“Just fine.”
And suddenly, I was fourteen again and crying into my pillow as Derrick made out with another girl in the woods. Dev was no different. The second things didn’t work with us, the moment I pulled my hand away, he was ready to find someone else to distract him from his relationship, to make him laugh and feel desirable.
I felt awful, I felt cheap, I felt…replaceable.
And it broke my heart. Again.
Chapter 11
DEV
I knew the girls were walking into the lodge. I saw them rounding the bend about a half mile from the door. I spotted Lyra’s bright teal puffer jacket right away, and I knew I had just enough time to do something to even the score between us.
Childish? Absolutely.
Worth it? Yet to be determined.
A cute brunette with porcelain skin and a tight body was filling up her cup with hot cocoa. I knew she could help me get under Lyra’s skin in a big way.
“Careful, this stuff could melt your face off. Give it time to cool,” I said with a confident grin. The brunette looked up from her steaming cup and gave me an awkward smile in return, then her attention jumped to my injured foot.
“Oh no, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself out there?”
She carried her cup over to the armchair next to me, and I knew I could bullshit long enough for Lyra to walk through that door.
Bingo, bitches!
“Sprained it, yeah. But my buddies wanna ski, so I’m suckin’ it up.”
“Make sure you keep it elevated.”
I gave her a playful salute. “Will do.”
“Sorry, I’m a nurse, can’t help it.”
“No, I appreciate it. You here by yourself?”
“Nah, my friends are still getting ready. I was tired of waiting.” She extended her hand to me, licking her lips. “Sheila.”
“Dev.”
“Interesting name.”
“I’m an interesting guy.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Where are you from, Sheila?”
“Napa.”
“Nice,” I said, raising both eyebrows in overblown enthusiasm. “So you traded wine for the slopes, eh?”
“Something like that,” she said, crossing her legs and biting down on her lower lip. I knew I had her full attention. And Lyra would too…
Speaking of Lyra, the girls walked in two seconds later, and I watched as Lyra’s expression soured the moment she saw Sheila. I amped up my smile to rub salt in the wound. I barely had enough time to introduce Lyra before the girls hurried away to an empty table. As they walked away, Maren shot me a dirty look.
Well, I guess she knows.
I couldn’t tell you much about the rest of my conversation with Sheila, the Napa nurse, because my brain was focused and preoccupied on Lyra. I wouldn’t allow myself to turn around to see the expression on her face, but I was haunted a little bit by the way her eyebrows knitted when they walked away.
You went too far, Dev. You always go too far.
When it came to Lyra, I was almost always trying too hard. Too hard to impress, too hard to aggravate. But when the power went out I was just…me. And I thought she was just her too. Everything was easy; everything was exciting. Our defenses were down, and the tension between us was at an all-time high.
It was awesome. And as angry as I was with her, I was desperate to get that back.
Sheila’s friends entered the lodge, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we said our goodbyes. She’d served a purpose, but I was ready to be rid of her and attempt to mend things with Lyra. I’d salvaged my ego a little bit and was ready to play nice again.
Hopefully she’d play nice in return.
After grabbing my crutches, I hobbled over as confidently as I could to the girls at their table. Lyra caught sight of me and pressed her lips together in total annoyance, looking out the window. Allison smiled brightly and grabbed a nearby chair as I approached their table.
Well, Allison doesn’t know.
“How’s that foot?” Allison asked.
“It’s hanging in there. I’ll go see my doctor later this week, make sure it’s healing okay, but I probably won’t get back on the slopes anytime soon.”
Lyra pretended to choke on her drink.
“Something you wanna say?” I asked, raising both eyebrows.
“I mean, c’mon…” Lyra said with a smirk.
“C’mon, what?”
“What were the chances of you ever getting ‘back on the slopes’ anyway?”
“Lyra—” Maren interrupted.
Lyra shrugged. “I’m just being real.”
“Always,” I said with a grin, trying to get her to loosen up.
“So, how’s your friend?”
“Oh, you mean Sheila?”
Lyra nodded, narrowing her eyes.
“Oh she’s fine. Probably on the ski lift by now.” Her expression didn’t change, and I knew I had to get her alone, talk everything out. “So, Lyra, can I, uh… Can I talk to you alone?”
Maren’s mouth dropped open ever so slightly, as did Lyra’s.
“I was just going to head upstairs and change.”
“Great, I’ll go with you.”
Lyra sighed. “Fine. Do you need a wheelchair or something?”
“Nah, I’m fine with these.”
Lyra rose to her feet. I half expected her to bolt to the elevator, leaving me in the dust, but she didn’t. She walked at a pace where I could keep up, hobbling along with my crutches. Luckily we were the only two people riding the elevator.
“Look,” I began, leaning against the back of the elevator, steadying myself with the bar. “We both said a lot of shit last night, a lot of it we didn’t even mean.”
Lyra crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Like what?”
“Shit, Lyra. You bruised my ego, all right? Is that what you wanna hear?”
Thump. Thump.
The elevator stopped.
“Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no,” Lyra said, pacing the elevator. “How is this happening?”
“Relax, I’m sure it’ll be back on in a second.”
“No, you don’t understand,” she said, placing a hand on her neck, her cheeks turning a deep red. Her nostrils flared and her pupils dilated. “I’m claustrophobic. Like really bad.” With a start, she lunged at the buttons on the elevator, hammering against the “Emergency Call” button over and over. After several more seconds of her pacing back and forth, we heard a distant voice answer the call.
“We’ll have you out of there in just a few minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Please,” Lyra begged, her voice frantic. “I can’t do this. I need to get out!”
“Ma’am, I promise, we’ll have you moving again in just a few moments. Try to calm yourself down; there’s nothing to worry about. You are safe and secure within the elevator.”
“I’ll take care of her, thank you!” I yelled out to the voice. I reached one arm out to Lyra, attempting to rub a hand down her shoulder, trying my best to soothe her. “We’ll be back in the room before you know it.”