Forever and Always (22 page)

I glared at Ryan. “You’re such an
ass.”

Ryan ignored me. “What are the odds?”
he said with a surprised voice.

“
I had no idea Sean was
going to be here,” Cortland added. “Now the teams will be
even.”

They were sounding guiltier by the
minute. “I hate you both,” I mumbled. I crossed my arms over my
chest and didn’t look at Sean. When he walked over to us, he looked
at me, but didn’t speak.

“
Let’s play two on two,”
Ryan said.

“
I’m on Cortland’s team,”
I said quickly as I walked over to him.

Cortland and Ryan shared an awkward
look. “Well, I already said I would be on Ryan’s team,” Cortland
said as he walked away. “We decided that earlier.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “I
thought you didn’t know Sean was going to be here?”

They both looked dumbfounded, caught
in their lie.

Sean came next to me. “I would love to
be on your team,” he said. “We work well together.”

I ignored him and walked away. Ryan
was dribbling the ball and I stole it from him, running up the
court and making a basket. Ryan stole the ball and threw it to
Cortland, but Sean stole the ball and passed it to me. I made
another basket. Sean and I could anticipate what the other would do
before we even did it, making us a good team. As much as I hated to
admit it, I knew it was true. After we played for a while, I
stopped thinking about the uncomfortable situation between Sean and
I, and just focused on playing the game. When the game ended an
hour later, Ryan and Cortland did their usual victory dance on the
court and I rolled my eyes at them.

“
We’ll win next time,”
Sean said as he stood next to me.

“
There won’t be a next
time, Sean.”

Cortland and Ryan came over to us and
we started to walk down the street to Mega-Shake. I looked at Sean.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I said in an ugly voice. I didn’t
want Sean hanging out with my family. He gave up that right when he
betrayed me.

“
No,” Cortland said for
him. “I already asked.”

I fell silent as we walked to the
restaurant. I was furious at both Ryan and Cortland for
orchestrating this, making Sean and I spend time together in the
hope that our love would rekindle. When we got to the restaurant,
we washed our hands and ordered our food before we sat down in our
usual booth. Sean sat directly across from me, so I was forced to
meet his gaze.

I didn’t speak while we ate and just
listened to the men talk. Sean was staring at me the entire time,
and I was growing irritated with the look. I was more irritated
that Ryan’s plan was working, and I felt the spasm of my heart when
I looked at Sean. I missed him.

“
How is your company
doing?” Sean asked.

I didn’t respond to his question
because of the drama I was in at that moment. It wasn’t going to be
mine in a few days.

“
Are you ignoring him
now?” Ryan asked.

I glared at him before I looked at
Sean. “It’s fine,” I said. “But I’m selling it. I already put the
offer online.”

“
What?” Ryan interjected.
“When were you planning on telling me this?”

“
Now,” I said.

“
Why?” Ryan
asked.

“
I can pay back the
minimum amount on the loan and I’ll have some money left over. I’ll
find a job doing something else.” When I looked at Ryan, he was
staring at Sean and their eyes were locked. Sean nodded slightly
and Ryan seemed to calm down. I didn’t understand what the
interaction meant.

“
Sell it after they take
you to court,” Ryan said. “You aren’t sure if you will even have to
sell it yet. Don’t jump the gun.”

“
It’s my company. I’ll do
whatever I think is best.”

Ryan sighed. “Stop being a brat
because I brought Sean along today. I’m just trying to do what’s
best for you.”

“
Well, you aren’t doing
what’s best for Sean,” I snapped. “You’re giving him false hope by
supporting this. He’s just going to get hurt.”

“
Then give him another
chance,” Ryan said.

“
I already said
no.”

Ryan glared at me. “You’re being
stupid.”

“
Sean and I are never
getting back together. He and I already discussed this last night.
Both of you are wasting your time.” I stopped eating my food
because I’d lost my appetite. “I am ready to move on and start
seeing other people.”

“
You’re full of it,” Ryan
snapped.

“
Then set me up with
someone,” I said. “Hook me up with one of your friends.”

Sean’s face fell as he listened to my
words. He stopped eating and pushed his food away, suddenly losing
any interest in eating.

“
Stop being a bitch,
Scar,” Ryan said.

I turned to Cortland. “Do you have any
single friends?”

“
You made your point,”
Sean whispered. “I get it.”

I fell silent. Ryan glared at me in
anger, and Cortland drank his soda without looking at us. I felt
horrible for hurting Sean by saying I would consider dating other
guys, especially since it was a lie, but I wanted to make it clear
that we were over. Ryan and Cortland were trying to encourage his
pursuit of the relationship, but I needed to shut it
down.

We got up and threw our trash away
then left the restaurant. Sean started walking with us back to the
apartment and I stared at him.

“
Go home, Sean,” I said.
“You aren’t welcome here.”

Sean took a deep breath. “You belong
with me, Scar. Please don’t do this.”

I felt the tears fall from my eyes.
“No, I deserve someone better than you. I don’t want to be with
someone that I can’t trust. You claim that you love me but you’ve
never done anything to prove it—you only show me otherwise. I don’t
know how much clearer I have to make it. WE ARE OVER! I DON’T WANT
YOU, SEAN. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE.” Sean stepped back as I yelled in
his face. The redness around his eyes showed the tears that were
underneath the surface. He dropped his gaze and looked at the
sidewalk. “DO YOU FINALLY GET IT? I WANT TO FIND SOMEONE BETTER
THAN YOU. YOU DON’T DESERVE ME!” I felt a hand pull my
arm.

“
That’s enough, Scar,”
Ryan said to me. “Back off. Sean gets it.”

A tear fell down Sean’s cheek and was
followed by another one. I stared at him until he looked away.
“Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll leave you alone.” Sean turned around
and walked up the street, the opposite way of the apartment, and he
never turned around. When I was sure that he wasn’t coming back, I
started walking back to our apartment with Cortland and Ryan beside
me. They didn’t say anything for a long time.

“
That was cold, Scar,”
Ryan said.

“
Shut up,
Ryan.”

He fell silent until we got back to
the apartment. I grabbed my laptop from the kitchen table and was
going to carry it into my bedroom when Ryan stopped me.

“
You should apologize to
him, Scar. What you did was fucked up.”

I almost slammed my laptop to the
ground. I placed it on the table then pushed Ryan back. “No, what
you did was fucked up, Ryan. If you hadn’t encouraged him to pursue
me, I wouldn’t have had to break his heart like that. You could
have just left it alone.” I grabbed my laptop and walked around
him.

“
You’re going to regret
this, Scar.”

I went into my bedroom, slamming the
door behind me.

22

Sean didn’t come around for the next
three days. I didn’t see him at the apartment and he didn’t make a
surprise appearance at Mega-Shake. The last words I said to him on
the street had the desired effect. Sean finally understood that we
were over—done. I wondered if he’d moved back to New York yet—I
hoped he did.

The closer the court date came, the
more nervous I became. I got a few offers on my company but none of
them were willing to pay the price I asked for. Ryan said I
shouldn’t sell it anyway until I found out what was going to happen
at my court meeting, and I agreed. I just wanted to see if I had
any reasonable offers.

The days passed by quicker than they
normally would because I was dreading the passage of time. The
court date was just a day away and I hadn’t planned anything for
the event. Ryan and I didn’t have the money for a lawyer, so I was
defending myself. I didn’t see the point in preparing for it. I was
guilty.

Janice and I were sitting at the
kitchen table when Ryan walked into the apartment with the mail
tucked under his arm. No one had spoken of Sean since the argument
we had earlier in the week, and I was glad everyone had given up on
the idea of Sean and I getting back together. Ryan sorted through
the mail and gave me my stack of letters. I went through the pile
and found a letter from the government, reminding me of my court
date the following afternoon. I tossed the letter in the trash and
grabbed the next envelope.

The letter I held was from a private
law firm in Seattle. I stared at it for a moment before I opened
it. When I read through the letter, I stood up in surprise, unable
to sit any longer. Ryan stared at me without saying anything,
waiting for me to speak.

The letter stated that my father’s
will had been modified due to new legal documentation and that I
had inherited money from his stated will. My hands shook as I read
the letter. I looked up at Ryan and saw that he was holding the
same letter, except he hadn’t opened his yet. I looked in the
envelope and found a check inside. I screamed when I read the
amount.

“
How much is it?” Ryan
said as he tore open his letter. He dropped the letter on the
ground and stared at the check. His eyes widened in surprise. “Holy
fucking shit,” he yelled.

I was speechless. I stared at the
amount again and felt dizzy with vertigo. “Dad left us almost two
million dollars?” I asked incredulously. “I can’t believe this is
happening. And right before I lost my company. What are the
odds?”

Ryan didn’t respond to my statement.
He sat down and started to breathe slowly, controlling the
enthusiasm and shock that was coursing through his body. “I can’t
believe this is happening,” he whispered.

“
Now we don’t have to
worry about the shop anymore,” I said happily. “I can move out and
continue my company.” I wrapped my arms around my brother and
squeezed him tightly. “That bitch got what she deserved. I bet
she’s furious right now.”

“
I hope she is.” Ryan
smiled.

Ryan and I held each other for a
moment, and I let myself ride the wave of happiness. My mother did
everything she could to keep my inheritance away from me, but
somehow the money made its way back to me—exactly as my father
intended.

“
Now I can write a check
and be done with this student loan fiasco,” I said happily. “I
don’t even have to go to court.”

Ryan nodded. “We both deserve this,”
he said.

“
I know we do.”

“
So what are you guys
going to buy first?” Janice asked with a smile. “I like
cars.”

Ryan and I both laughed. “I think I’m
going to save it,” I said. “Just get a comfortable apartment and
continue my company.”

“
I don’t think I’m going
to change my lifestyle either,” he said. “A million dollars isn’t
much.”

“
Wow,” Janice said
sarcastically. “You guys are just so adventurous.”

I laughed. “I think Ryan and I are
both ready for a peaceful life.” Ryan nodded. “This is so random. I
don’t even know how this came about.”

Ryan sighed and looked at me. “I need
to tell you something, Scar.”

I stared at him for a moment. “It was
you?” I asked. “You did all of this?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, Sean
did.”

“
What?” I asked as I
stepped back. “He went behind my back and pried into my family
affairs?”

“
I asked him to,” Ryan
said quickly. “You told me to drop it, but I refused to do it. We
both deserved this money, and I was going to fight for it, but I
didn’t understand how to do any of it. That’s why I turned to Sean.
He did everything. I just told him to do it. I wasn’t planning on
telling you, but in light of recent events, I think you should
know.”

“
Why does it
matter?”

Ryan shook his head. “Sean has always
been there for you, Scar. He was working on this before he even
came back to you. And when he was with Penelope, he was still
pursuing it. He beat up your boss, moved here, and now this. If
this doesn’t warrant him a second chance, I don’t know what
does.”

I sighed. “That’s why you were pushing
for him this whole time?”

“
Yes,” he said. “If you
still don’t want to be with him, which I think is idiotic, that’s
fine, but you should at least talk to him and tell him how much you
appreciate what he did. It’s because of him that all our problems
are solved. You owe him at least that.”