At some point I notice Bell and Tom have disappeared, but the rest of the party is in full swing. Everyone is singing along with the band, drinking, dancing, and having a great time. When Scandalicious takes a break, all the guys gather around River and start pouring shots of tequila.
I drag Tru to the kitchen with me and leave River with the guys. We need to do the cake because if we don’t sing “Happy Birthday” soon, I’m not sure River will be able to blow out the candles. After giving Tru a brief tour of the house, we walk into the kitchen and I see Bell.
“Bell, I think it’s time . . .” I trail off when I see she’s on the phone with her head down and her hand over her free ear. I turn back to Tru and see Jake in the kitchen doorway.
“Sweetheart, we have to go,” he says to Tru.
“Baby, they haven’t even had the cake yet.”
“Fucking Tom’s already in the car,” he mutters to her.
She rolls her eyes. “Tell me again why we rode with him?”
“No f**king idea, baby.”
We say our goodbyes and I walk them to the door. Looking outside I can see Tom sitting in his car on the phone and another car behind him, which I can only guess holds the security team.
After they leave, I make my way back to the kitchen and see Bell step into the other room, still on the phone and seemingly arguing. I’m sure she’s talking to Tom and I wonder if they broke up already. As I’m putting the candles on the cake, Caleb walks in and looks around before waving me over.
I walk over as he heads my way and we meet in the living room. “Hey Caleb, what’s going on?”
“Sorry Dahlia, didn’t know you were having a party. I tried calling you and River, but neither one of you answered.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m throwing a surprise party for River. It’s his birthday.”
“Again, sorry to intrude, but I got a call that your security system is down, and I thought I should check it out.”
“I have no idea what’s going on with the security system but it seems to be causing you a lot of trouble.”
“Dahlia, it’s no trouble. It’s my job.”
“I know, but it’s still nice of you.”
He drops his head. “I won’t be long, I just want to check the main fuse box.”
“Okay, you know where it is.”
He heads downstairs and I’m wondering if I should talk to him about Ben or ask him to stay for a drink, when the front door swings open, and Ben walks into my house. He closes the door behind him and I stand there, staring. When he starts to walk into the living room I hastily move to stop him. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
His eyes flash down my body and back up as he fingers the flower of my pearl necklace. “You added a necklace to your collection? It’s beautiful, just like you.”
I lean back and he drops his hand. “Ben, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be here.”
“Dahl, I’m with Caleb. We were out together when he got the call about the house. I was waiting in the car for him and I heard a lot of noise so I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “Really, Ben. Well, you’ve made sure now and everything is fine. So you can leave.”
“Since I’m here, I want to talk to you. I’ve been trying to talk to you. Why won’t you answer my calls?”
Holding back my agitation, I try to keep calm. “Ben, this is not the time or the place.”
“Dahl, you won’t give me the time or the place.”
“Because I have nothing else to say to you.”
His eyes seem to have been taking in the room since he arrived and when they settle on the large black-and-white picture of River and his band hung over the sofa he asks, “Why him? Is it because he’s famous?”
I narrow my eyes and look at him. “Fuck you, Ben Covington. Get the hell out of my house!”
Ignoring me, he motions around the house. “I need to know. Did you know him while we were together?”
“Dahlia, you wanted me,” Bell says as she walks up and stands next to me.
Her eyes flash to Ben and she gasps. I turn to look at her—she stares wide-eyed with her hand over her mouth. All the color seems to have drained from her face.
“Bell, are you okay?” I ask.
“S’belle?” I hear Ben question as he, too, stares and I instantly make the connection. Their reaction to each other and their body language tells me I’m right. My head starts to spin as a vivid memory flashes through my mind—
The e-mail. The words reply to: S’belle, later tonight, green eyes, touch, copper, and your apartment in an e-mail on Ben’s computer. Ben hitting the delete button before I could read the whole message. Knowing he was making plans with another girl—plans that weren’t platonic. Our breakup and path to reconciliation. River’s sister is S’belle. Ben and Bell!
The bile rises up my throat as I run to the bedroom and open the door. I slam it and flatten my back against it. Another memory flashes before my eyes—River taking the broken frame from my hand, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the picture for a long while. Recognition flashed across his face, maybe even pain, when he asked, “Is this him?” Me turning to face him when I hoarsely answered, “Yes. That’s Ben.” River knew about his sister and Ben. This whole time, he’s been keeping that from me.
At the sliding glass doors, I open the curtains and look for him on the pool deck. He’s sitting there with Ellie sitting next to him, laughing and drawing something with her finger on the table. Then I see her lift his hand and do the same. I want to yell for him to come up here now, but I’m not going to make a scene. So I stand frozen, anticipating the words I’ll hear next—the words I don’t want to hear from him because that will only confirm he knew.
My bedroom door opens and I immediately turn. Ben’s standing there, his face pale. He looks around and then walks into the room, closing the door behind him.
“Dahl, how do you know her?”
Confusion sets in as I try to figure out what he’s asking me, but then I realize he has no idea who she is. “Bell is River’s sister.”
“Bell?”
“S’belle,” I hiss.
“His sister?” He, too, looks like he might be sick.
He walks across the room and stands in front of me.
“Who you had your inappropriate relationship with in college is irrelevant right now, Ben. You need to leave.”
With a huge sigh he reaches and takes my chin in his hand, saying, “Dahl, what do I have to do so you’ll forgive me? Talk to me. Tell me.”
The adrenaline starts to pump through my body as I realize all he has brought me is more pain. I step back but he follows and I can’t help but scream, “Get the f**k out, Ben—now!”
He reaches for me again and this time tries to pull me to him. Just then the door abruptly opens and bounces off the wall. River stands there—his eyes narrowed on me. “Am I interrupting?”
He walks closer and his eyes flash to Ben. My heart racing, I take a step back. I am seething mad and he’s not going to turn this around on me. Pointing outside I say, “Funny, I thought I might be interrupting you. I’m so glad you managed to pull yourself away.”
He ignores me. “What the f**k are you doing in my room with my girl?”
“Your girl? I’ve already told you a substitute is not a replacement—they’re never as good as the real thing.”
My head snaps to Ben and I warn him, “You need to leave. Get out now.”
But he ignores me and continues his taunting. “Oh, and another thing—she may be in your bed now, but she was f**king me in my bed for a hell of a lot longer and I bet she’s still thinking about it.”
Willing down a wave of nausea I scream, “Shut up, Ben. Just shut the hell up!” I can’t believe he could be so crude.
River storms over to Ben. His eyes filled with rage, his jaw tight, and his fists clenched, he throws a hard punch at Ben’s head before Ben even sees it coming.
Ben stumbles back yelling, “Is the truth hard to take?”
“Fuck you! You don’t even know the truth,” River yells back.
Ben grabs River’s leg before scrambling to his feet and slamming a punch into his stomach. Still, Ben doesn’t let up. “Dahl, come on. Tell him what we were like.”
I’m motionless, suspended in time, watching like I’m somewhere else.
A fury like I’ve never seen crosses River’s face as he lunges for Ben, grabbing his arm and jerking it behind his back. He slams Ben to the ground, shoving his knee against his spine, wrenching his arm back. River gives it another jerk and Ben grunts, “Son of a bitch.”
“River, stop!” I scream.
Snatching his other wrist, he pulls it behind Ben’s back and seethes, “By the time I’m done with you, you’re gonna wish you would’ve stayed dead.”
I can hear how high and thin my voice is when I scream out again, “Stop it!” He doesn’t seem to hear me. He’s lost in the fight. His normally gleaming green eyes are shadowed in a way I’ve never seen before.
When Ben winces in pain, River leans down and whispers something in his ear, but doesn’t let him go. My hand flies to my mouth and my tears are running down my cheeks—I just want this to end.
In a blur of movement, Xander pulls River off Ben and Caleb drags Ben from the room as he yells, “This isn’t over!”
River frees himself from Xander’s hold and heads for the door, but Xander blocks him and shoves him to the bed. “That’s enough, River! Enough! You need to get a handle on this.”
Xander attempts to calm River and I’m trying to contain my own rage. “Xander, can you tell everyone the party is over?”
He nods and then drops down to his brother’s eye level. “River, look at me. You need to do what we talked about. Do you hear me?”
River looked up at him for a moment before dropping his head back down again. Xander pats him on the shoulder and says, “Now.” Then his eyes land on me. “I’ll clear everyone out so you two can talk.”
He closes the door behind him and River and I are left alone. I stand there for a minute thinking about what Xander’s just said to River and I know that it’s about their sister. Relief and fear burst through me—I’m relieved Ben is gone and fearful of what we are about to discuss.
“I saw the two of you,” he says as he rises to his feet and heads for the door.
I hastily navigate around the bed and dash there first. Standing in front of it, literally blocking his way, I force him to stop right in front of me.
“Well, I don’t know what you think you saw, but whatever it is, I can tell you, you’re wrong.”
He takes a step back, eyeing me, and then turns to walk toward the glass doors. “Why was he in here, Dahlia? In our bedroom?”
Once again, I dash in front of him. I am not going to allow any space between us and he’s not going to walk out of this room until we talk. “Why was she holding your hand?”
“Come on, Dahl, you really want to talk about Ellie right now?”
I grab his face knowing exactly what he’s inferring by calling me by that nickname. “River, listen to me. I’m going to say this again—I am not interested in being with Ben. I am not in love with Ben. Whatever you think you saw, he wanted to talk to me about your sister. And I know you know what I mean. I just heard Xander tell you to tell me.”
I stare into his green eyes, searching for any sign of confusion. But when his mouth drops open and he says nothing, I know for sure that he knew about them. From there, my irritation only builds. I jab my finger into his chest. “Yeah, like I thought, you knew the whole time and again you didn’t tell me something.”