Page 60 of Trip Through Your Wires

After letting all that shit with Jenica go, I don’t feel like a caged lion. I’d stopped jumping every time the house phone rang and didn’t ask Ellery how she was doing. Jenica had made herself clear—she didn’t want to talk to me, so I stopped trying. I even unplugged my answering machine and found myself getting back to a normal sleep cycle. No more waking up at midnight like an addict, waiting for a call that was never going to come.

I’d also hit a few parties and had plenty of opportunities to get back on that horse, so to speak, but whenever a girl approached I found myself bored and disinterested. Being out of the game for so long changed me. Now when I went out, I preferred nursing my beer and bobbing my head in time to the music to hooking up with some random chick. Not to mention I was living with the world’s most meant for each other couple, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what it would be like to have what Cruz and Ellery do.

“When do you leave again?” I ask him as we’re getting ready to leave the clubhouse after practice one Friday afternoon. Monday is Founder’s Day and we don’t have school or practice. Most of the guys are taking advantage of the long weekend and heading out of town, including Cruz.

“We’re catching a seven o’clock train.” He runs a hand through his hair and checks his reflection in the locker cabinet mirror before turning to me. “Should get into the City just in time for dessert.”

He grins and I can’t help but laugh. “You’re staying at your parent’s place, right? You and Ells may want to keep it down with Mom and Dad only a door away.”

“Their room is on one floor, and ours another.” He claps my back. “The universe works in marvelous ways my friend.”

I shake my head, both knowing and wishing that were true. “When are you back?”

“Monday night.” He crosses his arms and leans back against the cabinet. “Are you going to head to the mountains?”

A couple of the guys from the team invited me to go camping. The snow in the hills is gone and they’ve got a few spaces rented and a couple of kegs.

“Think I’m going to pass. I’ll probably just lay low. Order some take out and watch a couple of movies with Marcus.”

“That sounds good. Ellie and I will be doing the same. She’s got a meeting on Monday morning that she’s a little anxious about. No better way to ease that anxiety than by…”

“Don’t say it,” I stop him.

“Relax and hang with the family,” he grins. “That’s all I was going to say.”

“The hell you were.”

He laughs while zipping up his bag. “You’re more than welcome to come with us if you want. Nuestra casa es su casa.”

“Yeah,” I smile, “I know.”

My house was Cruz’s during his first two years at Highland. His dad visited him here, of course, but I always assumed going home for the bigger holidays was a no-go because of the whole stepmom thing. With my parents’ house being close by train, it was easier to head up there for holidays and long weekends. Plus, my parents loved having him. They considered Cruz another son and gave him a standing invitation to come home with me, anytime.

“You and Ells have fun with your parents,” I say once I’ve zipped up my own bag. “I’ll see mine in a few weeks when we play UConn.”

Whenever a series takes me close to home, I take the opportunity to spend time with my parents. They love it and I do, too. I love my family. They’re awesome and have always supported me.

“We’ll probably be back to the city then, too.” He hikes one leg up, resting the back of his foot on the bottom of the cabinet. “I see a few trips there in our future over the next few months while she gets all this business with the Trust wrapped up.”

“So she’s really doing it,” I marvel. “Giving away all that money.”

“Yup,” he nods. “Hoarding wealth was Elmhurst’s thing. The only money she cares about is how much interest the Trust makes so she can help more people.”

When Ellery learned the truth about her birth father, she learned that truth came with a birthright that entitled her to a majority of the shares in the Davenport Trust, one of the largest financial portfolios in the country.

Along with Ellery’s mom and Cruz’s dad, only Cruz, Jenica and I know this. She doesn’t want Marcus to know. The fewer who do, the better. That’s what made her suggestion when Jenica arrived for that last visit all the more surprising. I know she would do anything to help her best friend, but it would come at a cost that none of us, especially Cruz, wanted.

To keep her identity a secret, her mother had been acting as Ellery’s proxy at the Trust for the past six months. Before Ellery could be involved, her mother insisted on removing the old board and conducting a review of every business in its portfolio to determine how deep their ties to Elmhurst ran. It was Ellery’s dream to turn the Trust into one of the nation’s largest philanthropies, giving back to the communities it had harmed over the years, but she wanted it to be done with legitimate funds. This required knowing which companies she could trust, and which she could not.

“Her mom hates the idea of Ellery having to be there in person,” Cruz crosses his arms. “And honestly, I do, too. But apparently silent trust only refers to what beneficiaries know. She still has to sign legal documents in person.”

Cruz hates this. I know he does. If it were up to him Ellery would give up all ties to the Trust. She doesn’t need the power or money. In fact, she isn’t taking a cent from it and doesn’t need to. Between the trust she inherited from the father that raised her—one she learned wasn’t created using Elmhurst money, but that which he and her mother made with their own business dealings—and Cruz’s own, which will include whatever he makes in the majors, they’re set.

Still, she is determined to use Elmhurst’s greed for good, and Cruz will always support her dreams. The pint-sized force of nature that is his better half has learned all there is to know about the Trust—holdings, resources, operations, you name it—in a matter of months, all while holding down a full class load.

“Damn,” I shake my head. “The country’s most benevolent philanthropist will be my little sister and the world will never know.”

The tension in his jaw eases and his eyes light up with pride. “That she is, brother, which makes the side project I’m working on while we’re there, that much sweeter.”

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