Page 10 of When Stars Fall

“Yeah.” She sets her phone facedown on the coffee table between us. It buzzes nonstop, and the glass amplifies the sound. She’s put it there on purpose.

Watching her in person is surreal. I spent years devouring any image of her I could get my hands on: magazines, movies, interviews, commercials—the few things she endorsed, I bought. Any other woman who entered my life was always second best and ended up walking out on me. I let them all go. Ellie’s the only one I’ve ever chased. I should have gone after her harder back then.

She stares at me, and I remember I’m supposed to be talking. I’m about to say something, anything, when an unfamiliar ringtone pierces the quiet of the living room.

Ellie crosses to the box on the wall and hits a button. “Yes, Freddie?”

“Calshae Simmons is here to see you.”

Ellie bites her lip and glances at me.

“Calshae? You two still good friends?” Whenever we came to the island, Calshae, along with Ellie’s younger sister, Nikki, were always part of the crew.

“Let her in,” Ellie says.

An old, familiar pang niggles at my brain. I’m itching. The desire to take something to dull the edge of seeing Ellie again is strong. Mentally, I list the drugs I could swallow, snort, or inject to smooth out this conversation. I clutch my phone in my pocket. I’ll have to make a call when I leave here to ensure I don’t screw this up before I get started.

Ellie disappears to the side door, and when she comes back into the living room, a short, curvy Black woman trails behind her. Sometimes when I see people I haven’t been around for a while, the years lie on my shoulders like bricks. A reminder of the blurred span after Ellie left. Calshae isn’t a party girl anymore. Of course, she was never as wild as me or even Ellie.

“It’s been a while,” I say to her with a grin.

“Ten years,” Calshae says. “What brings you to Bermuda?”

“About time I got my shit together. Go after the people who matter.”

Ellie’s jaw tightens. “Calshae and I have a girls’ night planned. I can’t break my plans just because you showed up at my door unexpectedly.”

Her claim and their postures don’t go together. There’s a tension and a wariness between the two of them that didn’t exist when we were younger.

“A girls’ night at almost midnight?” I check my watch.

“Wyatt was on his way out when you got here.” Ellie turns to Calshae.

“Was I?” I give a sly smile. “We haven’t even had a chance to catch up.”

“There won’t be any catching up. What time is your flight tomorrow?” Ellie cocks her head.

“I cleared my schedule for a week or so. It’s such a beautiful island.” I ignore Calshae and assess Ellie’s reaction. She swallows hard.

That’s right, Ellie. You might push me out of your house tonight, but I’ll be coming back for more.

“Don’t let us hold you up from your vacation.” Ellie shoves her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “Coming to my house was a mistake.”

Old Wyatt would draw a line on the floor and dig in his heels. Ellie’s tight posture seems to anticipate my reaction. But I’m here to show her I’m not the guy she walked out on. I can be reasonable.

“I won’t keep you, but I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say. “Give us a chance to get reacquainted.”

She hesitates and swivels to Calshae. “Can you give us a moment?”

Calshae’s gaze ping-pongs between me and Ellie. “Sure, yeah. No problem. I’ll go out on the balcony.”

As soon as the glass door clicks closed, Ellie grabs my arm and drags me into the kitchen.

“Stop,” she says, pointing a finger at me before getting a glass of water from the fridge.

“What?” I stare at her, wide-eyed.

“All of it. Just stop. This isn’t a game. My life is not a publicity stunt. All of this—the visit, the interview, the rest of the press . . . Is this for your race-car film? Is it so bad the production company got desperate?” She sets her drink on the island and glares along the length of the counter. “Are you using me? Our history?”

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