Free Forever and Always by E. L. Todd Page A

that. I walked into my bedroom and changed then
I grabbed my jacket and left the apartment, heading for Cortland’s
place.
    When I arrived there, Cortland
answered the door with a smile on his face, but his expression fell
when he realized how unhappy I was. “What’s wrong?”
    “ Nothing,” I said. “Can I
come in?”
    “ Of course.” He opened the
door for me and allowed me to walk inside. Ryan was sitting on the
couch with a dark-skinned woman. I recognized her immediately. She
was gorgeous and exotic looking, and I completely understood
Cortland’s fascination with her.
    “ Where’s Sean?” he
asked.
    I ignored him and walked into the
living room. Ryan met my gaze and I knew he could read my
expression clearly, unlike anyone else in the known world. He
jumped from the couch and came to me, wrapping his arms around me
tightly. Cortland watched us for a moment then turned to Monnique.
“Something just came up,” he said. “Can I take you
home?”
    I pulled away from Ryan. “No, that
isn’t necessary,” I said quickly. I was moved that Cortland would
risk offending his date just to comfort me, but I didn’t want him
to sacrifice anything for me. I turned to Monnique. “It’s very nice
to meet you. Cortland talks about you all the time.”
    She smiled at me. “I hope they are
good things.”
    “ Yes.” I smiled. “Very
good things.”
    Cortland turned to me. “Are you
sure?”
    “ Yes,” I said. “As long as
I have Ryan, I’ll be okay.”
    Ryan wrapped his arm around me and
held me close to him. He kissed my forehead and let me bury my face
in his shoulder. “I’m going to take her home,” he said. “It was
nice meeting you,” he said to Monnique.” We turned away and walked
out of Cortland’s apartment. Cortland followed us and he hugged me
tightly before I left.
    “ Call me if you need
anything—anything at all,” Cortland said.
    “ I will.” I
smiled.
    “ I love you,” he
whispered.
    “ I love you,
too.”
    Ryan wrapped his arm around my
shoulder and we walked away, blending in with the darkness of the
hallway. When we got to the street, I wasn’t even watching where we
were going, but since Ryan was with me, I didn’t care. He guided me
down the street until we reached Mega-Shake.
    “ I have a feeling we are
going to need one,” he said as he opened the door for
me.
    I took a seat and he ordered the
milkshakes then brought them to the table.
    Ryan stared at me and I could see the
despair on his face. He hated seeing me in pain. “We don’t have to
talk about it,” he said quietly. “But whenever you’re ready, I’m
here to listen.”
    “ I love you,” I said
suddenly. “You have always been there for me when I don’t deserve
it—even now.”
    “ That’s because I love you
more than anything,” he said.
    “ Too bad Sean doesn’t feel
that way.”
    Ryan was trying to hide his anger, but
some of it shined through. “That’s because that fucker is an
idiot.”
    I nodded. “Yes.” The streets were
deserted of people on that Friday night because of an approaching
storm. The wind was practically blowing down the trees, but I was
oblivious to it all. My thoughts were stuck on Sean.
    “ Did you get any new
manuscripts?” he asked.
    “ Not today.”
    Ryan nodded.
    “ Penelope is pregnant with
his baby so he left me for her,” I blurted out. I knew Ryan wanted
to know what happened and I didn’t see the point in hiding
it.
    Ryan stared at me for a
moment. “ What ?”
    “ He says he wants to try
to be a family. I told him he could be in the child’s life without
being with Penelope, but he doesn’t want that. He wants to make it
work.”
    Ryan sat back and sighed. “I’m so
sorry, Scar,” he said. “I can’t believe that. You seemed so happy
together. I was really happy for you.”
    “ I know,” I whispered.
“But he would rather be with her. She is just going to fuck him
over like last time, but he is such an idiot that he doesn’t get
it. And