Impacted (Conflicted Encounters #2) (2 page)

After a quick knock, the door flew open. Before I could utter a word, a pair of thin, fair arms were wrapped around me, squeezing. I smiled into her long hair, glad someone was happy to see me.
 

"Are you okay?" she asked when she pulled away to look at my face. Of course she’d already heard about my meeting with Ryder. Apparently, word travels quicker than my car in this town.
 

"I don't know." I let her tug me into the living room, and then sat on the couch, inhaling the familiar smells.
 

The apartment looked the same as I remembered, almost like I’d never left. We sat on the same old couch as the TV played softly in the background. The living room was still lacking the decor that was killed off in Ryder's rampage months ago. Thinking of the night made my stomach turn. We were both so hurt and broken. My entire life crashed and burned in front of my eyes. But Ryder had put me back together again.

Is it possible that he really could push everything aside? Could he forget about how I came here, lost and empty, and he was the one to fill in the gap? He taught me to love, to heal, and to forgive. I thought I gave him something worth forgiving himself for.

Feeling Scarlett's knowing eyes on me, I shook my head to clear my wallowing thoughts. "So, you're getting married?" I asked with as much enthusiasm as I could.

She smiled sadly at me. "We don't need to talk about that right now."

"No," I stopped her. "We do. I am not going to ruin your happy mood with my drama. So, who is the prince charming?"

Scarlett had a sappy, gentle smile on her face as she leaned back on the couch. "Oh, Kallie, you'll love him. He's great."

"I'm sure he is. How long have you guys been seeing each other?" This was the question I had been dying to ask. Even if I was gone six months, a wedding seemed sudden.
 

"About a month ago. He came into the shop and I did a tattoo for him. We talked for hours, he took me out after, and we've been inseparable ever since."

"Where is he now?" I asked, looking around for a stranger. I was anxious to see the guy that was capable of capturing my flirty friend's heart.
 

"He'll be here later tonight. Will you be here?"
 

"I don't know," I admitted. "Ryder was really mad at me. I didn't expect him to push me away as soon as he saw me."

"He's hurt," she said, reaching to take my hand. "You kinda drifted away."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know. He just needs to see that. Ryder doesn't normally open up or let himself care about any one, especially a girl. He did with you and got hurt. He's going to be hard to crack again."

I nodded and let her words soak in. She was right. Ryder pushed me away the whole time, never letting me get too close. When I finally broke through the wall he’d built, I left and ended up neglecting him. My few texts a week weren't enough. And why would they be? How could I have thought they would be?

Thinking back now, I can't remember the last time he texted he loved me, or I texted it to him. Our messages were friendly, but void. I never wanted them to be, or even realized it. I was a zombie, moving from one spot to the next, without a brain or a heart.
 

I snapped my head up when I realized that Scarlett was chatting away and yet I heard nothing. "I was thinking Cabo or something,"

"Oh! That would be great," I played along, trying to catch on to the current topic of conversation, which I assumed was her honeymoon?

"I'm so glad you're here. You can help me plan!" She wrapped me up in another tight hug. "I want you to be my maid of honor. I hope you two can get along," she trailed off with a worried look.
 

She was so happy and excited. I needed to be here for her and push my problems with her brother aside. This was supposed to be the happiest time of her life. She didn't need to worry about Ryder and I arguing. It was my fault, and I would handle this mess on my own. I wouldn't ruin this for her.
 

I could do this. I could be the friend she needs me to be. She did it for me when I had absolutely no one in my corner. Scarlett didn't even know me, but she’d decided to help me anyway. In the meantime, I will make Ryder see that I'm still the girl whose car broke down at the bar. But first, I had to find that girl and bring her back again. And for good this time.

Ryder

I watched Kallie pull away in her brand new car. She looked like another person all together when I looked up to see her standing in the garage. Her clothes were expensive, her hair was in perfect shape, and her eyes were dull again. That was the Kallie I ordered drinks for at Hanks. The worry that had kept me up every night had finally come true.
 

Every time I pictured her coming back, I had a good speech planned out. I wanted to play it cool, like it didn't kill me every hour that went by without calls or texts. I wanted to act like it didn't matter if she was here or not. But I blew my cool cover right out of the water.

Kissing her felt right. I didn't realize how thirsty my lips were for hers until they finally touched again. My body was screaming for her touch and was only silenced when her lips were on mine. I never wanted to stop, but I didn't want to start either. I couldn't let myself fall into the same trap again. I didn't know if I would make it through the next time.
 

"Well, she was hot," Tom said from behind me.

"Shut up," I growled, pushing past him.
 

"Is that her?" he asked. Tom was new to town, but the story still circulated around. The girl that stole Ryder's cold heart.
 

"Yeah."

He nodded and went back to the tire change he was working on before Kallie arrived. Tom might be new, but he knew when to shut his mouth. I worked through the water pump I was replacing on autopilot. Even though I played the moment I would see her in my head over and over again, I never looked past that specific moment. I didn't really know what to do now that she was back in town.
 

Kallie looked genuinely heartbroken. I had no doubt she never meant to become everything everyone else wanted from her. Maybe she didn't realize she was doing it. But she did, and what's done is done. I couldn't trust that what we had was real, but believing that nothing changed wasn't possible either.
 

By the time I clocked out, I still wasn't sure what I would do. She wouldn't have turned around and gone home, so she was probably with Scarlett. After the wedding, she would disappear again and everything could go back to normal. I just had to make it that far.
 

I was proven right when I pulled in the lot and parked next to her shiny, new BMW. I walked into the apartment as casually as I could and waved to the girls. They were sitting on the couch with glasses of wine, gossiping. I dropped my keys and phone on the counter before slipping into my room.
 

After a shower and some procrastinating, I finally came out to find Kallie alone on the couch. Startled, she looked up at me and gave a shy smile. I hated how much I loved the look she’d just shot my way. She was as confused as I was.
 

"Hey," I said as I went to the kitchen to grab a beer.

"Hey." She came to sit on the other side of the kitchen island. "Look, I'm sorry. I want to be here for Scarlett and don't want to fight with you."

"That doesn't make us okay," I sternly told her.

"I know. I'm saying I am here for her. I will stay out of your way," she whispered while avoiding eye contact. "So, what's he like?"

She was trying to be friends. I could do that. Maybe. "I don't know. He's okay, I guess."
 

As if on cue, the door flung open and Adam came waltzing in like he owned the place. I really hated when he did that. He stopped abruptly when he saw Kallie sitting at the bar. His eyes danced across her face for a second before they slowly traveled down her body. I saw her squirm out of the corner of my eye and clenched my fists to keep from pounding his face in.
 

I didn't like how he was looking at her. I wanted to smack the cocky grin off his face as he openly stared at her chest. Then it dawned on me that he was supposed to be marrying my sister, not checking out other girls. It didn't matter what girls. I cleared my throat loudly and glared at him.

"Well, who is this young lady?" he asked, moving closer to her.
 

"This is Kallie," I told him as I stood in front of him, blocking his path. If my sister didn't get out of the shower soon, I was going to bruise his pretty face. Try explaining that at the wedding.
 

It only took a second to click who she was, and his smile very quickly went from predatory to forced. "Nice to meet you. I'm Adam."

"Baby," my sister squealed as she came out of the bathroom. She crossed the room quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Adam hugged her back and lifted her off her feet, twirling her around.

"Why didn't we have a greeting like that?" Kallie grumbled beside me. I couldn't help but chuckle.
 

"Kallie, did you meet Adam?" Scarlett asked when she was finally on her feet again.
 

"I did," she nodded with a tight smile.
 

"You almost ready, babe? We have reservations at seven," Adam interrupted.
 

"Oh, I thought we would stay here. Kallie just got in," she pouted at him.

"We're fine," Kallie quickly spoke up. I turned to glare at her. "I have to get to my hotel anyway."

My sister's eyes shot daggers at me, but I stood my ground. When Adam tugged her arm again, she gave up on the staring contest and sighed. Scarlett followed her soon-to-be-husband out the door after shouting us a quick goodbye.
 

"I don’t like him," Kallie said as soon as we heard car doors close.

"I don't either," I admitted, finally turning to look at her.
 

Kallie's blue eyes roamed my face and down my chest. She pulled her lip into her mouth and chewed on it as her gaze moved down my body. Without thinking, I closed the space between us. I tilted her face up to mine and kissed her fiercely. Her mouth quickly opened for me, and I didn't hesitate to taste her again. She moaned into my mouth as I leaned closer, moving between her legs.
 

Her fingers clenched in my hair as she held her face to mine. I missed this so much, and tasting her again, feeling her under my hands, brought back all the good memories I had with her. I could almost forget the last six months. When she broke away, gasping for air, my mouth trailed down her neck.
 

"Ryder," she moaned. "Door."

I sighed and reluctantly pulled away from her. Her face was flushed and her eyes were a little more blue. I rubbed the pad of my thumb across her swollen lip before another knock sounded at the door. I backed away from her, only turning away to pull open the door. I didn't recognize the man on the other side.
 

The guy was probably about my age, wearing a suit and holding out his iPhone. "Hello, sir. Is Kallie here?"

"Ivan?" Kallie asked, jumping up from the stool. "What are you doing here?" I couldn't tell if there was anger or surprise in her voice.
 

"Looking for you," he told her, as if it were obvious.

"How did you even find me?"
 

"You have OnStar on your car. Your father tracked it."

"That's an invasion of my privacy, don't you think?"

"He pays for it," he countered.

"I am not going home. You’ve wasted your time," she growled. She was really cute when she was mad. Her fists were balled at her sides, and you could see her body shaking from restraint.
 

The guy seemed annoyed with her and blew out a breath. "You can't just leave me like that."

Blood rushed in my ears, and I clenched my fist trying, again, not to hit someone. "Who the fuck are you?" I asked him.

"Ivan," he answered without taking his eyes off Kallie. "You left without filing the quarter reports. You didn't even finish the inventory and you have the safe key. We were in the middle of negotiations with Pandora and you have all the plans for their launch gala event."

Her eyes widened and jaw dropped. She grabbed her purse off the counter and dug around inside. After several seconds, she produced a key ring and handed it to him. "You're on your own with the rest. I will email over what files I have as soon as I can, but I'm done. I quit."

Ivan stepped back in shock and stared at her. He finally tucked the keys in his pocket and nodded. Without another word, he turned and went down the steps. Kallie sighed and rubbed her temples.
 

"Sorry," she mumbled.
 

"Who was that?" I asked. He looked like just the kind of guy she should be with. I wondered if he was what kept her away all this time. Had she moved on to someone parent-approved?

"The branch manger. Basically, my dad's pet. I should go."

"Why? Because of him?" I asked, angry. "You’re going to chase after him?"