Page 69 of King of Liars

Sy.

He pushed past the glass door, heading toward the line at the front register. It was evident he hadn’t spotted us.

I’d only seen him around campus a few times, and never with Malcolm or Kerry. Ryan and I had figured that the rumor about them going their separate ways was true, but we hadn’t heard more than that. Outside of that, Sy did his best to avoid me…us. I figured he wanted to get on with his life, same as we did.

Sy joined the line, and I turned back to Ryan, who had apparently seen Sy too.

“You okay?” I asked him, gripping his hand tighter.

“Yeah. Fine. Kind of surprised by how fine I am. Just goes to show, time really does heal all wounds.”

I looked back toward Sy. His gaze was right on mine, as it had been that night he’d discovered me at the house party, when his gaze had met mine with an intensity unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Something about it was different, though. His expression was softer, and he turned away quickly, appearing more sheepish than he had that first time. He continued down the line until he placed his order.

Ryan and I looked to one another, silently confirming how awkward this moment was. We opted for a subject change, but I doubted Ryan could forget the fact that Sy was eating in the same pizza place as us any more than I could.

Once upon a time, he’d been our king, and we’d been his knights. And once upon a time, that kingdom fell apart.

When we finished eating, we headed out of the restaurant. I’d seen Sy at the bar along the wall, eating his pizza alone.

Again, he didn’t seem to pay any attention to us as we headed out the front doors. We stepped onto the sidewalk, and I called an Uber.

“That was awkward.” I looked at Ryan, who nodded to something beside me, and as I turned, there stood Sy, beside me.

Fuck.

He glanced between us, and Ryan and I stared at this guy, this kid, who reminded me of the kid I’d seen in him when he’d fought so violently against his restraints in that sling.

He wasn’t the guy I’d met—so slick and guarded and defensive. There was an air of vulnerability about him.

He started to say something but stopped himself, then finally pushed out, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ryan replied.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

The corner of his lips twisted into his cheek. “Good, good. Just got hungry and decided to go out for some pizza. I mean, I guess that part’s obvious. Don’t really have that many friends right now, so…” He let his sentence trail off, and we stood there in silence before he went on, “But it’s good. I decided I need some time on my own anyway.”

“I’m glad,” I said.

“Yeah. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, and you guys look…real happy.”

His comment caught me by surprise, considering the state he’d been in the last time we’d seen him.

“We are,” Ryan said, taking my hand and gripping it firmly, as he had inside the restaurant.

Sy looked at our hands and then searched around uneasily.

I heard the sound of a car pulling up beside us. I checked my app and the SUV that had arrived.

“Looks like our car’s here,” I told him, almost wishing we could have stuck around and caught up more, but also feeling it was best for us to part ways while things were going so well.

“Yeah, of course. I won’t keep you guys any longer, but just…good seeing you.”

“It’s good seeing you too, Sy,” I said, meaning it.

Not just running into him, but noticing something I hadn’t seen in him during the time I’d known him, not before this moment.

“It’s Nick,” he said with a warm smile, reaching out.

---