Troublemaker - Kayley Loring Page 0,77
and tell her, “Nova came back last week. She left the show because she found out she’s pregnant. And she wants to keep the baby. She’s getting married to this guy she met. A guy who was in China on a business trip.”
“Oh. Where does he live?”
“He lives in LA, fortunately. But he wants them to move into his house in Los Feliz. Nova’s been staying there. So Ryder’s staying there when he’s not with me.”
“So this guy’s house isn’t in my school’s district?”
“No, but if they actually go through with moving to his place, we’ll just keep my address on file with the school. He doesn’t want to go to a new one.”
“Good. I mean, that’s one less change to worry about.”
“It takes about ten minutes to drive to the guy’s house from here, but still.”
“Yeah. Still.”
“Anyway, she didn’t tell Ryder or me about any of this until I took him to her house, when she called to tell me she’d just gotten back. She said she wanted to tell us in person. She introduced us to the guy—Patrick—right then. It’s typical Nova. She means well, and I think she’s genuinely surprised that Ryder isn’t thrilled by all of it. He’s just a little confused by all the news and changes. Insecure.”
“Wow. Of course he is. Poor thing. I mean, I guess it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Did you like the man she’s marrying? Patrick? Is he nice?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. I think he’s a good guy. It’s just that Ryder’s staying with a total stranger in a new place all of a sudden.”
“And he doesn’t know what will happen when they get married and have a baby.”
“Yeah. I got Nova to agree to let me have him four nights a week, instead of every other week like we usually do. I tried to convince her to let him stay with me during the week, but it’s not like Nova and Ryder don’t want to see each other. So this is what we’ll do for now, anyway. I don’t know what else I can do, other than let him know I’m always here for him.”
I would love it if you were always here for him with me is what I want to say.
She is quiet for a long time, and so am I. If I say any of the things I want to say to her, it would just be manipulative. It would just make her feel worse. And I only ever want to make her feel good.
On a sigh, she finally says, “I hate not being able to see you.”
“Me too.”
“I miss you more than I can say.”
“Me too.”
“Are you doing okay?”
“Just working. A lot. Are things okay with you? At school?”
“It’s fine. Things are fine.”
“Miss Farrell isn’t giving you any more trouble?”
“I mean, I don’t exactly love seeing her stupid pointy face every day, but it’s fine. Things are fine.”
“Okay.”
“I hope Ryder will feel better soon. I’m sure he just needs a while to get used to things.”
“Yeah. He will. He’s with them now. I’ll call to check on him.”
“Well, I’ll see him in the morning, and I’ll see you…in my dreams.”
“Bye, Emilia.”
She makes that little hiccupping sound again. “Bye, Alex.”
38
Emilia
It has been one long week since I spoke to Alex, and I’m hiding in my bedroom, staring at my phone, thinking about calling him again.
Not about Ryder. About me. About us. About how crazy this situation is. It makes no sense that I’m choosing to not see Alex Vega when the Opposite of Him was at the door just now. A stubborn, cardigan-sporting person who has actually limited me in life. Alex only ever wanted to help.
The battery’s about to die, so I plug my phone in. Just as I do, I get an incoming call from Alex Vega. I kneel down on the floor and answer while it’s still plugged in. “Hello?”
“Hi.” He does not sound happy. “Have you seen Ryder, by any chance?”
“Today? No.” It’s Saturday. “Oh no—what’s wrong?”
I can hear him scrubbing his stubbled face with the palm of his hand. He’s stressed. “He was at Cheyenne’s house for a playdate, and he left before Nova went to pick him up. He’s supposed to stay with her tonight, and I’m guessing he didn’t want to. Cheyenne isn’t saying where he went. She might not know. Her house isn’t far from yours, so I thought maybe he went to see you.”
“Well, when did he leave?”
“I don’t know. Nova just got there and called me,