ear and waited to hear Sarah’s voice in the other. But it went to voicemail.

  “So she’s supposedly working then, right?” Romero asked.

  Angel didn’t like the way that sounded. He knew Sarah wouldn’t lie to him. He hesitated to answer.

  “I’m just saying,” Romero said. “In case we see her again, I’ll go ask her, ‘What’s up?’ If the asshole even thinks of saying anything, I’ll pop ’em.”

  Angel chuckled, but he didn’t feel the least bit amused. This was starting to feel weird. It wasn’t like Sarah not to answer when he called. She always answered. Even when she did miss his call, she’d call back almost immediately. But then he had called from the restaurant phone. Maybe she didn’t recognize it. He’d only called her from that line a few times.

  “I’ll call you back, dude,” Angel said.

  “Call her,” Romero persisted.

  “I will.”

  As soon as he hung up, he called Sarah. It went to her voicemail again. This time he left a message.

  “Sarah, babe, it’s me. Call me as soon as you get the chance, okay?”

  Within a half hour, the restaurant was empty and clean. Angel double-checked the kitchen then closed up. On his way home, Eric called again.

  “Hey, dude, you still at the restaurant?”

  “Nah, I’m on my way home.”

  “What? You’re not gonna meet up with us?”

  “I’m tired, man.” Angel yawned. “I’ve had a long day today.”

  “All right then. Hey, did you ever talk to Sarah?”

  Angel frowned. “No, not yet.” He glanced at the clock on the dash. It was just after nine.

  “Well, don’t sweat it, dude. I’m sure it wasn’t her, but you know how Romero gets.”

  Angel smiled. “Yeah, I know. I’m not sweating it. I’m just tired.”

  He sat, staring at the red light. Shit! He was getting a headache. For some reason, Dana’s call popped in his head. He tried remembering all she was blabbing about. Now he wished he’d paid attention.

  She’d said something about being there for him. The light turned green, and it came to him.

  I’m not calling to rub it in. I don’t know what happened with you and Sarah, but I know you were really into her.

  What was that about? None of it made sense. Well, hell, he’d never make detective. That was for sure. That was it. He was done. He didn’t need this aggravation; what he needed was sleep. And he planned on getting some when he got home.

  If he had never talked to Romero tonight, he wouldn’t be questioning where Sarah was, even if he hadn’t been able to get a hold of her all night. He knew exactly where she was: at her neighbors, babysitting.

  He was almost home and exhaustion was really setting in. His eyelids were getting heavier by the second. He kept blinking hard to keep them open.

  Just a couple of blocks from his house, his cell phone rang, jolting him back to life. He grabbed it from the passenger seat and frowned when he saw it was Eric again.

  “Hey, man.” Angel could hear Romero going on in the background, but Eric, or something, was muffling the phone, and he couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  “You home yet?”

  “No,” Angel said. “Almost.”

  “It is her, man,” Eric said.

  It took a moment for it to register. “Sarah?”

  “Yeah,” Eric said. “She’s with a guy.”

  Angel’s heart thudded to a standstill. He had to pull over, so he could think . . . breathe.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, it’s her.” Eric sounded almost apologetic.

  Angel fell back in his seat but still squeezed the steering wheel. He swallowed hard, not wanting to believe. “Where?”

  “Some greasy spoon off of Proctor,” he said. “I’d never even seen this place before.”

  “She still there?” Angel sat up straight. It suddenly hit him that Eric wasn’t talking about seeing her earlier. She was still there—with another guy.

  “Yeah,” Eric said. “They’re in there eating. They were holding hands when they walked in, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold this guy back. He’s ready to run in there and explode on the guy now.”

  “No, no, no!” Angel put the car into gear. “I’m on my way. How do I get there?”

  Angel’s mind raced. How long had she been doing this? He thought of all the Saturdays she had worked and he’d never even questioned it. The rage ripped through his veins, and he welcomed it. It was a familiar emotion that he at least knew how to deal with, and it helped numb the pain.

  She’d completely blindsided him, and he felt ready to tear someone apart. He stepped on the accelerator. He’d have his chance soon enough.

  ***

  Sydney and Sarah had driven for a while with Sarah deliberately directing him into streets she and Angel never frequented. She saw a small café in the middle of one of the small streets that was still open. “There.” She pointed.

  Sydney frowned. “Are you sure?”

  She wasn’t, but it seemed perfectly discreet. Definitely not somewhere anyone from school would be hanging out. “Yeah.”

  He held her hand as they walked in almost guardedly. There were only two other people in there, and they were sitting together, yet it still took a while for
the elderly waitress to come around and take their order.

  Sarah took advantage of the time to ask more about Carina. She was determined to catch up on all of it, every little detail. She was still feeling terrible that he hadn’t been able to share anything about it with her. Even after their food came, she continued to grill him, at times feeling moved and holding his hand across the table. How had she missed it all?

  Finally, they finished. Sydney insisted on paying. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked out the door. She leaned on him, her eyes at the floor, and then she looked up. Her legs almost gave out when she saw Angel. The bitter revulsion in his eyes was undeniable. He glared at Sydney then very slowly turned until his eyes locked on hers.

  “You been working, Sarah?”

  Chapter 21

  Even as Angel had driven into the parking lot and seen the yellow Impala parked in front of the café, he’d held out hope that this was all one big mistake.

  He’d parked next to Eric’s car where he saw Eric and Romero standing. Eric motioned to the window of the café as Angel approached them.

  It was her. And she looked unbelievably seductive. She sat there gazing attentively into another guy’s eyes. Angel had watched disgusted as she reached across the table and held his hand, and he noticed her cleavage was out there like he’d never seen it before in public.

  Eric and Romero filled him in on how they spotted the car leaving the beach and followed them to this secluded hole in the wall. Sarah wasn’t stupid. She just hadn’t counted on dumb and dumber seeing her.

  Now, standing here looking at her startled eyes, he searched for answers. Her once beautiful green eyes, that normally gazed at him so brightly and with such emotion, were almost gray. And all he saw in them was fear and what looked too damn much like guilt.

  It felt unreal, like some kind of weird nightmare. He sized her up and down, taking in the provocative dress she was wearing. For a second he thought he was going to be sick. Then he heard him talk.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking, man,” the guy said.

  Angel charged forward ready to rip him apart. His voice boomed. “How the fuck do you know what—?”

  “Stop.” Sarah jumped in between them.

  Angel stared at her; a red haze of pain and anger nearly blinded him. Was she protecting this guy? He squeezed his fists tight.

  “Angel, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you this a long time ago.”

  Angel’s heart sank. A long time ago?

  “This is Sydney.”

  Angel’s mind went blank. He stood there, heart hammering away. He took a step back. “Sydney?” He stared at her then back at the guy.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I meant to tell you from the very beginning, but you’d just assumed he was a girl, and I know it was stupid of me, but . . .”

  Her words buzzed in his ears. There was only one thing he could hear. It was screaming in his head. All this time, she had another guy waiting for her back in Arizona. He shook his head and backed away.

  “Angel, please.”

  He saw her tears, but it didn’t matter. Something squeezed his throat, and he struggled to get the words out. “This is who you’re going back to live with?”

  Sarah stepped closer to him. He flinched, not wanting her to take another step. Romero and Eric stood behind him, speechless. As the reality of it settled in, the anger inundated him.

  “This is who you’ve been talking to everyday?” He raised his voice with every word. “This is who you can’t fucking live without?”

  Sarah clasped her hand over her mouth for a brief second. “Angel, please, you don’t understand. Let me—”

  “So, what? He’s been coming down here every Saturday, Sarah?”

  “No!”

  “Is this what you call working?”

  He stalked away, again feeling like he was going to be sick. He didn’t want her to see just how deeply she affected him—not anymore.

  Through the corner of his eye, he saw her coming toward him.

  Angel didn’t need to hear anymore. Whatever she had to say didn’t matter. It was all too clear.

  “Angel,” she said. “Hear me out, please.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Sarah.” He stopped and glared. “Unless you can tell me it’s not true, that you’re not going back to live with this guy, that he’s not who you’re leaving me for, I don’t need to know anything else.”

  “I’m not leaving you for anyone—”

  “Bullshit!”

  Sarah froze, and he started to walk away again. He’d lost control and needed to get out of there before he charged at Sydney.

  “He’s my best friend, Angel.”

  The words felt like a blow to his stomach. He stopped and turned around. “Really, Sarah? ’Cause I thought I was.”

  He blinked hard in a desperate attempt to hold the tears back. He turned his face away, panicked that she’d see him cry.

  “You’re more, Angel.” She tried to grab his hand, but he snagged it away. “He’s just been my friend for so many years. Everything I told you about Sydney is true. We’re like family. You have to believe me.”

  Angel clenched his teeth. He thought of the way she’d gazed at Sydney in the café and held his hand at the table. The way she’d leaned against him as they’d walked out. That dress. That dress that screamed come and get me, and she’d worn it for Sydney. Like family? Did they really think he was that stupid?

  He didn’t want to ask, but he had to know. “You love him, Sarah?”

  When she didn’t answer immediately, he knew, and it tore him apart. It was all he could take without breaking down. He had to get out of there, fast.

  “Go,” he said. “You’re free to be with him without lying and sneaking around.”

  He rushed toward his car.

  “Angel, you have it all wrong,” Sarah cried. “Please, don’t do this!”

  He hurried his step, barely making it to the car when the tears assaulted his eyes. Never in a million years would he have believed a girl could make him feel like this. He could barely see as he backed up. He zoomed past Sarah, who was still standing there crying, and onto the road. He wiped away at his eyes, annoyed that the tears kept coming.

  It all made sense now. She’d been lying all this time, and she hadn’t told him she loved him because she couldn’t. Couldn’t—because she was in love with Sydney. How could he have been so blind? Had she slept with him too? He jerked the car off to the side of the road, opening the door just in time to be sick.

  ***

  “I have to go after him!” Sarah pleaded, as she ran toward Sydney. An older couple walking to their car stared at her with concern. The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she knew her face was a mess, but she didn’t care about any of that. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and started dialing Angel’s number frantically.

  “I wouldn’t, Sarah,” Eric said as she walked by him.

  Sarah turned to look at him and tried to catch her breath. “But I have to.”

  Eric shook his head. “I’ve known Angel all my life, and I’ve never seen him like that.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” Romero said. “That was bad.”

  Sarah wiped her face and tried desperately to regain her composure. “But that’s why I have to talk to him and explain. He just doesn’t understand.” She turned to Sydney. “Please take me to him.”

  “Whatever you want, Lynni.” Sydney put his hand on her shoulder.

  “Who the fuck is Lynni?” Romero asked, disgusted.

  “Hey, easy.” Eric frowned.

  “I’m just wondering did she lie about her name too?” Romero started back toward their car without waiting for an answer.

  Sarah wanted to scream. I didn’t lie! But she had, and she deserved this—all of it.

  “Hey, that’s her middle na—” Sydney began to say.

  Sarah touched Sydney’s arm. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yeah, it does. He’s ca
lling you a liar.”

  “It is what it is.” The disappointment in Eric’s eyes ran deep. He turned without saying goodbye and walked to his car.

  Sarah could feel another wave of tears setting in. “Let’s go, Syd.”

  She broke down again as soon as she sat in Sydney’s front seat. It was worse than when she’d cried earlier. Earlier she’d cried out of fear: fear of seeing Angel so out of control, fear of her complete inability to make him understand, but now she was crying out of anger—angry that she’d been stupid enough to let it come to this.

  Eric was right, she decided. Now was not the time to try to explain, especially not with Sydney there. She’d wait until the morning to call him. By the time they reached her aunt’s house, she was drained emotionally and physically. She sat there, looking out the window at the moon, not wanting to move.

  Sydney squeezed her hand. “Let’s get you inside.”

  Sydney spent the night on the living room sofa and left early the next morning. The next couple of days were torturous. Sarah called Angel at least five times a day and sent him endless texts, all with no response. She couldn’t believe how unreasonable he was being. He didn’t even want to try to talk it out.

  Sarah sat on her bed, staring at her cell phone. It had only been two days since she’d last seen him, and she missed him horribly. Didn’t he miss her too? If it was the other way around, she would’ve already given in and answered his call. Could all his talk about him loving her so much have been a lie? Or maybe he just realized he couldn’t possibly love a liar.

  There was a soft knock at her door. The door was open, and Valerie stood at the entrance, pouting. “How we doin’?”

  Sarah shook her head and pressed her lips together, looking back at her phone. She was so sick of crying, but just looking at Valerie’s sympathetic expression brought a lump to her throat. Valerie sat next to her on the bed and hugged her. She squeezed her tight for a second then let go and patted Sarah’s leg. “All right, so he’s being a jerk. Give him time. He’ll get over it.”

  Sarah wasn’t so optimistic. Valerie hadn’t seen him that night. “No, I really think he hates me now.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m sure he’s still totally whipped. But expect him to maybe want to, you know, play games.”