“I can’t explain why. I just know I love him.”
“It’s supposed to be me. Me and you. Forever. You’remysoulmate, Liz.”
I’m devastated when I see his eyes fill and spill over. My own tears respond to his pain.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat over and over. “Please don’t hate me.”
“You were supposed to remember us. You were supposed to be mine. Our stars were to lead you back to me,” he says brokenly, collapsing down in a chair, defeat etched over his tear-streaked face.
“Stars?”
Jayson scrubs his hands across his wet cheeks. “Our silver stars. The ones I leave you almost every day. The ones I would hang from our tree. Our stars filled with promises for our future. The ones filled with my love for you.”
“The paper origami stars? Those were from you? But I thought…” I look at Ryder.
“You thought they were fromhim?” Jayson says incredulously.
I swallow, mouth dry. That’s exactly what I thought.
Ryder’s face starts to blur. Black creeps in around my periphery. In that blackness are hundreds of iridescent silver stars. “I thought… I…”
Once again, I hear the study room door open and someone says, “Is there a problem in here? We’ve received complaints of someone yelling.”
I hear Ryder and Jayson say something, and then I hear nothing at all.
Chapter 24
Elizabeth
Heterochromatic eyes startle me awake. I was dreaming of that night again. I’m surprised my neighbor isn’t pounding the wall down telling me to shut the hell up. I move to wipe my face and feel a stinging tug, then movement from the side of my bed. I jerk when a hand touches my face.
“Hey, baby. You’re awake.”
Ryder.
He kisses me ever so softly on the lips. It’s a barely-there kiss, just a meeting of the lips. My mouth feels parched. So does my throat. I shift to move and feel that sting again. My eyes flutter open and I realize I’m not in my bedroom. Ryder isn’t snuggled beside me. I’m not cuddled next to his warm body in my bed.
My ears recognize the beeping of a heart rate monitor. I see the IV drip line going into my hand.
“Ryder. What?” My throat feels like I just ate nails. “Water,” I croak out. He brings a straw up to my lips and I sip gratefully. He kisses my forehead.
I try again. “Am I in the hospital?”
“Yeah.”
“How long?”
“You’ve been out for about an hour. Hold on. Let me call the nurse and text the guys. They just went with Daniel to the cafeteria for coffee to give Jay a second to cool off. He was getting agitated with the staff and Jules and I didn’t want to be kicked out of the hospital again like last time.”
“Ryder, what happened?”
“What do you last remember?” He gives me an uneasy look.
“The library. I had a memory flash. Jayson.” My eyes look to Ryder in panic. “Oh, God. Jayson. I fucked up. Ryder, please tell me I didn’t say what I think I said.”
Ryder sits down in the chair beside my bed and cups my face. He looks tired, and worried. “Elizabeth, it’s alright.”
“But he was so hurt, Ryder. I did that. I hurt him like that.”
