“Come in.” Spencer waves me into his room, finding a T-shirt to put over his head.
“Love?” I question, shutting the door. That word is serious. Heartbreakingly serious.
“Yeah, I love her.”
His lips smile wide, and I’m not sure anything could smack it off his face.
“How long have you known her?” I sit on his desk chair, not wanting to take my chances on the couch.
“We’ve been together since our senior year in high school.”
“How? We lived in Colorado,” I ask a question that I can’t imagine he has an answer to.
“We kept in touch after we left Beltline. Texts, emails. Last year, we decided to give us a chance. We Skyped.” He shrugs, tossing his shirt over his head.
“You guys planned to come to Ridgemont together?” I can’t stop the hurt in my tone. He knows there wasn’t a day when Ella didn’t cross my mind. Hell, a minute. A sense of betrayal washes over me.
“At first, all we did was discuss you and Ella, how you were doing, but then we decided we couldn’t discuss you two, so you were both a moot subject. So, I didn’t know much until we arrived, and she told me that Ella was dating someone else. I’m sorry.” He sits down on his couch, putting on his socks. “If I’d known, I would have told you.”
“Don’t sweat it.” I toss off his apology because Spencer deserves the opportunity to live his own life and not worry about mine.
Ella and her boyfriend are my problem. My only concern with him dating Ariel is if she’ll break his heart. The fact that I’m not sure if her family will accept him scares me, but that’s between them and him. So, I dismiss that dilemma to re-visit the familiar one.
“Listen, I have something to talk to you about.”
“You aren’t going to lecture me about Ariel?” he questions, slipping on his shoes.
“No. It’s your life. Live it how you want.”
“Man, thanks. I was waiting for a lecture.”
“I’m pretty sure Ella will lecture Ariel enough for both me and her. But back to what I have to talk to you about.”
If he doesn’t want me to do the interview for the newspaper, I might not be a Ridgemont student for much longer. I won’t put my brother in the situation of being a part of the rumor mill. I won’t allow people to whisper behind his back. Not here, not ever.
“What’s up?”
“There’s a newspaper article.”
His lips dip down, and he sits up a little straighter, granting me his full attention.
Chapter Six
Ella
I drag Ariel by her hand out of the residence hall, like how our mom used to when we misbehaved at a store.
When we reach a corner that grants us privacy, I stop, swiveling her around to face me. “What are you doing with Spencer Lynch?”
A smile plays on her lips, as though she’s remembering his hands venturing over her body.
Ugh.
“I love him,” she declares with a raised chin.
Panic chills my bones. “You can’t.”
She draws back, the smile from moments ago disappearing, replaced with a frown similar to when she found out Santa Claus wasn’t real.
“Why not? Because you love Crosby? Well, you aren’t even with him. You’re with Liam,” she sasses back, reminding me of how I reacted to my parents when they demanded Crosby and I break up.
A revelation dawns on me. I’m turning into a mother figure with Ariel, and we’ve always had a sister bond. An internal debate resides inside my head—she needs protecting versus she’s in love. The remembrance of when I knew I loved Crosby surfaces, and the fight within me from moments ago diminishes.
“You really love him?” I question.
She nods, nibbling on her lip. “I do.” She’s barely able to keep her lips straight, the edges teasing into a smile.
“For how long?” I ask, wiggling my ass to get comfortable on the ledge of the cement wall.
She cozies up to me, linking her arm through mine and placing her head on my shoulder. “Oh, El, he’s great. We stayed in contact after the Lynch’s moved to Colorado, and over the years, I’ve fallen in love with him. He treats me like the princess Mom wanted us to be. And, oh my gosh, in bed—”
I place my hand up in the air, stopping her. “I don’t need or want those details.”
She squeezes my arm in her hold. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
If I wanted to be truthful with my sister, I’d say I was jealous because the love I hold for his