Page 87 of Wild Card

It was pathetic, really. I mean…I had no backup plan. I’d need to finish my degree, but for nearly four years, I’d majored in journalism, and now I wasn’t credible thanks to my story on the Devils. The whole school had heard I’d gotten my wrists slapped and shut down; that paired with the truth about my father was a painful pill to swallow. I was leaving. I hadn’t even stepped foot in my journalism class since the meeting with the faculty and lawyers.

“You could still apply at other papers. You don’t have to give up your dream just because your dreamjobisn’t available. What if you intern somewhere else and you end up back here? You can’t just give up on it,” Taylor argued, moving the food around her plate.

I swallowed and took a sip of my wine. I’d tried to offer some to Taylor, but she’d turned it down for ginger ale, claiming her stomach was upset.

“And what about Dad?” I asked. “Don’t pretend you weren’t going to do exactly what I’m doing now.”

“Yeah, but I don’t have any dreams, Mal. I have no plans…I don’t mind being the arm candy for some stranger.” Her words were strained. Maybe she thought I wouldn’t pick up on it or the fact that she kept wearing baggy sweatshirts, but my sister had a secret, one I had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to keep to herself for very long.

“I’m older than you. It’s my job as the older sister to do this.”

Her eyes shot to mine, fast as lightning. “Did you just say sister?”

Here was my opening, to finally explain to my little sister that I loved her.

I spun on my stool until I was facing her. “Tay, I’m so sorry about what I did to you with Decker. Of course I consider you my sister. I love you, and I’ll be damned before you go to New York. It’s my job—let me do this.”

She had tears in her eyes, some already crawling down her cheek. “But I’ll miss you.”

I laughed, reaching forward to swipe at her tears. “Then come with me, or come visit…but we’re not done, and New York isn’t even that far. I’m just a few hours away.”

She sniffed then threw herself at me. “I love you.”

I rocked back, taking her in. My heart swelled a million times the size of a normal organ, I was sure of it. “I love you too.”

We ate our pasta, talked about life after our non-graduations, and then stayed up all night watching trashy television while I thought of the one thing that still plagued me, the one thing that, after all these weeks, still wouldn’t budge.

A pair of mossy eyes that saw me in ways no one else ever would.

* * *

Taylor couldn’t stayup for long. We’d watched a few shows and she’d passed out on the couch, further convincing me that something wasn’t right with her. Once I covered her up, I walked to my bedroom, flipping off lights as I went.

My bedroom was already dark, but once I flipped on the twinkle lights, a dark figure came into focus.

“Decker?” I faltered near the dresser, my heart squeezing in my chest. “How’d you get past security?” I pulled off my sweatshirt, throwing it to the ground. I needed pajamas, but I didn’t want to completely strip in front of him. That would take us somewhere we shouldn’t go.

He perched against the wall closest to my desk, holding a stack of papers in his hands.

“So, this was your story?”

Oh god.I was going to die. Definitely die.

“Uh…” I stepped closer. I just wanted to grab it out of his hands and hide it. “Yeah.” I’d finished the story before it was taken from me, and every now and then I still looked over it, just because I believed it was worth reporting on. It really was a great story idea, and the students of RFU would have loved to see into the Devils’ world.

“It’s good, Mal. Really good.” He flipped a page then gently set it down on the desk.

I cleared my throat, grabbing the papers and tossing them into the wastebasket. That was where they belonged.

“What are you doing here, Decker?” I brought my hands to my hips, trying to shove away the itch to wrap them around him.

“I finished the semester and graduated.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, and I realized we were too close.

My regular issue with proximity never flared when Decker was around, but now I wished it would kick in, warning me to get away from him. Instead his scent wrapped around me like a warm, familiar hug.

“I heard.” Juan had told me. He’d said Decker had graduated and was moving back to Pinehurst.

God, this was awkward.

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